District Not Recorded

The Department announced today the public release of a white paper on the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act, known as the CLOUD Act.  The CLOUD Act was enacted in March 2018 and updates the legal framework for how law enforcement authorities may request electronic evidence needed to protect public safety from service providers while respecting privacy interests and foreign sovereignty.

“Our collective safety and security depends on our ability to maintain lawful and efficient access to electronic evidence, and the CLOUD Act offers a sorely-needed solution to that challenge,” said Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.  “As today’s white paper makes clear, the Department will be proactive in working, both in the United States and abroad, to promote greater understanding and appreciation of what the CLOUD Act accomplishes.  We look forward to working with our trusted foreign law enforcement partners on CLOUD agreements that will make all our citizens safer.”

The CLOUD Act has two distinct parts.  First, the Act authorizes the United States to enter into bilateral agreements to facilitate the ability of trusted foreign partners to get the electronic evidence they need to combat serious crimes.  In order to qualify under the Act, a partner country must adhere to baseline rule-of-law, privacy, and civil liberties protections.  Through bilateral agreements, each country would agree to lower the legal barriers that prevent their communication service providers from complying with qualifying lawful orders for electronic data issued by the other country.  By dropping legal barriers, each country could serve its legal process – like search warrants – directly on the providers of the other country, dramatically increasing speed and efficiency compared with existing methods of transferring electronic evidence. 

Second, the CLOUD Act makes explicit in U.S. law the established principle – longstanding in both the United States and in many foreign countries – that a company subject to our jurisdiction can be required to produce data within its custody and control, regardless of where it chooses to store that data at any point in time.  This provision simply codified what had been the law and practice prior to the 2016 Microsoft decision by a court of appeals, and ensured that the United States continued to be in compliance with its obligations under the Budapest Cybercrime Convention, which requires all member states to have the power to compel providers in their territory to disclose electronic data in their control, no matter where stored.  The CLOUD Act provision did not alter whether or not a provider is subject to U.S. jurisdiction, nor did it give U.S. law enforcement any new authority to acquire data. 

The white paper released today, Promoting Public Safety, Privacy, and the Rule of Law Around the World:  The Purpose and Impact of the CLOUD Act, was compiled with the input of components across the Department, including attorneys from the Criminal Division and the National Security Division.  The white paper describes the interests and concerns that prompted the enactment of the CLOUD Act and provides a concise point-by-point distillation of the effect, scope, and implications of the Act, as well as answers to frequently asked questions.

For the full white paper, click here. On April 5, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard W. Downing delivered remarks on the CLOUD Act at the Academy of European Law Conference entitled “Prospects for Transatlantic Cooperation on the Transfer of Electronic Evidence to Promote Public Safety.”  The remarks can be viewed here.  The Department has created a resource page for CLOUD Act materials at www.justice.gov/CLOUDAct.

A U.S. Customs and Border Portection (CBP) officer pleaded guilty today to converting federal funds to his own use, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Daniel Lerchbacker, 35, of Conroe, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of conversion before U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison of the Southern District of Texas.  Sentencing is scheduled for June 26, 2019.  

According to admissions made in connection with his plea, Lerchbacker, while stationed in Canada as a CBP officer between December 2015 and December 2017, received from the U.S. foreign monetary allowances for the lease of his family’s residence and private school education expenses for his children.  Although he received the full amount of federal funds that he requested as part of these allowances, Lerchbacker failed to pay a property management company and two private schools a total of approximately $54,460.99 CAD.  Instead, Lerchbacker used thousands of dollars of the federal funds he received on items unrelated to his family’s housing or his children’s education. 

Lerchbacker also admitted to submitting to CBP copies of checks as proof of payment to one of the private schools, despite knowing that such payments had not, in fact, been made.  Additionally, Lerchbacker admitted that he requested, collected, and retained from the U.S. approximately $24,230.50 CAD in advance funds for his children’s education expenses for the full year while knowing that he and his family were to leave Canada before the start of the second semester.

The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General investigated this case.  Trial Attorney Rebecca Moses of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section is prosecuting the case.

Univar USA Inc. (Univar), a subsidiary of Univar Inc., of Downers Grove, Illinois, has agreed to pay the United States $62.5 million to settle allegations under the customs penalty statute that it was grossly negligent or negligent when it imported 36 shipments of transshipped saccharin between 2007 and 2012. The saccharin was manufactured in China and transshipped through Taiwan to evade a 329 percent antidumping duty that applied to saccharin from China.  The antidumping duty was a remedial measure in response to injury sustained by the domestic saccharin industry by reason of dumping of Chinese saccharin. The transshipment resulted in the evasion of approximately $36 million in antidumping duties. 

“Transshipment of merchandise through third countries to evade antidumping duties undermines the integrity of our trade laws and puts domestic manufacturers at risk from unfairly traded merchandise,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “We enforce our laws against importers who fail to take all reasonable steps to vet their suppliers and determine the true country of origin of their merchandise.” 

The settlement resolves a lawsuit brought in the United States Court of International Trade seeking recovery of unpaid antidumping duties and penalties under 19 U.S.C. § 1592 totaling $84 million plus interest. In that action, the government alleged that Univar was grossly negligent or negligent in failing to determine that its supplier in Taiwan was not a manufacturer but, instead, imported saccharin into Taiwan from China for transshipment to the United States. This is the largest recovery under section 1592 ever reached in the Court of International Trade.      

“We are committed to ensuring the laws that protect legitimate trade and US domestic industry, including anti-dumping and countervailing duties laws, are vigorously enforced,” said CBP’s Office of Trade Executive Assistant Commissioner Brenda Smith. “And to that end, we applaud the agencies that came together to settle this case.”

“I applaud the outcome of this investigation and commend the efforts of the special agents and CBP personnel who worked so diligently on this,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Executive Associate Director Derek Benner. “This is a tremendous example of the agencies’ collaborative commitment to enforce the trade laws of the United States.”

The settlement announced today was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  The investigating ICE agent was Special Agent Patrick C. Deas. The case was handled by Commercial Litigation Branch Attorneys Patricia M. McCarthy, Stephen C. Tosini and Reta E. Bezak, and CBP Assistant Chief Counsel Currita C. Waddy.

The Justice Department will honor 12 individuals and programs for their exceptional service to victims of crime during the annual National Crime Victims’ Service Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Friday, April 12. The Department will also recognize former U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese for a career of outstanding service on behalf of crime victims.

“Victims of crime deserve justice. This Department works every day to help them recover and to find, prosecute, and convict those who have done them harm,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “During this National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, we pause to remember the millions of Americans who have been victims of crime and we thank public servants who have served them in especially heroic ways. This week the men and women of the Department recommit ourselves once again to ensuring that crime victims continue to have a voice in our legal system, to securing justice for them, and to preventing other Americans from suffering what they have endured.”

Each year in April, the Department of Justice observes National Crime Victims’ Rights Week by taking time to honor victims of crime and those who advocate on their behalf. In addition, the Justice Department and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices participate in events to bring awareness to the services available to victims. This year’s observance takes place April 7-13, with the theme, “Honoring Our Past. Creating Hope for the Future.”

“Almost 50 years ago, a grassroots movement rose up to support crime victims and survivors, and that movement has grown into a nationwide effort that reaches victims in every corner of our country,” said Matt M. Dummermuth, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs. “While the Justice Department is making more funding available than ever before to meet victims’ needs, champions like the ones we honor today are offering victims ‘hope for the future.’”

The following award recipients were selected by the Office for Victims of Crime from nominations received from many sources. Individual press releases are available using the included links.

Allied Professional Award recognizes individuals from a specific discipline outside the victim assistance field for their service to victims and/or contributions to the victim assistance field.

• Recipient: Sgt. Amy Dudewicz, Bernalillo County, New Mexico
• Recipient: Diana Faugno, Rancho Mirage, California

Award for Professional Innovation in Victim Services recognizes a program, organization or individual who has helped to expand the reach of victims’ rights and services.

• Recipient: Richard H. Norcross, III, Keasbey, New Jersey

Crime Victims Financial Restoration Award honors individuals, programs or teams that developed innovative ways of funding services for crime victims or instituted innovative approaches for securing financial restoration for crime victims.

• Recipient: Elder and Dependent Adult Protection Team, San Mateo County, California

Crime Victims’ Rights Award honors the dedicated champions throughout our nation whose efforts to advance or enforce crime victims’ rights have benefited victims of crime at the local, state, tribal or national level.

• Recipient: Susan Howley, Washington, D.C.

National Crime Victim Service Award honors extraordinary individuals and programs that provide services to victims of crime.

• Recipient: Eva Velasquez, San Diego, California
• Recipient: Mark Weiner, Newark, Ohio.

Ronald Wilson Reagan Public Policy Award honors those whose leadership, vision and innovation have led to significant changes in public policy and practice that benefit crime victims.

• Recipient: Hallie Bongar White, Tucson, Arizona
• Recipient: Missey Smith, Overland Park, Kansas

Special Courage Award recognizes a victim or survivor who has exhibited exceptional perseverance or determination in dealing with his or her own victimization.

• Recipient: Shari Kastein, Sioux Center, Iowa
• Recipient: James Shaw, Nashville, Tennessee

Volunteer for Victim Award honors individuals for their extraordinary and selfless efforts resulting in positive and lasting changes in the lives of crime victims.

• Recipient: Laura Abbott, Cabot, Arkansas

The Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime, within the Office of Justice Programs, leads communities across the country in observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week each year. President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Crime Victims’ Rights Week in 1981 to bring greater sensitivity to the needs and rights of victims of crime.

The Office of Justice Programs, directed by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Matt M. Dummermuth, provides federal leadership, grants and resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims and enhance the rule of law by strengthening the criminal justice system. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

A former U.S. Army Reserve employee pleaded guilty today to charges of wire fraud and theft of government money as part of a scheme to steal more than $400,000 from the 63rd Regional Support Command at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Ramon Torry, 54, of Irvine, California, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of theft of government money before U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman in the Northern District of California, San Jose Division.  Sentencing has been scheduled for July 30, 2019.

According to the plea documents, Torry devised a scheme to steal money from the 63rd Regional Support Command related to a contract for the creation of a Public Service Announcement (PSA) touting the Command’s accomplishments.  In February 2016, Torry began creating fake invoices for work allegedly performed by the Calfornia production company for the production of the PSA as well as for training and other services that were never performed.  Torry then directed others in the Command to make payments to the company contracted to produce the PSA by both government purchase card and wire payments.  Between December 2015 and October 2017, Torry directed payments from the 63rd to the production company totaling more than $414,000.  He then directed Person A at the company to kick back more than $300,000 of those funds to Torry, which he converted to his own use and that of others. 

The General Services Administration Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command investigated the case.  Trial Attorney Richard B. Evans of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Marissa Harris from the Northern District of California has provided assistance with the case.

The former associate general counsel and assistant secretary of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. (SeaWorld), a publicly traded amusement park corporation headquartered in Orlando, Florida, pleaded guilty today for his role in an insider-trading scheme.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Angel M. Melendez of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)’s New York Field Office made the announcement.     

Paul B. Powers, 60, of Winter Park, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of insider trading before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie R. Hoffman of the Middle District of Florida.  Sentencing before U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza of the Middle District of Florida has not yet been set.

As part of his guilty plea, Powers admitted that he received material nonpublic information about SeaWorld’s financial performance through his position as assistant general counsel and assistant secretary in June, July and August 2018.  Specifically, Powers admitted that beginning in June 2018, he received information that had been prepared for an upcoming meeting of SeaWorld’s Revenue Committee showing that SeaWorld anticipated both attendance and revenue to increase in the first half of 2018 by approximately eight percent as compared to the first half of 2017.  Powers acknowledged that he later attended Revenue Committee meetings at which the increase in attendance and revenue was discussed, and took notes of the meetings in his capacity as SeaWorld’s assistant secretary.  Powers further admitted that on Aug. 1, 2018, he received materials prepared for an upcoming Audit Committee meeting that included a draft earnings release reporting the increased revenue and attendance figures for the first half of 2018, and also reporting that one of SeaWorld’s key earnings metrics (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA) had improved 59.1 percent in the first half of 2018 as compared to the first half of 2017.  In addition, Powers received a draft U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Form 10-Q reflecting that SeaWorld had “reached an agreement in principle with the SEC Enforcement Staff to settle, without admitting or denying, charges against SeaWorld arising out of the previously disclosed SEC investigation and that SeaWorld recorded an estimated liability of $4.0 million related to this matter.”  On Aug. 3, 2018, Powers attended a meeting of the Audit Committee at which the draft earnings release and SEC Form 10-Q were discussed, and took notes of the meeting in his capacity as assistant secretary, he admitted.

“Paul Powers admitted today that he used information gained through his position as a senior executive at SeaWorld to unlawfully profit from trades in hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of SeaWorld securities,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.  “The Department of Justice and our law-enforcement partners will hold executives accountable for their criminal conduct, particularly conduct that threatens the integrity of our capital markets.”

“While employed by SeaWorld, Powers benefited from revenue information not accessible to the public, to make a quick profit, contrary to law and SeaWorld’s trading policies,” said Special Agent in Charge Melendez.  “HSI’s El Dorado Task Force remains fully committed to protect the U.S. financial markets from such egregious practices.”

After Powers obtained the foregoing material nonpublic information, he liquidated all of the equities in his personal TD Ameritrade account and purchased 18,000 shares of SeaWorld stock on Aug. 2, 2018 at a cost of approximately $385,592, he admitted.  Powers further admitted that when he purchased the shares, he was prohibited from trading in SeaWorld stock pursuant to SeaWorld’s trading policies.  After SeaWorld announced the better-than-expected attendance, revenue and EBITDA results, the price of SeaWorld shares spiked approximately 17 percent—from $21.13 per share at the close of trading on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, to $25.40 per share when the market reopened on Monday, Aug. 6, 2018.  Powers admitted that he then capitalized on the increase in share price by selling all 18,000 shares, realizing gross proceeds of approximately $450,237 and a net profit of approximately $64,645.

HSI New York investigated the case.  Deputy Chief Henry Van Dyck and Trial Attorney Mark Cipolletti of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.  The Securities and Exchange Commission also provided assistance in this matter.

Today, Attorney General William P. Barr issued the following statement: 

"Today, the Secretary of State announced that he intends to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.  After the FTO designation takes effect, any person will be prohibited from knowingly providing material support or resources, as defined under the law, or attempting or conspiring to do so, to the IRGC.  The IRGC's active support for terrorism is unacceptable, and the Department of Justice continues to support the administration's efforts to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its actions."

Today, the Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ), in accordance with the First Step Act, has announced the selection of the nonprofit and nonpartisan Hudson Institute to host the Independent Review Committee. The Committee, whose members will be appointed by  Hudson Institute in accordance with the Act’s requirements, will assist the Department as it develops and implements risk and needs assessment tools and evidence-based recidivism reduction programs.

“The Department of Justice is committed to implementing the First Step Act,” said Attorney General William Barr. “The Independent Review Committee plays an important role in that effort by assisting in the development of a new risk and needs assessment system and improvements to our recidivism reduction programming. I am grateful to Hudson Institute for hosting this important Committee, which will lead to better policies at the Department and, ultimately, better outcomes for prisoners reentering society.”

NIJ also announced today that it is contracting with outside experts and leading researchers, including Dr. Grant Duwe Ph.D., Dr. Zachary Hamilton Ph.D., and Dr. Angela Hawken Ph.D., for assistance and consultation as the Department develops the Risk and Needs Assessment System under the Act. Dr. Duwe is the Director of Research for the Minnesota Department of Corrections, and a nationally recognized expert on the development of recidivism risk assessment systems. Dr. Hamilton is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology and the Director of the Washington State Institute for Criminal Justice, and focuses on treatment matching through risk and needs assessment systems. Dr. Hawken is a Professor of Public Policy at the New York University Marron Institute, and is the founder and director of New York University’s Litmus/BetaGov program, which assists in the development and validation of data-driven policies. Each of these experts will bring unique expertise as they augment NIJ and the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) efforts to implement the Act.

Today’s announcements by NIJ are the latest in a growing list of accomplishments as the Department works diligently to implement the Act, signed into law in December 2018. Some other highlights of the Department’s ongoing implementation efforts include:

• NIJ has hosted “listening sessions” to receive input from more than 25 stakeholders regarding the development of the Risk and Needs Assessment System under the Act. These stakeholders represent a diverse array of viewpoints, and presented helpful information to consider as the Department implements the Act.
• The Act’s retroactive application of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (reducing the disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine threshold amounts triggering mandatory minimum sentences) has resulted in 826 sentence reductions and 643 early releases.
• BOP has 20 pilot dog programs operating under Sec. 608 of the Act. BOP has also developed a youth mentoring program in accordance with the Act.
• BOP has submitted to Congress a report, in accordance with the Act, evaluating the availability of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in its facilities for inmates with substance abuse problems. BOP has also screened more than 400 inmates to identify candidates for possible enrollment in MAT programs.
• BOP has issued procedures for “compassionate release” sentence reductions under 18 U.S.C. §§ 3582 and 4205(g) (BOP Policy Number 5050.50), and 22 inmates have already received sentence reductions under this program.
• BOP has issued procedures providing for participation in the Second Chance Act home confinement pilot program under 34 U.S.C. 65401(g) (BOP Operations Memorandum 001-2019), and 23 inmates are currently participating, with additional inmates currently being screened for program inclusion.

• BOP has issued procedures providing for its employees to carry and store personal weapons under 18 U.S.C. § 4050 (BOP Policy Number 5575.01, CN-1).
• BOP has identified a screening tool to implement the Act’s dyslexia screening requirement, which will enable BOP to review the prevalence of dyslexia inside the BOP inmate population.
• BOP has issued an updated advisory memo and distributed training for federal prison facilities housing female inmates regarding the Act’s requirements prohibiting the use of restraints on pregnant inmates absent extreme circumstances (Note: BOP Policy Number 5566.06, CN-1 has prohibited the use of restraints on pregnant prisoners absent extreme circumstances since August 2014).
• The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) has issued updated procedures and forms for USMS and its contracted private detention facilities regarding the Act’s requirements prohibiting the use of restraints on pregnant inmates absent extreme circumstances.
• BOP policies and contracts provide sanitary products to female offenders in compliance with the Act.
• BOP and USMS policies and contracts comply with the Act’s requirements that prohibit certain room confinement for juvenile offenders.
• BOP offers specialized and comprehensive de-escalation training to its employees and officers in accordance with Sec. 606 of the Act. BOP has also updated its mental health awareness training regarding inmates with psychiatric disorders, and more than 14,000 BOP employees have already received the updated training.
• BOP’s Federal Prison Industries (FPI) has begun work to expand FPI’s markets under the Act. BOP is also working with the Government Accountability Office to conduct an audit of FPI.

             A repeat federal felon, with prior state convictions for child molestation and child rape, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison for access with intent to view child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran.  BRIAN KEVIN RUBENAKER, 59, of Everett, Washington, was on federal supervision following a nearly 13-year sentence for possession of child pornography when he was linked to a laptop computer hidden at another offender’s residence.  Both men, convicted sex offenders, had their supervision revoked and were charged with new child pornography possession crimes.  At the sentencing hearing, Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez also imposed ten years of supervised release to follow his prison term.

            “This defendant, already sent to state prison in 1998 for molestation and sexual abuse of minors, now faces a second significant federal sentence for acting on his sexual attraction to children,” said U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran.  “Those who collect and share images and videos of children being raped and tortured feed a market that thrives on the sexual abuse of children.”     

            According to records filed in the case, in October 2018, two federal probation officers made an unannounced visit to the Everett home of sex offender Mark Dreblow who was also on federal supervision.  One of the probation officers noticed wires coming from a couch cushion.  Under the cushion was a laptop computer, which Dreblow said belonged to RUBENAKER.  Dreblow admitted the two men shared the computer and admitted it contained images of child sex abuse and exploitation.  A forensic examination of the computer determined it contained multiple images of children being abused and exploited.

            In 1998, RUBENAKER was convicted in Washington Superior Court of child molestation and rape of a child.  In 2006, RUBENAKER was sentenced in federal court to nearly 13 years in prison for possession of child pornography.  He was released in April 2016 on three years of supervised release.  RUBENAKER was arrested in December 2018 for conspiracy to possess child pornography and pleaded guilty to access with intent to view child pornography in January 2019.  Because of his status as a repeat offender, RUBENAKER was subject to a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence.

On April 3, 2019, the Steering Group of the International Competition Network (ICN) unanimously approved a multilateral framework on procedures among antitrust enforcement agencies globally to promote fundamental due process in competition law investigation and enforcement.  The framework is based on the principles of the Antitrust Division’s Multilateral Framework on Procedures (MFP), an initiative that was originally announced by Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim at the Council of Foreign Relations in June of last year.

The Antitrust Division, in consultation with a dozen leading competition agencies from around the world, developed the proposal, which was then introduced to the global antitrust community last fall and received overwhelming support.  At the request of several partner agencies, the Antitrust Division agreed to implement the proposed arrangement through the International Competition Network to take advantage of existing structures and to reduce administrative burdens.  The multilateral framework implements this initiative by utilizing established ICN institutions and processes, and will be open to all national, supranational, and customs territory-specific competition agencies around the world, whether or not a member of the ICN.

This historic multilateral agreement recognizes fundamental principles of transparency and procedural fairness in antitrust enforcement and promotes review mechanisms to ensure that participating agencies abide by these norms.  Adopting the substance of the Antitrust Division-initiated proposal, the framework identifies universal due process principles that are widely accepted across the globe, including commitments regarding non-discrimination; transparency and predictability; proper notice, access to information, meaningful and timely engagement, and opportunity to defend; timely resolution of proceedings; confidentiality protections; avoidance of conflicts of interest; access to counsel and privilege; written enforcement decisions and public access to decisions; and availability of independent review of enforcement decisions.  As in the original proposal, the framework complements these substantive norms with review mechanisms designed to ensure meaningful compliance, including consultations, agency reports on implementation, and periodic assessment meetings.

“Adopting the Framework on Competition Agency Procedures is a remarkable and historic achievement for antitrust enforcement,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Antitrust Division.  “It sends a clear signal that competition agencies across the globe – despite differences in their structures and proceedings, as well as the legal systems in which they operate – are committed to procedural fairness.  We are grateful that the framework approved by the ICN Steering Group, in record time, is equivalent in all respects to the principles of the MFP that was originally proposed by the Antitrust Division.  By combining strong substantive principles with meaningful review mechanisms, it goes well beyond anything competition agencies have ever done before.”

Beginning on May 1, 2019, the framework will be open for signature to all national, supranational, and customs territory-specific competition agencies, including ICN member and non-member agencies.  It will come into effect on May 15, 2019, at an inauguration ceremony of the charter participants during the ICN annual conference in Cartagena, Colombia.

The ICN, founded by 15 agencies including the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, was created in October 2001 to increase understanding of competition policy and promote convergence toward sound antitrust enforcement around the world.  The ICN has grown to include 138 member agencies from 125 jurisdictions, supported by a wide network of non-governmental advisors from around the world.

The ICN’s Framework on Competition Agency Procedures can be found here.

An Alexandria, Virginia, man was sentenced today to nine years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for receipt of child pornography.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Chief Michael L. Brown of the Alexandria Police Department made the announcement. 

Edward Thomas Parsons, 64, a former physical security specialist with the Department of Defense, pleaded guilty on Sept. 12, 2018 before Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton of the Eastern District of Virginia to receipt of child pornography. 

According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, Parsons and his co-defendant, Bradley Robert Segert, administered an online group chat on Kik Messenger, a mobile messaging application, dedicated to soliciting child pornography from other Kik users.  Between January 2015 and August 2015, Parsons received and distributed images and videos of child pornography from this Kik group chat.  In addition, through the course of its investigation, law enforcement seized Parsons’s personal desktop computer and cell phone and found hundreds of images and videos of child pornography on the devices.

FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force is investigating the case.  The Task Force is comprised of agents of the FBI, U.S. Marshals, and detectives from the Prince William County Police, Fairfax County Police, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Metropolitan Police, Alexandria City Police, Arlington County Police, Leesburg Police, Virginia State Police and the Offices of Inspector General of several federal agencies.  Trial Attorneys James E. Burke IV and William G. Clayman of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) are prosecuting the case. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A Houston, Texas, man was sentenced today to 360 months in prison for multiple conspiracy and tax charges, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

On Nov. 14, 2018, a jury convicted Kenneth J. Coleman, 52, of nine counts, including conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to structure currency transactions, corporate tax evasion, filing false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and failing to file tax returns.

The evidence at trial established that Coleman facilitated the fraudulent sale of second-hand prescription medications to Utah-based Green Valley Medical Distributors, LLC (Green Valley). Coleman owned Acacia Pharma Distributors Inc. (Acacia) and Four Corner Suppliers Inc. (Four Corner), which purchased bottles of prescription medications from illegitimate sources and then sold them to Green Valley, which then sold the medications to pharmacies as brand-new.

Federal regulation requires wholesale distributors of prescription medications to provide to a buyer a pedigree – a written statement identifying each prior sale, purchase or trade of the drugs being sold that includes the business name and information of all parties to the prior transactions, starting with the manufacturer. Coleman and others acting at his direction created false pedigrees and provided the fraudulent documents to Green Valley. Evidence at trial showed that Green Valley would withhold payment to Coleman until it received these false pedigrees.

Coleman and his co-defendant, Marcus Weathersby, deposited proceeds from the fraudulent sale of these second-hand prescription drugs into Acacia’s and Four Corner’s business bank accounts and used the funds to pay the suppliers of the illicit pharmaceuticals. At trial, the government proved that Weathersby and others acting at Coleman’s direction laundered more than $41.5 million of illicit funds, including over $2.9 million in more than 230 cash withdrawals made in amounts less than $10,000, in order to evade bank-reporting requirements.

Coleman also evaded the assessment and payment of Acacia’s and Four Corner’s income tax liabilities, failed to file an individual tax return for tax year 2011, failed to file corporate income tax returns for tax years 2011 and 2012, and filed false individual income tax returns for the tax years 2012 and 2013. The combined loss of corporate and individual income taxes was more than $700,000.

Coleman’s co-defendant, Weathersby, formerly of Houston, Texas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was sentenced in June 2018 to 58 months in prison. He testified at trial against Coleman.

In addition to the term of imprisonment imposed, U.S. District Court Judge David Hittner ordered Coleman to serve three years of supervised release, imposed a criminal forfeiture money judgment of $20,326,464.17, and ordered Coleman to pay $716,986 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman thanked agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Food and Drug Administration-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Sean Beaty and Terri-Lei O’Malley of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman also thanked U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick of the Southern District of Texas and his office for their assistance in this matter.

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

Securus Technologies Inc. (Securus) confirmed yesterday that it has abandoned its plans to acquire Inmate Calling Solutions LLC (ICS).  The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division had previously informed the companies that it had significant concerns that the merger would eliminate important competition in the market for inmate telecommunications services (ITS). 

Securus and ICS are two of the four major ITS providers in the United States.  Correctional facilities across the United States rely on specialized telecommunications companies to provide both basic phone service to inmates and the important security features the facilities require.  In addition, ITS are an important source of revenue that supports the facilities’ operations.  These services are an important lifeline between the inmates in these facilities and their loved ones. 

“Securus and ICS have a history of competing aggressively to win state and local contracts by offering better financial terms, lower calling rates, and more innovative technology and services.  This merger would have eliminated that competition, plain and simple,” said Makan Delrahim, Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “The companies’ decision to abandon this deal is the right outcome – correctional facilities, inmates and their friends and families will continue to benefit from the robust competition between these firms.”

“I would like to thank our colleagues at the Federal Communications Commission for their cooperation throughout this investigation,” said Assistant Attorney General Delrahim.  “In addition, we are grateful for the cooperation we forged with teams from several State Attorneys General offices during the course of our investigation.”

Securus is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Carrolton, Texas, that is owned by Platinum Equity, a venture capital firm.  Securus is one of the two largest ITS providers in the nation.

ICS is a California LLC headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, that is owned by H.I.G. Capital LLC, a venture capital firm.  It is the fourth largest ITS provider as measured by inmates served. 

A federal grand jury in Boston, Massachusetts, returned an indictment charging three restaurant owners with conspiracy to defraud the United States and filing false tax returns, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

The indictment charges Massachusetts residents, Ayaz Ali Shah of Dedham, Massachusetts, Muhamad Siyab Khan and Khurshed Jehan Badshah, both of Dorchester, Massachusetts, with conspiring to defraud the United States by impeding the lawful functions of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Shah and Badshah also are each charged with two counts of willfully filing their own false individual income tax returns for tax years 2012 and 2013. Khan is charged with two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of his own false and fraudulent tax returns for tax years 2012 and 2013.

According to the indictment, from 2009 through 2014, Shah, Khan, Badshah, and an unindicted co-conspirator, co-owned and operated a carry-out restaurant “New York Fried Chicken and Pizza” in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Shah, Khan, and Badshah each allegedly owned twenty percent of the business while the unindicted co-conspirator owned the other forty percent. The indictment alleges that during this time period, the co-conspirators agreed to underreport the business’s gross receipts, cost of goods sold, and net profit and to report these false amounts on Shah’s 2012 and 2013 individual income tax return, thereby concealing the business’s true partnership nature from the IRS. Khan and Badshah allegedly filed false 2012 and 2013 tax returns that failed to report their gross income.

If convicted, Shah, Khan, and Badshah face a maximum sentence of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge and a maximum sentence of three years in prison on each count of willfully filing a false tax return or aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false and fraudulent tax returns. The defendants also face a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. 

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, FBI, Boston Division, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Boston Police Department, who conducted the investigations, and Trial Attorneys Thomas Voracek and Mark McDonald of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.

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

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Alabama today concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe that the conditions in Alabama’s prisons for men violate the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Department concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe that the men’s prisons fail to protect prisoners from prisoner-on-prisoner violence and prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse, and fail to provide prisoners with safe conditions.

As required by the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), the Department provided Alabama written notice of the supporting facts for these alleged conditions and the minimum remedial measures necessary to address them.  

“The Constitution guarantees all prisoners the right to be housed in safe conditions and not be subjected to violence and sexual abuse,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division. “Our investigation found reasonable cause to believe that Alabama fails to provide constitutionally adequate conditions and that prisoners experience serious harm, including deadly harm, as a result. The Justice Department hopes to work with Alabama to resolve the Department’s concerns.”

“This massive undertaking alleges constitutional troubles in the Alabama Department of Corrections which are serious, systemic, and in need of fundamental and comprehensive change,” U.S. Attorney Jay Town stated.  “That being said, I have great confidence in the State of Alabama’s resolve to correct the prison system’s problems. The commitment by Governor Ivey, Commissioner Dunn, and so many others in the State’s leadership to affirmatively address these inherited issues offers great promise of our development of a meaningful remedy.”

“An extraordinary amount of time and effort was expended to investigate this matter,” said U.S. Attorney Louis Franklin, Sr. “Although the results of this investigation are disturbing, I look at this as an opportunity to acknowledge that the problems are real and need to be addressed immediately. We are committed to working with State officials to ensure that the Department of Corrections abides by its constitutional obligations.” 

“The United States Constitution bans ‘cruel and unusual punishments’ but the conditions found in our investigation of Alabama prisons provide reasonable cause to believe there is a flagrant disregard of that injunction,” said U.S. Attorney Richard Moore. “The failure to respect the rule of law by providing humane treatment for inmates in Alabama prisons is a poor reflection on those of us who live and work in Alabama. We are better than this. We do not need to tarry very long assessing blame, but rather commit to righting this wrong and spare our State further embarrassment. The task is daunting, but one we must embrace now without reservation. I am confident that Governor Ivey and the Legislative leadership in the State of Alabama understand the nature of this inherited problem and that they are committed to sustainable solutions.”

The Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney’s Offices for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Alabama initiated the investigation in October 2016 under CRIPA, which authorizes the Department to take action when it has reasonable cause to believe there is a pattern or practice of deprivation of constitutional rights of individuals confined to state or local government-run correctional facilities. 

This investigation was conducted by attorneys with the Special Litigation Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Alabama.  Individuals with relevant information are encouraged to contact the Department by phone at (877) 419-2366 or by email at USAALN.CivilRights@usa.doj.gov.

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt.

Michael P. Gannon, former Vice President of Sales for a large Chicago-based commercial flooring contractor, has been charged for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids and fix prices for commercial flooring services and products sold in the United States, the Department of Justice announced today.  This charge is the first in the Department’s ongoing investigation into bid rigging and price fixing by commercial flooring contractors. 

Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and Special Agent in Charge, Jeffrey S. Sallet, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Chicago Field Division, made the announcement.

According to a one-count felony charge filed today in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Gannon and his employer engaged in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition in the commercial flooring market by agreeing with other individuals and companies to submit “comp,” or complementary, bids so that the designated company would win the bidding.  According to the charge, Gannon and his co-conspirators rigged bids for commercial flooring services and products for almost a decade, from at least as early as 2009 until as late as June 22, 2017.

“Today’s charge is the first of what we expect to be many in this ongoing investigation into bid rigging,” said Assistant Attorney General Delrahim.  “Any collusion by commercial flooring contractors exploits local communities whose schools, hospitals, charities, and businesses are entitled to the benefits of competitive bidding.  The Justice Department and our law enforcement partners will bring contractors to justice when they cheat rather than compete.”

“The FBI has no tolerance for contractors who seek to profit by criminally exploiting innocent businesses and communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Sallet.  “We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to hold these offenders accountable for their crimes and restore equity to the bidding process.”

A violation of the Sherman Act carries maximum penalties of a $100 million criminal fine for corporations and 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine for individuals.  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.

An information is merely an accusation.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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.

A District of Columbia woman was sentenced to 54 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States and commit theft of public money and aggravated identity theft, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

According to documents filed with the court, from approximately January 2008 through April 2012, Sheila Scutchings, along with others, engaged in a scheme to file false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) claiming refunds to which they were not entitled. Scutchings solicited the names and Social Security numbers of individuals for use in the preparation of those false tax returns. She then caused the fraudulent tax refund checks to be mailed to addresses under her control. Scutchings deposited these refund checks into her own bank account and the account of a co-conspirator, and exchanged others at check cashing businesses. In all, Scutchings caused the IRS to suffer a tax loss of over $1.8 million.

In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer ordered Scutchings to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $1,806,876.06 in restitution to the IRS. The Court entered a consent forfeiture order directing Scutchings to forfeit $673,551.15.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman commended special agents of the Department of Treasury Office of Inspector General and IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Thomas Koelbl and William Guappone, who prosecuted the case.

A Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employee pleaded guilty today to making false statements, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Tammy Karasawa, 44, of Pueblo West, Colorado, pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements before U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello of the District of Colorado.  Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 5, 2019.  

Karasawa was employed at the BOP U.S. Penitentiary Florence ADX facility as a cook foreman.  According to admissions made in connection with her plea, beginning in approximately the summer of 2017, Karasawa began a physical relationship with an inmate under her supervision.  On Aug. 18, 2017, while Karasawa and the inmate were engaging in a physical encounter, one of Karasawa’s coworkers saw the pair, confronted them, and reported the incident to his superiors.  The same day, Karasawa was interviewed by agents from the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General regarding this conduct.  Karasawa admitted that she made multiple false statements during the course of this interview including denying having any type of physical relationship with the inmate.

The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General investigated this case.  Trial Attorney Nicole Lockhart of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section is prosecuting the case.

A federal criminal indictment unsealed today in the Western District of North Carolina charges the founder and Chairman of a multinational investment company, a company consultant and two North Carolina political figures with public corruption and bribery, for their alleged participation in a bribery scheme involving independent expenditure accounts and improper campaign contributions.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina and Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI Charlotte Field Office, made the announcement.

The indictment charges Greg E. Lindberg, 48, of Durham, North Carolina, and founder and Chairman of Eli Global LLC (Eli Global) and the owner of Global Bankers Insurance Group (GBIG); John D. Gray, 68, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina and a consultant for Lindberg; North Carolina state political party Chairman Robert Cannon Hayes, 73, of Concord, North Carolina; and Chairman of a Chatham County political party and an Eli Global executive John V. Palermo, 63, of Pittsboro, North Carolina, with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and aiding and abetting.  Hayes is also charged with three counts of making false statements to the FBI.

The defendants made their initial appearances today before U.S. Magistrate Judge David C. Keesler in federal court in Charlotte.

“The indictment unsealed today outlines a brazen bribery scheme in which Greg Lindberg and his coconspirators allegedly offered hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions in exchange for official action that would benefit Lindberg’s business interests,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.  “Bribery of public officials at any level of government undermines confidence in our political system.  The Criminal Division will use all the tools at our disposal—including the assistance of law-abiding public officials—to relentlessly investigate and prosecute corruption wherever we find it.”

“Thanks to the voluntary reporting of the North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance, we have uncovered an alleged scheme to violate our federal public corruption laws,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “Improper campaign contributions erode the public’s trust in our political institutions.  We will work with our law enforcement partners to investigate allegations of public corruption, safeguard the integrity of the democratic process, and prosecute those who compromise it.”

“These men crossed the line from fundraising to felonies when they devised a plan to use their connections to a political party to attempt to influence the operations and policies of the North Carolina Department of Insurance,” said Special Agent in Charge Strong.  “The FBI will root out any and all forms of public corruption.  We remain committed to ensuring those who violate the public’s sacred trust are held accountable.”

The criminal indictment alleges that in January 2018, the elected Commissioner of Insurance (Commissioner) of the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI) reported concerns to federal law enforcement about political contributions and other requests made by Lindberg and Gray, and agreed to cooperate with the federal investigation that was initiated. 

According to allegations in the indictment, from April 2017 to August 2018, Lindberg, Gray, Palermo and Hayes devised a scheme to defraud and deprive the citizens of North Carolina of the honest services of the Commissioner, an elected State official, through bribery.  As alleged in the indictment, the defendants engaged in a bribery scheme involving independent expenditure accounts and improper campaign contributions, for the purpose of causing the Commissioner to take official action favorable to Lindberg’s company, GBIG.  As the indictment alleges, the defendants gave, offered, and promised the Commissioner millions of dollars in campaign contributions and other things of value, in exchange for the removal of NCDOI’s Senior Deputy Commissioner, who was responsible for overseeing regulation and the periodic examination of GBIG. 

During the time frame relevant to the indictment, Lindberg, Gray, Palermo and the Commissioner held numerous in-person meetings at different locations, including in Statesville, North Carolina, and had telephonic and other communications with each other, and with Hayes, to discuss Lindberg’s request for the personnel change in exchange for millions of dollars, and to devise a plan on how to funnel campaign contributions to the Commissioner anonymously.  In order to conceal the bribery scheme, Palermo allegedly set up, at the direction of Lindberg, two corporate entities to form an independent expenditure committee with the purpose of supporting the Commissioner’s re-election campaign, and funded the entities with $1.5 million as promised to the Commissioner.  Also, at Lindberg and Gray’s direction, Hayes allegedly caused the transfer of $250,000 from monies Lindberg had previously contributed to a North Carolina state party of which Hayes was Chairman, to the Commissioner’s re-election campaign.

On or about Aug. 28, 2018, FBI agents interviewed Hayes about his involvement with and knowledge of the alleged improper campaign contributions.  During the interview, Hayes allegedly lied to FBI agents about directing funds, at Lindberg’s request, from Lindberg’s campaign contribution to the North Carolina state political party to the Commissioner’s re-election campaign; about having any discussions with the Commissioner about Lindberg or Gray; and about discussing with the Commissioner personnel issues related to the Commissioner’s office.  

The details contained in this indictment are allegations.  The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 

The FBI is in charge of the investigation, which is ongoing.

Trial Attorney James C. Mann of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Stetzer and Dana Washington of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte are prosecuting the case.

The Department of Justice today announced that a settlement has been reached with the City of Glendale, Arizona, resolving a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) on behalf of Arizona Air National Guard Member Rebecca Cruz.

According to the complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, the City of Glendale fired Captain Cruz because she needed to miss work to attend military training.   

To resolve this case, the City paid Cruz the back wages and retirement benefits that she lost because of her termination.

“Our nation depends on Captain Cruz and other members of our National Guard. Our laws preserve their civilian jobs when they are called to service,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice ensures that these laws are followed.”

USERRA protects the rights of uniformed servicemembers to retain their civilian employment following absences due to military service obligations, and provides that servicemembers shall not be discriminated against because of their military obligations. This case stems from a referral by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), pursuant to an investigation by the DOL’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service. The case is being handled by the Employment Litigation Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, which works collaboratively with the DOL to protect the jobs and benefits of National Guard servicemembers upon their return to civilian life.

The Justice Department gives high priority to the enforcement of servicemembers’ rights under USERRA. Additional information about USERRA can be found on the Justice Department’s websites at www.usdoj.gov/crt/emp and www.servicemembers.gov, as well as on DOL’s website at www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/main.htm.

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with the Housing Authority of Victoria, Texas (Housing Authority). The settlement resolves a complaint that the Housing Authority discriminated against a lawful permanent resident when it rejected his valid employment documents and fired him in violation of the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). While it is illegal under the INA for employers to knowingly hire individuals without work authorization, it is also illegal under that law for employers to discriminate against lawful permanent residents, among other work-authorized immigrants, in the hiring process.

“Employers should not reject valid employment documents because of a lawful permanent resident’s citizenship status,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “We look forward to working with the Housing Authority to ensure its compliance with the Immigration and Nationality Act.”

The Department’s investigation, which was initiated based upon the lawful permanent resident’s complaint, concluded that the Housing Authority improperly requested that the worker present more documents than necessary to prove his ability to work, thereby rejecting the identification and unrestricted Social Security card he already presented, based on his citizenship status. These actions constitute unfair documentary practices in violation of the INA.

The Department’s investigation also concluded that the Housing Authority improperly terminated the worker based on his citizenship status when he could not comply with its discriminatory document request. Under the INA, workers are allowed to choose from lists of acceptable documents to prove that they are authorized to work, and employers cannot reject valid documents or specify which documents the workers should present because of their citizenship. The INA also prohibits employers from firing U.S. citizens and those who are lawfully in the country and authorized to work based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin.

Under the settlement, the Housing Authority will offer to rehire the injured worker, provide him back wages, pay civil penalties to the United States, train employees on the requirements of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, and be subject to departmental monitoring 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 discrimination against individuals who are authorized to work based on citizenship status and national origin 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 when verifying that workers are eligible to work is available 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. 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; 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.

On April 11, 2019, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division will hold a public roundtable to discuss the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement & Reform Act (ACPERA).  ACPERA reduces the civil damages exposure of a company granted leniency under the Antitrust Division’s Leniency Policy if the company provides civil plaintiffs with timely, “satisfactory cooperation.”  ACPERA, Section 213(b) & (c), 15 U.S.C. § 1 notes.  The Antitrust Division seeks to hear the views of interested stakeholders regarding ACPERA and its impact on the Division’s criminal enforcement efforts. 

The ACPERA Roundtable will provide a public forum for the Antitrust Division to engage with the antitrust community and gain insight from judges, attorneys, economists, academics, the business community, and other interested stakeholders on ACPERA.  The format of the Roundtable will be a series of panel discussions with featured speakers. 

“The Division’s Leniency Policy is critical to the success of our criminal enforcement program.  I am proud to have been at the Division when ACPERA was enacted in 2004 and the Antitrust Division looks forward to examining how ACPERA is operating today,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim.  “The Division values input from those who have experience with ACPERA and other stakeholders who have considered ACPERA’s effects on the self-disclosure of wrongdoing.” 

The roundtable will take place from 1-5 p.m., on April 11, 2019, in the Anne K. Bingaman Auditorium & Lecture Hall on the lower level of the Liberty Square Building, 450 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20530.

In addition, the Antitrust Division is accepting written comments on the efficacy of ACPERA.  Interested parties may submit public comments to ATR.ACPERA.Reg.Info@usdoj.gov until May 31, 2019.  Submitted comments and any submissions from roundtable panelists will be made publicly available on the Antitrust Division’s website.  

To register for the event, please email ATR.ACPERA.Reg.Info@usdoj.gov with your name, organization, and contact information.  

For more information, please see the ACPERA Roundtable webpage or send an email to ATR.ACPERA.Reg.Info@usdoj.gov.

Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Requests should be submitted via email to Jeremy Edwards in the Office of Public Affairs at Jeremy.M.Edwards@usdoj.gov.  Requests should be made in advance.  Please include a detailed description of the accommodation needed and provide contact information.

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, in honor of #WomensHistoryMonth, recognizes the contributions of two former attorneys at the United States Attorney’s Office.

          Alicia A.G. Limtiaco, born and raised in Guam, became the first female U.S. Attorney for Guam and the NMI.  She served from June 21, 2010 to March 10, 2017.   Ms. Limtiaco previously served as the first female Attorney General of Guam and served in that office from January 3, 2007 to June 21, 2010.  She completed undergraduate studies at the University of Southern California, then earned her Juris Doctorate at UCLA School of Law.  Ms. Limtiaco is a Distinguished Fellow with the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma (IVAT) and an International Fellow with the Ho’omaluhia Family Violence and Sexual Assault Institute – Hawai’i Pacific, and serves as a trainer at their international summits.  She is also a legal specialist on contract to the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for Hawai’i County working in the area of domestic violence and sexual assault.

          Ellen A. Lockwood was the first female Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Guam office.  She was sworn in on June 8, 1987.  On July 29, 1989, Ellen transferred as an AUSA to the Western District of Texas.  She currently works in private practice and as an adjunct professor at St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio.  She is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center.

Donald Washington was sworn in as the director of the U.S. Marshals Service today in a ceremony at the Tom Stagg U.S. District Court in Shreveport, Louisiana, with Chief Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. presiding and Chief Judge Carl E. Stewart of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals administering the oath of office.

Washington becomes the agency’s 11th director since the office was established in 1970.

The Department of Justice will hold a ceremonial installation service for Washington when he arrives at Marshals headquarters.

“We are thrilled to have Director Washington return to the Department. He brings a wealth of experience as a former U.S. Attorney and lawyer in various private and corporate capacities,” said U.S. Attorney General William Barr. “We look forward to formally welcoming him to the U.S. Marshals Service at a ceremony April 11th.”

President Donald Trump nominated Washington Oct. 2, 2018, to lead the U.S. Marshals. The U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination March 14. 

A 1977 West Point graduate, Washington served in the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserve until 1987.  In 1989, he received his Juris Doctor from South Texas College of Law, Houston, Texas. After law school, Washington began his legal career as an attorney at Conoco Inc.

In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed him U.S. Attorney for Western Louisiana, a 42-parish federal jurisdiction that includes Lafayette, Shreveport, Alexandria, Monroe and Lake Charles.  Washington served on several U.S. Attorney General’s Advisory Committees, as well as subcommittees on Civil Rights, Controlled Substances, and Native American Issues. Washington also served as the Chairman of the Southeastern U.S. Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.  In 2010, he returned to private practice in Lafayette, Louisiana. 

A federal court in Beaumont, Texas, entered a permanent injunction against Sylvia Rodriguez, aka Sylvia Ornelas, barring her from preparing federal tax returns for others and owning or operating a tax preparation business, the Justice Department today announced.

The court found that Rodriguez engaged in fraudulent and deceptive conduct that substantially interfered with the administration of the tax laws.

In its complaint, the government alleged that Rodriguez prepared tax returns making false or fraudulent claims for the Earned Income Tax Credit, the fuel tax credit, and the American Opportunity Credit. In addition, Rodriguez allegedly reported fictitious business and inflated federal income tax withholdings on her customers’ returns. Also, according to the complaint, Rodriguez did not give some customers copies of their filed tax returns, or gave them returns that were different from those that were filed.

Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’ Dirty Dozen Tax Scams and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant. The IRS has information on its website about selecting 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.

A federal court in Dallas, Texas, permanently enjoined Jhane Broadway, individually and doing business as Jeprofessionalz (aka MaxTaxPros), from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. 

The order, issued by District Judge David C. Godbey, also requires Broadway to mail or email notice of the injunction order to all customers for whom she prepared a federal tax return or claim for refund for tax years 2015 through 2017.

The government alleged that Broadway unlawfully prepared federal income tax returns that understate the tax liabilities of her customers by claiming false, improper, or inflated deductions, including fabricated Schedule A itemized deductions and Schedule C business losses.

The court’s order also prohibits Broadway from having an ownership interest in or working for any entity that prepares tax returns or represents clients before the Internal Revenue Service. Broadway consented to the order.

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.

Attorney General William P. Barr issued the following statement:

“Today, I am pleased to announce that I am appointing Jessie Liu as chairwoman of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee of United States Attorneys (AGAC).  Jessie Liu, an outstanding attorney with broad experience, is widely-respected, within the Department.  She currently leads more than 300 prosecutors at our nation's largest U.S. Attorney’s office. Jessie will be an integral part of our leadership at the Department.  We will all benefit from her universally-regarded expertise and dedication to public service. I would also like to thank Richard Moore, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, for his outstanding tenure as chair of the AGAC, and his contributions to the management of the Department.  He will remain a key advisor on the committee.”

Harold Thomas Martin, III, age 54, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to the federal charge of willful retention of national defense information.

The guilty plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur for the District of Maryland, Assistant Director John Brown of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office.

“The American people entrusted Harold Martin with some of the nation’s most sensitive classified secrets,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers.  “In turn, Martin owed them a duty to safeguard this information.  He has admitted to violating their trust and putting our nation’s security at risk.  With today’s plea, we are one step closer to holding Mr. Martin accountable for his dangerous and unlawful actions.” 

“Harold Martin was entrusted with highly classified national defense information.  Today, Martin admitted that he betrayed that trust and for more than 20 years he stole and retained a vast quantity of highly classified government information,” stated U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “We will prosecute government employees and contractors who flagrantly violate their duty to protect classified materials.”

“Federal government employees and contractors with security clearances pledge to protect classified information, an essential part of guarding our national security,” said Assistant Director Brown.  “Harold Martin repeatedly violated that pledge by taking large quantities of classified information over many years.  This case demonstrates the FBI does not take such violations lightly and will vigorously investigate these cases.”

“Security clearance holders bear a profound public trust - to safeguard classified information in secure settings with strict adherence to law and policy,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Moore.  “When this trust is broken, as with Mr. Martin, the FBI will be tireless and comprehensive in its investigation to hold wrong doers accountable.  The take away from this case is for security clearance holders to abide by laws and security policy for handling classified information, to keep it safe for the good of the country.”

According to his plea agreement, from December 1993 through Aug. 27, 2016, Martin was employed by at least seven different private companies and assigned as a contractor to work at a number of government agencies.  Martin was required to receive and maintain a security clearance in order to work at each of the government agencies to which he was assigned.  Martin held security clearances that allowed him to have access to Top Secret and Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) at various times.  A Top Secret classification means that unauthorized disclosure reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security of the United States.  An SCI designation compartmentalizes extremely sensitive information.  Because of his work responsibilities and security clearance, Martin was able to access government computer systems, programs, and information in secure locations, including classified national defense information.  Over his many years of holding a security clearance, Martin received training regarding classified information and his duty to protect classified materials from unauthorized disclosure.

Martin admitted that beginning in the late 1990s and continuing through Aug. 31, 2016, he stole and retained U.S. government property, from secure locations and computer systems, including documents that bore markings indicating that they were the property of the United States and contained highly classified information of the United States, including TOP SECRET/SCI information. 

As detailed in his plea agreement, Martin retained a vast quantity of stolen documents and other information, in both hard copy and digital form, bearing standard classification markings and relating to the national defense, at his residence and in his vehicle.  Martin knew that the hard copy and digital documents stolen from his workplace contained classified information that related to the national defense and that he was never authorized to retain these documents at his residence or in his vehicle.  Martin admitted that he also knew that the unauthorized removal of these materials risked their disclosure, which would be damaging to the national security of the United States and highly useful to its enemies.

Martin and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Martin will be sentenced to nine years in prison for willful retention of national defense information.  U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for July 17, 2019. 

Assistant Attorney General Demers and U.S. Attorney Hur and commended the FBI for its work in the investigation and thanked the National Security Agency for its assistance.  Mr. Demers and Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary A. Myers and Harvey E. Eisenberg, and Trial Attorney David Aaron of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, who are prosecuting the case.

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division today issued the 2019 edition of its annual Spring Newsletter on its website. The Newsletter highlights the Antitrust Division’s recent activities and successes on civil and criminal enforcement, international cooperation, and competition advocacy. The Newsletter also includes a message from Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim.

“In early March 2019, the Division announced this year’s Antitrust AAG Awards, and I encouraged those in attendance to take a moment to remember what they commemorate first and foremost: victories for the American consumer,” said Assistant Attorney General Delrahim in his ‘Message from Makan.’  “Those victories did not come easy. Each of the Division’s attorneys answered the call to public service. They worked long and often unpredictable hours in the office, on the road, and in the courtroom. Every time, though, they came back eager for the next opportunity to do what they do best: represent the United States of America in its mission to enforce the antitrust laws. As we embark on the next year of antitrust enforcement, that mission will carry on.”

The Newsletter highlights these milestones and accomplishments, and features profiles of Division leadership and staff. It can be found at https://www.justice.gov/atr/division-operations/division-update-spring-2019.

A former lobbyist pleaded guilty today to making a false statement to U.S. Postal Inspectors in connection with an ongoing federal investigation and proceedings concerning a five-year multi-million dollar high-yield investment fraud scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  

Christopher Petrella, 51, of Greer, South Carolina, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer of the Western District of North Carolina to one count of making a false statement.  Sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled, will be before U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad of the Western District of North Carolina.

Petrella was indicted in October 2018 for one count of obstruction of justice. Under the plea agreement, the government will move to dismiss the indictment at sentencing.   

As part of his guilty plea, Petrella admitted that, in an attempt to mislead federal law enforcement about his involvement in a high-yield investment scheme involving Niyato Industries Inc (Niyato), he knowingly and willfully made the false claim that he had filed a “quarterly report” with U.S. Congress pursuant to certain requirements applicable to federal lobbyists, such as himself.  The “quarterly report” purportedly disclosed to authorities that certain individuals had made false and misleading statements about Niyato’s business and operations on Niyato’s Twitter and Facebook pages. 

Ten individuals had been previously indicted by a Charlotte grand jury for their alleged roles in a high-yield investment scheme involving Niyato.  The charges in that case allege that the defendants raised money from investors by representing that Niyato manufactured electric and compressed natural gas automobiles when, in truth, the company had no facilities, no operations and no capability to manufacture anything.  Two defendants were recently found guilty of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, following a three-week trial and are awaiting sentencing.  Four other defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.  One additional defendant has pleaded guilty and received a sentence of 102 months in prison in connection with his role in the Niyato case and in an unrelated Costa Rican sweepstakes fraud.  Daniel Thomas Broyles, Sr., 61, of Beverly Hills, California, was also charged and remains a fugitive.  An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  Trial Attorneys William Bowne and Christopher Fenton of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

A federal court in Miami, Florida, entered a permanent injunction today barring Vilbrun Simon, Saintanise Agenord, Simon Accounting & Tax Services LLC, and Village Tax Multi Services from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced.

In the complaint filed in this case, the government alleged that defendants filed federal tax returns that fabricated income, deductions, and credits in order to falsely inflate the refunds claimed on their customers’ returns. The government further alleged that defendants usually deducted their fee for preparing returns from the customer’s refund without the customer’s knowledge.

After a three-day bench trial, the court granted the United States’ request for a permanent injunction prohibiting defendants from engaging in certain activities related to preparing tax returns for others. The court also prohibited defendants from operating, managing, or participating in any business which prepares federal tax returns. The court’s order also requires defendants to post notification on any entry into any business they own or operate, directly or directly, that no tax return will be prepared at such location or by any of the defendants at any other location.

In an earlier order, the court barred defendant Wilcienne Pierre from preparing tax returns for others.

Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’ Dirty Dozen Tax Scams and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant. The IRS has information on its website about selecting 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.

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands announced that defendants VINCENT DAVID CABRERA, JR. a/k/a “Bong,” 40, and EUGENE BLAS REPEKI, JR., a/k/a “Uncle,” 40, were each sentenced to 180-month terms of imprisonment for Conspiracy to Manufacture Methamphetamine.

          The investigation revealed that from July 1, 2017, through February 25, 2018, Cabrera and Repeki, along with others, purchased pseudoephedrine, a precursor ingredient of methamphetamine, from local pharmacies.  The men then used the substance to make over fifty grams of pure methamphetamine through the extremely dangerous and volatile “shake and bake” (or “one pot”) method.  During sentencing on March 15, 2019, Chief U.S. District Judge Ramona V. Manglona found that both Cabrera and Repeki were leaders of the conspiracy.  She also determined that their actions had caused a significant risk to human life.

          United States Attorney Anderson stated, “The Department of Justice will not allow the CNMI to become a safe haven for the manufacture of illicit drugs.  As this case demonstrates, the production of methamphetamine is not only dangerous, but can result in a substantial term in federal prison.  I applaud the work of DEA and our local partners in combating this activity.”

          The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with the assistance of task force officers from the CNMI Department of Public Safety and the CNMI Division of Customs.  The case was prosecuted by Garth R. Backe, Assistant United States Attorney for the District of the NMI.

Today, the Antitrust Division was honored to dedicate the Anne K. Bingaman Auditorium and Lecture Hall in the Liberty Square Building in Washington, DC.  Anne Bingaman was the first woman to lead the Antitrust Division as Assistant Attorney General.  She was nominated to the role by President Clinton and confirmed by the Senate on June 16, 1993.  She served as Assistant Attorney General from 1993 to 1996. 

Former Assistant Attorney General Bingaman was present and offered recollections from her time at the Division.  The Honorable Diane P. Wood, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit also shared remarks.  The Division also was pleased to welcome other former Antitrust Division officials, including former Assistant Attorney General James Rill. 

Included among her many accomplishments, former Assistant Attorney General Bingaman launched the Division’s criminal leniency program as well as the Division’s Paralegal Unit, both of which continue to this day.  She also led major civil investigations into Microsoft’s monopolization of PC operating systems and into price fixing by two dozen NASDAQ securities firms.

To recognize Assistant Attorney General Bingaman’s many contributions to the Division, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim chose to dedicate the newly renovated auditorium and lecture hall in the Liberty Square Building in her honor.  This state-of-the-art facility is equipped with advanced displays, multimedia conference equipment, and broadcast capabilities.  It will allow the Antitrust Division to host lectures; train lawyers, economists, and paralegals; and present valuable programming to advance the Division’s law enforcement and competition advocacy mission.

A citizen of Nigeria residing in Atlanta, and a citizen of Mexico residing in California, were convicted Wednesday after a seven-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee on charges related to the part each played in an international cyber fraud scheme.

Olufolajimi Abegunde, 31, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Javier Luis Ramos-Alonso, 29, of Seaside, California, participated in a criminal organization in which members “spoofed” emails and created fake profiles on dating websites in order to fool victims into sending money to bogus bank accounts under the control of members of the conspiracy.  The proceeds would be laundered and subsequently wired out of the United States to destinations including West Africa. 

Abegunde, who received an MBA from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, engaged in black-market currency exchanges over the life of the conspiracy.  Purporting to hold himself out as a legitimate businessman, the proof at trial showed that Abegunde claimed association with a business entity that was not yet operational in late 2017, so for his primary source of income he relied on his off-the-book currency exchanges.  Through this network, Abegeunde played a key role, along with Ramos-Alonso, in laundering fraud funds from an Oct. 3, 2016, business email compromise (BEC) of a land title company located in Bellingham, Washington.  The proceeds of another BEC perpetrated in July 2016 upon a real estate company in Memphis, Tennessee, also moved through parts of the same criminal organization.

Abegunde, who faced numerous account closures from banks in the United States, used a complicated network of third-party bank accounts to disguise his illicit activity.  The proof at trial established that Abegunde told people that he could not receive payments into accounts that could be “tracked,” and that he preferred to engage in cash transactions because they were easier to clean and “eliminated the risk.”     

In July 2014, Ramos-Alonso met Tammy Dolan through an online dating site.  Ramos-Alonso engaged in a three-year romantic relationship with Dolan, who claimed to be an Australian American living in Africa, despite never meeting or speaking with Dolan.  Shortly after meeting Dolan, Ramos-Alonso began sending money to her through an intricate network of strangers based in Africa and the United States, and he continued to do so despite receiving multiple warnings from businesses and individuals that he was facilitating criminal conduct.  The evidence at trial established that Dolan was actually a front for individuals connected to the money-laundering scheme who were directing Ramos-Alonso to move funds.  The evidence at trial established that, by the time of the first BEC in July 2016, Ramos-Alonso had “graduated” to a position of trust within the criminal organization, as he received and disbursed a large portion of a $154,000 wire transfer before the victim bank could freeze the funds.  In October 2016, Ramos-Alonso received and dispersed approximately $60,000 associated with the Oct. 3, 2016 BEC in Washington, a portion of which he deposited (or attempted to deposit) into accounts controlled by Abegunde.  Ramos-Alonso funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraud funds on behalf of the criminal organization. 

In addition to his financial activities, Abegunde also engaged in a conspiracy to commit marriage fraud.  Abegunde was married during his studies at Texas A&M, but divorced his wife in 2016 to marry a U.S. service member through whom he could obtain immigration and health care benefits and also open new bank accounts.  He continued to live with his first wife in Atlanta while his U.S. service member wife was deployed to South Korea.  While incarcerated and awaiting trial in the Western District of Tennessee, Abegunde continued his conspiratorial activities, trying to convince his fake spouse, who has since filed for divorce, to refuse to testify against him.  Abegunde is contesting the divorce from his fake spouse.  Abegunde also engaged in witness tampering by sending a self-written Motion to Dismiss bearing his former attorney’s name and professional attestation.  The evidence at trial established that Abegunde drafted and sent the motion, which his attorney expressly did not authorize, to his faux spouse in an effort to deceive her into not testifying against him.      

Five other individuals have pleaded guilty to being involved in the scheme.  Additionally, three foreign nationals are awaiting extradition to the United States to face trial.  Several others are still at large.

Sentencing for Abegunde and Ramos-Alonso is set for June 21, 2019, before the Honorable Judge Sheryl H. Lipman.

The FBI’s Memphis Field Office investigated the case with assistance from agents in Atlanta and San Jose, California.  Senior Trial Attorney Timothy C. Flowers with the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra L. Ireland prosecuted the case. 

For more information or to view a list of aliases used by members of the conspiracy on dating websites and social media, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtn/victim-witness-program.

A former candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives pleaded guilty today to wire fraud and willfully violating the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) by operating fraudulent and unregistered political action committees.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.

Harold Russell Taub, 30, of Cranston, Rhode Island, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of willfully violating FECA before U.S. District Judge William E. Smith for the District of Rhode Island.  Sentencing is set for July 12, 2019.

According to the Information, in late 2016, Taub began soliciting donations to an organization he called Keeping America in Republican Control (KAIRC), which he represented to be a legitimate political committee, organized in accordance with federal law to support Republican candidates at the state and federal level.  In March 2018, Taub began soliciting donations to another purported political action committee, Keeping Ohio in Republican Control (KOIRC), with the stated purpose of supporting Republican candidates in Ohio.  Taub collected a total of approximately $1,630,439 in contributions to KAIRC and KOIRC, but never registered either entity with the FEC or made required reports to the FEC, as required by FECA.

Taub admitted as part of the plea that he held KAIRC and KOIRC out as legitimate, federally-registered political actions committees on his website, in social media posts, and in email solicitations that reached hundreds of donors.  Taub represented that all of KAIRC and KOIRC’s staff were volunteers and that “100 percent” of donations were used to support candidates.  However, of the more than $1.6 million in contributions to KAIRC and KOIRC, Taub used more than $1 million for purely personal expenses.  In furtherance of his fraudulent scheme, Taub also repeatedly used the name of a former Ambassador and high-level military officer without the knowledge or permission of the person, even after being instructed not to do so. 

The FBI investigated the case.  Trial Attorney Peter M. Nothstein of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section is prosecuting the case.

An Australian man was sentenced today to 24 months in prison on four counts of violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which criminalizes knowing transactions with Iranian entities without a license from the U.S. Department of Treasury. 

David Russell Levick, 57, of Cherrybrook NSW, Australia, pled guilty to the charges on Feb. 1, 2019, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  He was sentenced by the Honorable James E. Boasberg.  In addition to the prison term, Levick must pay a forfeiture amount of $199,227, which represents the total value of the goods involved in the illegal transactions.  Following completion of his prison term, Levick will be subject to deportation proceedings.

The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers; U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu of the District of Columbia; Acting Special Agent in Charge William Higgins of the Commerce Department’s Office of Export Enforcement Boston Field Office; Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Special Agent in charge Peter C. Fitzhugh of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Boston and Special Agent in Charge Leigh-Alistair Barzey of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Northeast Field Office.

According to the plea documents, Levick was the general manager of ICM Components, Inc., located in Thornleigh Australia.  He solicited purchase orders and business for the goods from a representative of a trading company in Iran.  This person in Iran, referenced in court documents as “Iranian A,” also operated and controlled companies in Malaysia that acted as intermediaries for the Iranian trading company.

Levick then placed orders with U.S. companies on behalf of “Iranian A” for the goods, which were aircraft parts and other items that “Iranian A” could not have directly purchased from the United States without the permission of the U.S. government.

The defendant admitted to procuring or attempting to procure the following items for transshipment to Iran, each of which required a license from the Treasury Department prior to any export to Iran:

• Precision Pressure Transducers.  These are sensor devices that have a wide variety of applications in the avionics industry, among others, and can be used for altitude measurements, laboratory testing, measuring instrumentations and recording barometric pressure.
• Emergency Floatation System Kits.  These kits contained a landing gear, float bags, composite cylinder and a complete electrical installation kit.  Such float kits were designed for use on Bell 206 helicopters to assist the helicopter when landing in either water or soft desert terrain.  
• Shock Mounted Light Assemblies.  These items are packages of lights and mounting equipment designed for high vibration use and which can be used on helicopters and other fixed wing aircraft.  

When necessary, Levick used a broker in Tarpon Springs, Florida, through whom orders could be placed for the parts to further conceal the fact that the parts were intended for transshipment to “Iranian A” in Iran.  Levick intentionally concealed the ultimate end-use and end-users of the parts from manufacturers, distributors, shippers, and freight forwarders located in the United States and elsewhere.  In addition, Levick and others structured their payments between each other for the parts to avoid trade restrictions imposed on Iranian financial institutions by other countries.  Levick and ICM wired money to companies located in the United States as payment for the parts.

The activities took place in 2007 and 2008.  Levick was indicted in February 2012.  At the request of the United States, Australia arrested him for the purposes of extradition, and Australia extradited him to the United States in December 2018.  He has remained in custody here.

The investigation was conducted by agents from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry Security and the Boston Office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  Assistance was provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas A. Gillice and Brenda Johnson, and investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Denise Cheung and John Borchert, all of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, as well as former Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Petalas of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Will Mackie of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

The Department of Justice today filed a Statement of Interest in U.S. District Court in New Jersey supporting a lawsuit by the Ramapough Mountain Indians (Ramapough) that the Township of Mahwah (Township) violated the tribe’s rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person’s Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) by interfering with religious assembly on property the tribe owns in the Township.

“RLUIPA is an important law protecting the religious exercise of people of all faiths.  The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that this law and other laws protecting religious freedom are fully and properly applied,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Right Division. 

RLUIPA protects the rights of all religious communities to worship on their land free from discriminatory barriers and unlawful burdens,” New Jersey U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said.  “Our office will continue to vigorously enforce the rights guaranteed by RLUIPA and take steps to ensure that it is applied correctly in our District.”

In the suit, Ramapough Mountain Indians, Inc. v. Township of Mahwah, filed last May, the Ramapough allege that the Township substantially burdened their religious exercise by rescinding a zoning permit that authorized religious worship, limiting the number of people permitted on the property for religious gatherings, demanding the removal of structures central to the Ramapough’s worship including a sweat lodge, a prayer circle, and an altar, issuing large fines, and initiating civil and criminal enforcement proceedings. The tribe also alleges that the Township treated it differently from other similarly situated nonreligious groups. 

In September 2018, the Ramapough sought to amend their complaint. The United States’ Statement of Interest argues that the amended complaint properly state claims under RLUIPA.  The United States argues that the Township has imposed a substantial burden on the Rampough’s religious exercise without adequate justification, and has not treated its use of the land equally with nonreligious uses of land. The Statement of Interest further argues that those RLUIPA claims, which allege that the Township’s conduct has “significantly chilled Ramapough’s use of the land for religious purposes,” are ripe for consideration by the court.     

RLUIPA is a federal law that protects religious institutions from unduly burdensome or discriminatory land use regulations. Last year, the Justice Department announced its Place to Worship Initiative, which focusses on RLUIPA’s provisions that protect the rights of religious institutions to worship on their land.  More information is available at www.justice.gov/crt/placetoworship.

In July 2018, the Department of Justice announced the formation of the Religious Liberty Task Force.  The Task Force brings together Department components to coordinate their work on religious liberty litigation and policy, and to implement the Attorney General’s 2017 Religious Liberty Guidance.

Individuals who believe they have been subjected to discrimination in land use or zoning decisions may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Hotline at (855) 281-3339 or the Civil Rights Division Housing and Civil Enforcement Section at (800) 896-7743, or on the complaint portal on the Place to Worship Initiative website. 

Attorney General William P. Barr issued the following statement:

"Violence on the basis of religion is evil. Today's attack in New Zealand is a sobering reminder that the threat of political and religious violence is real and that we must remain vigilant against it. The Justice Department joins in mourning with the people of New Zealand.”

Ron Rockwell Hansen, 58, a resident of Syracuse, Utah, and a former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officer, pleaded guilty today in the District of Utah in connection with his attempted transmission of national defense information to the People’s Republic of China.  Sentencing is set for Sept. 24, 2019. 

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney John Huber for the District of Utah and Special Agent in Charge Paul Haertel of the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office announced the charges.

Hansen retired from the U.S. Army as a Warrant Officer with a background in signals intelligence and human intelligence.  He speaks fluent Mandarin-Chinese and Russian.  DIA hired Hansen as a civilian intelligence case officer in 2006.  Hansen held a Top Secret clearance for many years, and signed several non-disclosure agreements during his tenure at DIA and as a government contractor.

As Hansen admitted in the plea agreement, in early 2014, agents of a Chinese intelligence service targeted Hansen for recruitment and he began meeting with them regularly in China.  During those meetings, the Chinese agents described to Hansen the type of information that would interest the Chinese intelligence service.  During the course of his relationship with the agents of the Chinese intelligence service, Hansen received hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation for information he provided them, including information he gathered at various industry conferences.  Between May 24, 2016 and June 2, 2018, Hansen solicited from an intelligence case officer working for the DIA national defense information that Hansen knew the Chinese intelligence service would find valuable.  Hansen agreed to act as a conduit to sell that information to the Chinese.  Hansen advised the DIA case officer how to record and transmit classified information without detection, and explained how to hide and launder any funds received as payment for classified information.  The DIA case officer reported Hansen’s conduct to the DIA and subsequently acted as a confidential human source for the FBI.

As Hansen further admitted in the plea agreement, Hansen met with the DIA case officer on June 2, 2018, and received from that individual documents containing national defense information that Hansen previously solicited.  The documents Hansen received were classified. The information in the documents related to the national defense of the United States in that it related to United States military readiness in a particular region and was closely held by the United States government.  Hansen reviewed the documents, queried the DIA case officer about their contents, and took written notes about the materials relating to the national defense information.  Hansen advised the DIA case officer that he would remember most of the details about the documents he received that day and would conceal some notes about the material in the text of an electronic document that Hansen would prepare at the airport before leaving for China.  Hansen intended to provide the information he received to the agents of the Chinese intelligence service with whom he had been meeting, and Hansen knew that the information was to be used to the injury of the United States and to the advantage of a foreign nation.

Hansen pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to gather or deliver national defense information to aid a foreign government.  The plea agreement calls for an agreed-upon sentence of 15 years.

Special agents of the FBI, IRS, U.S. Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense, U.S. Army Counterintelligence, and the Defense Intelligence Agency were involved in the investigation. 

The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert A. Lund, Karin Fojtik, Mark K. Vincent and Alicia Cook of the District of Utah, and Trial Attorneys Patrick T. Murphy, Matthew J. McKenzie and Adam L. Small of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.  Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington assisted with this case.

Two brothers were sentenced today for their participation in a 2014 fraudulent scheme to trade in options ahead of SAP SE’s (SAP) acquisition of Concur Technologies (Concur), which netted them and their co-conspirators hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits.  

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Criminal Investigations Group Inspector in Charge Delany DeLeon-Colon of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey S. Sallet of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office made the announcement.

Douglas Miller, 44, of Dyer, Indiana, who pleaded guilty in September 2018 to one count of conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud and one count of making a false statement, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Philip P. Simon of the Northern District of Indiana to serve 24 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release, and to forfeit $209,915.88 in illegal proceeds from the scheme.  Edward Miller, 46, of Munster, Indiana, who pleaded guilty in September 2018 to one count of conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud and one count of obstruction of justice, was sentenced by Judge Simon to serve six months in prison followed by two years of supervised release, and to forfeit $222,628.17 in illegal proceeds from the scheme.

According to admissions made in connection with their guilty pleas, Douglas and his brother, Edward Miller obtained material, nonpublic information from Christopher Salis, a global vice president at SAP, about SAP’s September 2014 acquisition of Concur.  Douglas and Edward Miller and others then purchased securities in Concur based on this information for the purposes of profiting from these transactions and returning a portion of the profits to Salis, the defendants admitted.  Following the acquisition, the Millers and their co-conspirators sold the securities and earned hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits. 

The Millers also admitted to taking further steps to conceal their scheme by structuring financial transactions and using “burner” phones to communicate with their co-conspirators.  Upon learning of federal investigations into the insider trading scheme, Edward Miller took steps to hinder and impede the investigation, including by destroying electronic data found on the “burner” phones.  Douglas Miller also admitted to lying to federal investigators about his involvement in the scheme.

In February 2017, Salis pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud in connection with the scheme.  Salis is scheduled to be sentenced on March 22.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Mail Fraud Team and the FBI’s Chicago Field Office.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Justin D. Weitz and Trial Attorney Jennifer L. Farer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.  Trial Attorneys Gary Winters and L. Rush Atkinson of the Fraud Section previously worked on this matter.  The Department appreciates the substantial assistance of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

President Trump’s FY 2020 Budget proposal totals $29 billion for the Department of Justice to support federal law enforcement and criminal justice priorities of our state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners.  The request represents a comprehensive investment in the Justice mission and includes increases in funding for strengthening security efforts to reduce violent crime, enforce the nation’s immigration laws, combat the opioid epidemic, and continues its commitment to National Security. 

“The men and women of the Department of Justice perform critical duties every day that keep the American people safe, protect civil rights, and  uphold the rule of law,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “Over the past year, federal prosecutions of violent offenses, drug offenses, firearm offenses, immigration violations, and white collar crimes have all gone up while violent crime nationally has gone down. The President’s budget request increases our resources for fighting the opioid epidemic, transnational organized crime, violent crime, illegal immigration, and cybersecurity threats, and I urge our representatives in Congress to pass it into law.”

 The Department of Justice’s areas of investment include:

• +$290.5 million in program enhancements and transfers to fight the opioid crisis and support law enforcement safety.  Additional resources will be devoted to combatting transnational criminal organizations, known for supplying illicit substances to the United States.
• +$137.9 million to strengthen federal law enforcement’s ability to reduce violent crime.
• +$72.1 million in immigration related program enhancements to enhance border security and immigration enforcement.  These investments will also improve our ability to conduct immigration hearings to help combat illegal immigration.
• +$132.0 million in program enhancements to address critical national security and cyber threats.
• $4.3 billion in discretionary and mandatory funding for federal grants to state, local, and tribal law enforcement and victims of crime, to ensure greater safety for law enforcement personnel and the people they serve.  Critical programs aimed at protecting the life and safety of state and local law enforcement personnel, including the Public Safety Partnership Program and the Project Safe Neighborhood Program, demonstrate our continuing commitment to supporting state, local, and tribal law enforcement.

For more information, view the FY 2020 Budget and Performance Summary at https://www.justice.gov/doj/fy-2020-budget-and-performance-summary.

Drug Enforcement and the Opioid Crisis

The United States is in the midst of the deadliest drug epidemic in American history.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 70,200 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2017, a 10 percent increase from the previous year.[1] Over 47,600, or over two-thirds, of these overdose deaths were caused by heroin, fentanyl, and prescription opioids.  The President declared a National Public Health Emergency in October 2017, and the Department remains committed to doing its part to protect the American people from the impact of drugs and drug-related crime nationwide.

The FY 2020 budget requests $291 million in program enhancements and transfers to combat the opioid crisis and bolster drug enforcement efforts.  These resources enable the Department to target the drug trafficking organizations responsible for opioid abuse and drug-related violence in our communities.  It also bolsters the capacity of Department agents to deny revenues to drug traffickers using the best cyber capabilities and technologies, enabling the Department to keep pace with these nefarious actors.

For more information, view the Drug Enforcement and the Opioid Crisis Fact Sheet at https://www.justice.gov/doj/fy-2020-budget-fact-sheets.

Combating Violent Crime

Protecting the American people from violent crime is a top priority for the Department of Justice.  Unfortunately, in recent years, crime has been on the rise throughout the country.  FBI statistics show that, in 2015 and 2016, the United States experienced the largest increases in violent crime in a quarter-century.[2]  Over those two years, violent crime increased by nearly 7 percent.  Robberies, assaults, and rapes all increased, and murder increased by a shocking 20 percent. 

In 2017 and 2018, the Department revitalized Federal efforts to fight violent crime, including the launch of the enhanced Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, which brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.  In FY 2018, the Department prosecuted the greatest number of violent criminals in at least 25 years—since the Department began tracking “violent crime” as a category.

The FY 2020 budget requests $137.9 million in program enhancements to reduce violent crime and combat transnational criminal organizations.  The Department of Justice is committed to restoring law and order by providing Federal resources where they are most needed and most effective.  These resources will enable the Department to dismantle the worst criminal organizations, target the most violent offenders, and protect the public.

For more information, view the Combating Violent Crime Fact Sheet at https://www.justice.gov/doj/fy-2020-budget-fact-sheets.

Enforce Immigration Laws

The FY 2020 budget strengthens the Nation’s security through stronger enforcement of the Nation’s immigration laws.  The Department is requesting $72.1 million in immigration related program enhancements for FY 2020, which will enhance border security and immigration enforcement.  These investments will also improve our ability to conduct immigration hearings to help combat illegal immigration to the United States by expanding capacity, improving efficiency, and removing impediments to the timely administration of justice.  This budget supports the Department’s efforts, along with our partners at the Department of Homeland Security, to fix our immigration system.

For more information, view the Enforce Immigration Laws Fact Sheet at https://www.justice.gov/doj/fy-2020-budget-fact-sheets.

National Security and Cyber

National security remains the Department’s highest priority.  Threats are constantly evolving, requiring additional investments to mitigate those threats in innovative ways.  Terrorists seek to sabotage critical infrastructure; organized crime syndicates seek to defraud banks and corporations; and spies seek to steal defense and intelligence secrets and intellectual property.  Each threatens our nation’s economy and security. 

The FY 2020 budget supports the Department in responding to those evolving threats by dedicating $132 million to provide program enhancements for areas of 1) Cyber, 2) Counterterrorism, 3) Counterintelligence, and 4) Dignitary Protection.

State, Local, and Tribal Assistance

The Justice Department is solidly committed to the President’s initiatives to reduce violent crime and address the opioid epidemic.  Federal law enforcement officers constitute only 15 percent of the total number of law enforcement officers nationwide; therefore, 85 percent of the officer support relies upon strong partnership with state and local law enforcement.  The Department supports its partners in state and local law enforcement, who have critical intelligence about violent crime in their communities, and whose actions are crucial in the fight against violent crime and the opioid epidemic. 

The FY 2020 budget continues its commitment to state, local and tribal law enforcement by investing approximately $4.3 billion in discretionary and mandatory funding in programs to assist them.  Funding has been prioritized to meet the most pressing law enforcement concerns – violent crime and opioid abuse – and to help the victims of crime.

For more information, view the State, Local and Tribal Assistance Fact Sheet at https://www.justice.gov/doj/fy-2020-budget-fact-sheets

[1] Hedegaard H. Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999-2017. NCHS Data Brief, no 329. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db329_tables-508.pdf

[2] U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Fed. Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States, 2016: Table 1 & n.6, https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/tables/table-1; for data years prior to 1995, see U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Fed. Bureau of Investigation, UCR Data Tool, https://www.ucrdatatool.gov/index.cfm.

Attorney General William P. Barr and multiple law enforcement partners today announced the largest coordinated sweep of elder fraud cases in history, surpassing last year’s nationwide sweep. The cases during this sweep involved more than 260 defendants from around the globe who victimized more than two million Americans, most of them elderly. The Department took action in every federal district across the country, through the filing of criminal or civil cases or through consumer education efforts. In each case, offenders allegedly engaged in financial schemes that targeted or largely affected seniors. In total, the charged elder fraud schemes caused alleged losses of millions of more dollars than last year, putting the total alleged losses at this year’s sweep at over three fourths of one billion dollars.

Attorney General Barr was joined in the announcement by FBI Deputy Director David L. Bowdich; Executive Associate Director Derek Benner for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Joseph Simons; Louisiana Attorney General and President of the National Association of Attorneys General Jeff Landry; Director Randolph Alles of the Secret Service; Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale; Barbara Stewart CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service; and former FBI director and CIA director Judge Webster and Lynda Webster.

The charges are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

“Crimes against the elderly target some of the most vulnerable people in our society,” Attorney General William P. Barr said. “But thanks to the hard work of our agents and prosecutors, as well as our state and local partners, the Department of Justice is protecting our seniors from fraud. The Trump administration has placed a renewed focus on prosecuting those who prey on the elderly, and the results of today’s sweep make that clear. Today we are announcing the largest single law enforcement action against elder fraud in American history. This year’s sweep involves 13 percent more criminal defendants, 28 percent more in losses, and twice the number of fraud victims as last year’s sweep. I want to thank the Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, which led this effort, together with the Department’s Criminal Division, the more than 50 U.S. Attorneys’ offices, and the state and local partners who helped to make these results possible. Together, we are bringing justice and peace of mind to America's seniors.”

A list of Elder Fraud cases by the Department of Justice is provided on this interactive map.

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. The Justice Department has likewise conducted hundreds of trainings and outreach sessions across the country since the passage of the Act. In February 2018, the Attorney General announced the largest elder fraud enforcement action in American history at the time, charging more than 200 defendants in a nationwide elder fraud sweep. In November 2018, Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture hosted the first Rural and Tribal Elder Justice Summit in Des Moines, Iowa. The Summit focused on supporting the efforts of elder justice professionals to combat elder abuse and financial exploitation in rural and tribal communities.

Technical-Support Takedown 2019

As part of the sweep, the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners announced a tech-support fraud takedown, designed to combat an increasingly common form of elder fraud in which criminals trick victims into giving remote access to their computers under the guise of providing technical support. In 2018, technical-support schemes generated over 142,000 consumer complaints to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network. Consumers 60 and over filed more loss reports on tech-support scams from 2015 to 2018 than on any other fraud category reported to the Consumer Sentinel Network.

The Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch, the Criminal Division’s Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section, and 10 U.S. Attorney’s Offices brought cases against perpetrators of technical-support fraud. The FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and HSI partnered with the Justice Department in investigating these cases, and the FTC, several state Attorneys General and the U.K.’s City of London Police joined the effort by initiating their own cases. A fact-sheet with technical-support fraud case information can be found here.

“We’re committed to investigating financial fraud schemes against the elderly,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “We’ve dedicated additional resources to address a wide range of elder fraud threats, including technical-support fraud. Victims of these schemes often lose thousands of dollars or more apiece, which can cause significant harm to elderly victims and their caretakers. If anyone suspects that they – or a senior they know – may be a victim of fraud, we encourage them to report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.”

Transnational Criminal Organizations Committing Elder Fraud

“The sweep announced today brings the Postal Inspection Service to a landmark point in its battle against transnational criminal organizations committing mass mailing elder fraud,” said Chief Postal Inspector Barksdale. “In a recently unsealed case, two Canadians pled guilty and, thanks to the Spanish National Police, another was arrested in Spain for an alleged mail fraud scheme involving $180 million in losses to over one million victims. The Inspection Service has been at the forefront of protecting customers from fraud schemes for many years and we will continue to investigate and stop those who exploit older Americans for their own illegal gains.”

A fact-sheet with cases on mass mailing fraud can be found here.

Many of the cases brought as part of the elder fraud sweep announced today – including many of the technical-support fraud cases – allegedly involved transnational criminal organizations. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs worked with numerous countries to secure evidence and capture defendants. During the sweep period, defendants in elder fraud cases were extradited from Canada, The Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Poland. A fact-sheet with examples of a few elder fraud cases involving extradition in which the Office of International Affairs played a substantial role can be found here.

Money Mule Initiative

In addition, in a novel approach, the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners took comprehensive action against the money mule network that facilitates foreign-based elder fraud. Generally, a money mule is someone who transfers money acquired illegally in person, through the mails, or electronically, on behalf of others. Across the country, money mules receive fraud proceeds directly from victims and forward proceeds to perpetrators and ringleaders of fraud schemes—individuals who often reside in other countries. As part of the sweep, the FBI and the Postal Inspection Service took action against over 600 alleged money mules nationwide by conducting interviews, issuing warning letters, and bringing civil and criminal cases. Secret Service agents aided these efforts by seizing and forfeiting elder fraud proceeds in transit from victims to perpetrators.

“Homeland Security Investigations is committed to the fight against elder fraud in conjunction with the Justice Department, and our other law enforcement partners,” said Executive Associate Director Derek Benner. “HSI Special Agents across the country have worked to address illegal fund transfers, fraudsters operating technical-support schemes, and elder fraud of all varieties. We will continue to use creative solutions to protect our nation’s seniors from fraud; financial security is critical to homeland security.”

“The Secret Service is committed to aggressively investigating and disrupting organized criminal groups who prey on our most vulnerable citizens,” said Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles. “The results of the elder fraud sweep announced today demonstrate what can be achieved though incredible partnerships between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.”  

Public Education

The Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners focused the sweep’s public education campaign on technical-support fraud, given the widespread harm such schemes are causing. The FTC and State Attorneys General had an important role in designing and disseminating messaging material intended to warn consumers and businesses.

Public education outreach is being conducted by various state and federal agencies, including Senior Corps, a national service program administered by the federal agency the Corporation for National and Community Service, to educate seniors and prevent further victimization. The Senior Corps program engages more than 245,000 older adults in intensive service each year, who in turn, serve more than 840,000 additional seniors, including 332,000 veterans. Information on Senior Corps’ efforts to reduce elder fraud can be found here.

Global Efforts

Exceptional assistance from foreign law enforcement partners amplified the effectiveness of the Department’s initiative. The sweep announced today benefited greatly from the work of the International Mass-Marketing Fraud Working Group (IMMFWG), a network of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies from Belgium, Canada, Europol, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. The IMMFWG is co-chaired by the Department of Justice and the FTC, and law enforcement in the United Kingdom, and serves as a model for international cooperation against specific threats that endanger the financial well-being of each member country’s residents. Due to the IMMFWG’s network of law enforcement, simultaneous technical-support fraud consumer education campaigns are being released in Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Elder Fraud Complaints

Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Department of Justice provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office of Victims of Crime, which can be reached at www.ovc.gov.

Attorney General William P. Barr issued the following statement:

"I was pleased to recommend Jessie Liu to President Trump for the position of Associate Attorney General and am grateful that he has nominated her. Jessie has distinguished herself as a first-class attorney in private practice, in the Treasury Department, and in five different positions over her career at the Department of Justice. Today she leads more than 300 prosecutors at our nation's largest U.S. Attorney office, where she has achieved significant accomplishments, including prosecuting several significant False Claims Act cases and implementing the Department's pilot initiative on sexual harassment in public housing. With her record of public service, particularly in civil justice and federal law enforcement matters, it is clear that she will be an outstanding addition to our leadership team at the Department.”

On March 1, Judge Marco A. Hernandez of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon entered an order revoking the naturalized U.S. citizenship of a convicted war criminal. The court held that defendant Sammy Rasema Yetisen aka Rasema Handanovic aka Zolja, a native of the former Yugoslavia, illegally procured her U.S. citizenship. The court’s order was based on its finding that Yetisen lacked the good moral character required to naturalize because she had executed six unarmed civilians and prisoners of war during the 1990s Balkans Conflicts because of their religion and ethnicity. She later concealed her crimes to procure refugee status and U.S. citizenship in the United States.

“War criminals will find no safe haven in the United States,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio. “The Justice Department will continue to prosecute those who fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship and willfully abuse our refugee program.”

“Sammy Rasema Yetisen’s denaturalization is yet another example of the Justice Department’s enduring commitment to ensuring war criminals find no sanctuary in our country,” said Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. “The long passage of time will neither shelter nor immunize those who have defrauded the United States by concealing such heinous crimes.”

Yetisen, 46, was part of an elite unit of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina that attacked the village of Trusina in April 1993, in what is known as the Trusina massacre. The unit targeted Bosnian Croats who resided in the village because of their Christian religion and Croat ethnicity, killing 22 unarmed individuals including women and the elderly. Yetisen played a key role in the massacre, serving as part of a firing squad that lined up and executed six unarmed prisoners of war and civilians. Yetisen was admitted to the United States as a refugee before naturalizing in 2002. In her naturalization application, Yetisen indicated that she had never had any military service “in the United States or in any other place.”

In April 2012, Yetisen was convicted in a Bosnian court pursuant to a guilty plea of war crimes against prisoners of war and war crimes against civilians based on the firing squad execution-style killings. In exchange for her plea and cooperation, Yetisen was sentenced to five years and six months in prison. Upon her release from prison, Yetisen returned to the United States and resides in Oregon. The Justice Department previously secured the denaturalization of Edin Dzeko, one of Yetisen’s fellow soldiers and another perpetrator of the Trusina massacre.

Before their war crimes had come to light, Dzeko and Yetisen each requested and received refugee status from the United States, claiming themselves to be victims of persecution. Dzeko and Yetisen concealed and affirmatively misrepresented their criminal history, military service, and persecutory acts throughout their immigration proceedings. Such benefits would have been denied had immigration authorities known about their roles in the Trusina massacre.

“This case exemplifies the work of the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center. We will use all available resources, collaborate with all possible partners and explore all mechanisms of the law to bring these cases of horrendous human rights violations to justice,” said Mark Shaffer, Chief of the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center. “Our inter-disciplinary, inter-agency team continues to delve into the human rights abuses that occurred in the former Yugoslavia and around the world, and we will not rest until we are certain that the United States does not serve as a safe haven for those who would commit such abuses.”

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations Human Rights Violator and War Crimes Center and the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation, District Court Section (OIL-DCS) National Security and Affirmative Litigation Unit (NS/A Unit), with consultation and support from ICE’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) Seattle Office of the Chief Counsel, and the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section. 

The case was jointly prosecuted by Chief Timothy Belsan and Senior Counsel for National Security Aram Gavoor of OIL-DCS’s NS/A Unit and Trial Attorney Steven Platt of OIL-DCS, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianne Schweiner of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

Members of the public who have information about foreign nationals or naturalized U.S. citizens suspected of engaging in human rights abuses or war crimes are encouraged to call the ICE tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or to complete its online tip form; or the Justice Department’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section at 1-202-616-2492.  Callers may remain anonymous.

Stella Boyadjian, 48, of Rego Park, New York pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to unlawfully bring in aliens, visa fraud, and aggravated identity theft before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sanket J. Bulsara in the Eastern District of New York for her role in a multi-year visa fraud scheme that brought Armenian citizens into the United States for profit.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Richard P. Donoghue of the Eastern District of New York and U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Director Christian J. Schurman, made the announcement.

According to the indictment, Boyadjian, led a transnational network of co-conspirators who engaged in a widespread visa fraud scheme to bring Armenian citizens into the United States by fraudulently claiming to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that the Armenians were members of performance groups, and thus qualified for P-3 “Culturally Unique Artist” visas.

The P-3 nonimmigrant visa classification allows foreign nationals to temporarily travel to the United States to perform, teach or coach as artists or entertainers, under a program that is culturally unique.  A U.S. employer or sponsoring organization is required to submit a USCIS Form I-129 Petition for a Non-Immigrant Worker, along with supporting documentation, attesting that the performances in the United States are culturally unique.

In February 2018, Boyadjian, Hrachya Atoyan, 31, of Glendale, California; and Diana Grigoryan, aka “Dina Akopovna,” 42, of the Republic of Armenia were charged in a 15-count indictment with visa fraud and with conspiracy to: defraud the United States, commit visa fraud, and illegally bring aliens into the United States.  Boyadjian and Grigoryan were also charged with related money laundering charges, and Boyadjian was charged with aggravated identity theft.

As alleged in the indictment, Boyadjian ran a non-profit organization called Big Apple Music Awards Foundation (BAMA) based in Rego Park, New York.  Boyadjian used the Big Apple Music Awards Foundation as well as formal and informal music industry contacts in the United States and Armenia to perpetuate the scheme.  Boyadjian and others solicited Armenian citizens who wanted to come to the United States and charged them between $0 and $10,000 to be included on the Form I-129 Petitions.  Boyadjian and other associates in Armenia then acquired fraudulent performer certificates and organized staged photo sessions where the aliens wore traditional Armenian folk outfits to make it appear as though they were traditional Armenian performers.  After being trained how to defeat U.S. visa interviews, the individual aliens presented these certificates and photos to U.S. consular officers during their visa interviews.  Once the Armenians entered the United States, some would pay Boyadjian and her associates additional money to be included in another fraudulent petition asking for P-3 visa extensions. 

Sentencing has not yet been scheduled for Boyadjian.

This case was a joint investigation by the DSS’s Criminal Fraud Investigations and Overseas Criminal Investigations Divisions with assistance from the USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security, Center Fraud Detection Operations in Vermont.  Trial Attorney Sasha N. Rutizer of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gopstein of the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

Gregory Lepsky, 22, of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 16 years in prison for planning to construct and use a pressure cooker bomb in New York on behalf of a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).  Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers and U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito for the District of New Jersey made the announcement.

Lepsky pleaded guilty March 13, 2018, before U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shipp to an information charging him with one count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, specifically ISIS.  Judge Shipp imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On Feb. 21, 2017, Lepsky was arrested by the Point Pleasant Police Department in connection with an incident that occurred that day in his family’s home.  Following the arrest, law enforcement officers searched the residence and found a new pressure cooker stored behind a roll of bubble wrap in Lepsky’s bedroom closet.

During searches of computers and other digital evidence linked to Lepsky, law enforcement officers found evidence of Lepsky’s plan to build and detonate a bomb as part of his support for ISIS.  During several social media communications, Lepsky told others that he intended to fight on behalf of ISIS and that he would, if necessary, become a martyr by driving a “bunch of explosives” to where the “enemies” could be found and blowing himself up.

Law enforcement officers also located a series of instructions that had been published online by another terrorist group that gave specific, step-by-step instructions on how to build a pressure cooker bomb, which coincided with the delivery of the pressure cooker to Lepsky a short time before his arrest.  In addition, law enforcement officers recovered a message forwarded by Lepsky from another ISIS supporter stating that if a westerner could not travel to Syria to fight for ISIS, he could conduct a terrorist attack in his home country using improvised explosive devices.

At his plea hearing, Lepsky admitted that beginning in January 2017, he began to formulate a plan to detonate the pressure cooker bomb in New York City on behalf of ISIS.  Lepsky admitted that he used the internet to access ISIS directives, obtain bomb-making instructions, and purchase the pressure cooker and other items to be used in the attack.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Shipp imposed a life term of supervised release.

Assistant Attorney General Demers and U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark; the N.J. State Attorney General’s Office, under the direction of Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal; the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer; the Point Pleasant Police Department under the direction of Chief Richard P. Larsen and the N.J. Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness under the direction of Director Jared Maples, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney James Donnelly of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark and Trial Attorney Justin Sher of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

The Department of Justice announced that it is requiring Thales S.A. to divest its General Purpose Hardware Security Module (GP HSM) business in order for Thales to proceed with its proposed $5.64 billion acquisition of Gemalto N.V.  GP HSMs are secure encryption processing and key management devices that are most frequently included as components of complex encryption solutions used by government and private organizations to safeguard their most sensitive data.  The proposed divestiture will fully resolve all competition concerns.   

“This structural solution fully preserves competition in the sale of these critical machines used by corporations and governmental agencies to protect their most sensitive data,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “As a result, American consumers and taxpayers will continue to benefit from competition in this industry.” 

The Department’s Antitrust Division today filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed transaction while simultaneously filing a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the Department’s competitive concerns.

According to the complaint, Thales and Gemalto are the world’s leading providers of GP HSMs and are significant direct competitors in the United States. Together they account for 66 percent of the U.S. market for the sale of GP HSMs.  Thales and Gemalto are each other’s closest competitors and compete head to head in the development, marketing, service and sale of GP HSMs.  Without the divestiture, the proposed acquisition would likely result in higher prices, lower quality, reduced innovation, and fewer choices for GP HSMs. 

The proposed settlement requires Thales to divest, as a viable ongoing business, Thales GP HSM Products business.  This includes all tangible and intangible assets primarily related to the production, operation, research, development, sale, or support of any GP HSM Product. Additionally, because Thales and Gemalto currently compete to develop new products and services, the settlement requires the divestiture of certain intellectual property and research capabilities for products under development.  The settlement also includes several provisions designed to improve the effectiveness of the decree and the Division’s future ability to enforce it.

The Antitrust Division cooperated closely with its enforcement partners around the world, including the European Commission, throughout the course of their respective investigations.

Thales is an international company incorporated in France with its principal office in Paris.  Thales is active globally in five main industries: (1) aeronautics; (2) space; (3) ground transportation; (4) defense; and (5) security, including data security products.  In 2017, it had global revenue of approximately $19.6 billion.

Gemalto is an international digital security company incorporated in the Netherlands with its principal office in Amsterdam.  Gemalto is active globally in providing authentication and data protection technology, platforms, and services in five main areas: (1) banking and payment; (2) enterprise and cybersecurity; (3) government; (4) mobile; and (5) machine-to-machine Internet of Things.  In 2017, Gemalto had global revenue of approximately $3.7 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 Aaron D. Hoag, Chief, Technology & Financial Services Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 7100, 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.

Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney John H. Durham today announced that the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have filed a lawsuit in the District of Connecticut alleging that female tenants and applicants of residential rental properties in and around New London, Connecticut, were subjected to sexual harassment, coercion, intimidation and threats, in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act.

The lawsuit alleges that from at least 2011 through 2016, Richard Bruno sexually harassed female tenants and applicants of rental properties owned or co-owned by Bruno, Domco LLC, and Domco II LLC.  Bruno was an agent and property manager for Domco, which was owned by Bruno’s ex-wife.  Domco II was owned by Bruno and his ex-wife.  According to the complaint, Bruno engaged in harassment that included making unwelcome sexual advances and comments; engaging in unwanted sexual touching; demanding or pressuring female applicants to engage in sexual acts to obtain rental privileges; evicting or threatening to evict female tenants who objected to or refused sexual advances; entering the homes of female tenants without their consent; asking to take and taking pictures and videos of the bodies of his tenants and their female children; and establishing, maintaining and forcing his tenants and their minor female children to view “dungeons” or “sex rooms” in the rental properties.

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages to compensate the victims, civil penalties and a court order barring future discrimination.

Bruno, a former resident of Waterford, Connecticut, has been incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institute at Otisville since 2017. On May 8, 2017, Bruno pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Sept. 28, 2017, to 16 years in federal prison in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut for producing child pornography in one of the properties owned by defendant Domco II, with one of the minors who resided in one of properties owned by defendant Domco.

“Female tenants should never be subjected to sexual harassment in a place that should be free from coercion and intimidation,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband. “The Civil Rights Division is committed to enforcing the Fair Housing Act and taking action against landlords and property managers who prey on women and cause them to feel unsafe in their own homes.”

“This federal lawsuit represents a significant step toward achieving justice and compensation for vulnerable victims of civil rights violations,” said U.S. Attorney Durham.  “Everyone has the right to be free from unwanted sexual harassment and intimidation by a landlord or property manager, loan officer or housing official, maintenance worker or security guard.  Individuals who are being victimized as a condition of their housing have rights, and all are encouraged to report this type of reprehensible behavior to the Justice Department.”

In October 2017, the Justice Department launched an initiative to combat sexual harassment in housing.  In April 2018, the Department announced the nationwide rollout of the initiative, including three major components: a new joint Task Force with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to combat sexual harassment in housing, an outreach toolkit to leverage the Department’s nationwide network of U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and a public awareness campaign, including the launch of a national Public Service Announcement.

Individuals who believe that they have been victims of sexual harassment or other types of housing discrimination at rental dwellings previously owned or operated by Richard Bruno, Domco or Domco II, or who have other information that may be relevant to this case, can contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Investigator John Sereno at 203-696-3036, or john.sereno@usdoj.gov.

Victims of sexual harassment related to housing can also contact the Justice Department’s Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative by calling 1-844-380-6178, or through email at fairhousing@usdoj.gov.  Individuals can also report sexual harassment and other forms of housing discrimination by e-mailing the U.S. Attorney’s Office at USACT.Citizenscomplaint@usdoj.gov.

More information about the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at http://www.justice.gov/crt.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division concluded an investigation into conditions at the Boyd County Detention Center in Catlettsburg, Kentucky. The Justice Department concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe that conditions at the Jail violate the Fourth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. Specifically, the Department concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe that Boyd County routinely subjects prisoners to excessive force through the use of chemical agents, electronic control devices, and restraint chairs. The Department also concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe Boyd County routinely violates prisoners’ rights to bodily privacy through its use of restraint chairs.    

As required by the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), the Department provided the Jail written notice of the supporting facts for these alleged conditions and the minimum remedial measures necessary to address them.   

“The Constitution guarantees all prisoners the reasonable expectation of personal privacy and the right to be free from excessive use of force,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “Our investigation found reasonable cause to believe that the Jail inflicts punishment without justification and fails to protect its prisoners’ reasonable expectations of privacy. The Justice Department hopes to continue to work with the Jail to resolve the Department’s concerns.”

The Civil Rights Division initiated the investigation in November 2016 under CRIPA, which authorizes the Department to take action to address a pattern or practice of deprivation of constitutional rights of individuals confined to state or local government-run correctional facilities. 

This investigation was conducted by attorneys with the Special Litigation Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt.

The Department of Justice announced today that Brentwood, Tennessee-based Vanguard Healthcare LLC, and related Vanguard companies (Vanguard) agreed to pay more than $18 million in allowed claims to resolve a lawsuit brought by the United States and the State of Tennessee against them for billing the Medicare and Medicaid programs for grossly substandard nursing home services.  Vanguard Healthcare and several related Vanguard companies that have reorganized in bankruptcy agreed to pay more than $5.1 million towards the settlement, and two Vanguard entities that are liquidating in bankruptcy have agreed to $13.5 million in allowed claims in bankruptcy. The settlement agreement also resolves claims brought by the United States against Vanguard’s majority owner and CEO, William Orand, and Vanguard’s former director of operations, Mark Miller, who agree to pay $250,000 as part of this settlement.

“Seniors rely on the Medicare and Medicaid programs to provide them with quality care and to ensure that they are treated with dignity and respect,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division.  “The Department will not tolerate nursing home operators that put their own economic gain ahead of the needs of their residents, and will continue to aggressively pursue those operators who bill Medicare and Medicaid for substandard nursing services.”   

The United States and Tennessee filed suit against several Vanguard companies, Miller, and Orand, alleging that they were responsible for five Vanguard-owned skilled nursing facilities submitting false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for nursing home services that were grossly substandard or worthless.  In particular, the United States and Tennessee alleged that the five Vanguard nursing facilities failed to administer medications as prescribed; failed to provide standard infection control, resulting in urinary tract infections and wound infections; failed to provide wound care as ordered; failed to take prophylactic measures to prevent pressure ulcers, such as turning and repositioning; used unnecessary physical restraints on residents; and failed to meet basic nutrition and hygiene requirements of residents.  The lawsuit further alleged that the defendants were responsible for the submission of hundreds of preadmission forms by these facilities to TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid Program, which contained forged nurse or physician signatures. 

“Simply stated, our elderly and vulnerable citizens who can’t care for themselves deserve far better treatment than what they were subjected to by Vanguard,” said U.S. Attorney Don Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee.  “The substandard care that many of these facilities’ residents endured while the companies were raiding the public coffers is deplorable.  This settlement holds them accountable and the ensuing Corporate Integrity Agreement should ensure that this conduct is not repeated going forward.”

“This office appreciates the hard work of U.S. Attorney Don Cochran and his office,” said Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III. “The size and scope of this settlement sends the important message that nursing home facilities that fail to provide proper care to residents and fraudulently bill Medicaid and Medicare will be held accountable.”

Vanguard is a holding company that owns a chain of subsidiary skilled nursing facilities, including Boulevard Terrace Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Glen Oaks Health and Rehabilitation in Shelbyville, Tennessee; and Manchester Health Care Center in Manchester, Tennessee.  Vanguard previously operated three additional facilities in Tennessee, including Crestview Health and Rehabilitation in Nashville; Imperial Gardens Health and Rehabilitation in Madison; and Poplar Point Health and Rehabilitation in Memphis.  In addition, Vanguard Healthcare owned Elderscript Services, LLC, in Tupelo, Mississippi, which provided pharmacy services to the Vanguard skilled nursing facilities.

The United States’ claims were brought under the False Claims Act, which imposes treble damages and penalties on those who submit false claims for federal funds. The settlement resolves the governments’ claims that Vanguard, Orand, and Miller caused the Boulevard, Crestview, Glen Oaks, Imperial, and Poplar Point facilities to improperly bill Medicare and Medicaid for worthless nursing home services during the period from 2010 to 2015.  The settlement also resolves the governments’ claims that Vanguard, Orand, and Miller caused the Boulevard, Crestview, Glen Oaks, Imperial, and Poplar Point facilities to submit preadmission forms with forged signatures to TennCare in order to be reimbursed by Medicaid from 2012 to 2014. Tennessee’s claims were brought and settled under the Tennessee Medicaid False Claims Act, which prohibits conduct similar to the False Claims Act.

“This nursing home chain allegedly neglected its patients and billed worthless services to Medicare and Medicaid in order to pad their bottom line,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General in Atlanta.  “This settlement should send a clear message to health care providers that we will do everything in our power to protect our most vulnerable citizens from corporate greed.”

“Investigations like these are important to ensure that the most vulnerable members of our community receive the quality of care they need and deserve,” said Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch.  “Indifference by providers like this can greatly impact the lives of those who must depend on service providers-even for their most basic needs. We are fortunate to have this strong partnership between state and federal agencies in the pursuit of false claims.”

Due to the filing of bankruptcy proceedings by the Vanguard entities, the United States anticipates that the total government recovery in this case will ultimately exceed $6 million.  Contemporaneously with the settlement announced today, the reorganized Vanguard corporate defendants and Orand further agreed to enter into a chain-wide, quality of care Corporate Integrity Agreement with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, which will remain in effect for five years.  The CIA requires a government-selected quality of care monitor to be retained by Vanguard, along with other heightened compliance obligations that are designed to ensure that Vanguard implements and maintains systems to address the quality of resident care. 

The case was handled by the Department of Justice Civil Division, Fraud Section; United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee; and the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. The investigation was handled by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.  This case was supported by the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice and Nursing Home Initiative, which coordinates the Department’s activities combatting elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation, especially as they impact beneficiaries of Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs.  This case was also a product of the Elder Justice Task Force of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee that launched two years ago.  For more information about the Department’s Elder Justice Initiative and the Elder Justice Task Force, see https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/ and https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdtn/elder-justice-task-force.  

The case is docketed as United States v. Vanguard Healthcare, LLC, et al., No. 3:16-cv-02380 (M.D. Tenn.).  The claims in the complaint are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.