District Not Recorded

The Department of Justice today announced that it has entered into a settlement with Z Street, a non-profit corporation dedicated to educating the public about various issues related to Israel and the Middle East, pending approval by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.  Z Street alleged that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) applied heightened scrutiny to applications for tax-exempt status received from organizations connected in any way to Israel, and applied this policy to Z Street’s application, resulting in delay.  The settlement agreement includes an apology from the IRS to Z Street for the delayed processing of the group’s application for tax-exempt status.

“Tax exemption eligibility should be based on whether an organization’s activities fulfill requirements of the law, not a group’s policy positions or the name chosen to reflect those views,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman. “The attorneys at the Department of Justice work hard to ensure that all Americans receive equal treatment under the law.  Today’s settlement further illustrates this commitment.”

This is the final settlement in a series of cases brought by groups alleging that their tax-exempt status was delayed by the IRS based on inappropriate criteria, including names and policy positions.  The United States District Court for the District of Columbia recently approved settlement agreements in Linchpins of Liberty v. United States and True the Vote v. IRS. In Norcal Tea Patriots v. IRS, the United States agreed to a settlement in this class action lawsuit which is currently pending approval in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.  In Freedom Path v. IRS, the United States entered into a settlement resolving a wrongful disclosure claim and dismissing other claims, including allegations of improper IRS targeting. A single regulatory challenge remains following the settlement. Freedom Path lost this challenge at the District Court and the issue is currently on appeal to the Fifth Circuit.

Announcement and quote from Attorney General Jeff Sessions in Linchpins of Liberty v. United States and Norcal Tea Patriots v. IRS can be found here.

The Department of Justice today announced the update of the United States Attorneys’ Manual (USAM) with a new section titled, “Associate Attorney General’s Approval and Notice Requirements for Issues Implicating Religious Liberty.”

On Oct. 6, 2017, the Attorney General issued a Memorandum for All Executive Departments and Agencies entitled Federal Law Protections for Religious Liberty. The memo directed components and United States Attorney’s Offices to use the guidance in litigation, advice to the Executive Branch, operations, grants, and all other aspects of the Department’s work.

In order to ensure compliance with the Attorney General’s memo, the USAM will be updated with language that directs relevant Department of Justice components to:

• Immediately inform the Office of the Associate Attorney General upon receiving service of a suit filed against the United States raising any significant question concerning religious liberty;
• Coordinate decisions about merits arguments and significant litigation strategy questions in religious liberty cases with the Office of the Associate Attorney General; and
• Obtain the approval of the Office of the Associate Attorney General with respect to any affirmative civil suit that impinges on rights under the Free Exercise Clause, Establishment Clause, or Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The updated USAM will also instruct relevant Justice Department components to consult the 20 religious liberty principles laid out in the Attorney General’s October 6 memo when considering whether the notice or approval requirements are initiated.

In order to fully effectuate the approval and notice requirements in the updated USAM, the Department will instruct all U.S. Attorneys to designate a point of contact to lead these efforts for their office.

“Religious liberty is an inalienable right protected by the Constitution, and defending it is one of the most important things we do at the Department of Justice,” said Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand.

At President Trump's direction, Attorney General Sessions issued a robust and clear guidance document in October that clearly explains how the federal government is to apply the religious liberty protections currently on the books.  The requirement that each of the U.S. Attorney offices designate a religious liberty point of contact will ensure that the Attorney General’s Memorandum is effectively implemented. The designees will be responsible for working directly with the leadership offices on civil cases related to religious liberty, ensuring that these cases receive the rigorous attention they deserve.

The former chief executive officer of FutureNet Group Inc., a Detroit-based information technology company, was indicted yesterday for his role in orchestrating a scheme to bribe an official from the City of Detroit to obtain benefits for FutureNet, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Parimal D. Mehta, 54, of Northville, Michigan, is charged in an 11-count indictment filed in the Eastern District of Michigan with five counts of honest services mail and wire fraud, one count of federal program bribery, and five counts of unlawfully using interstate facilities to commit bribery under Michigan law. 

According to the indictment, from 2009 through August 2016, Mehta made multiple cash payments  to Charles L. Dodd, the former Director of Detroit’s Office of Departmental Technology Services, including two cash bribes hand-delivered by Mehta to Dodd in the restrooms of Detroit-area restaurants in 2016.  Mehta is also alleged to have employed Dodd’s family members at FutureNet and its subsidiaries.  Dodd previously pleaded guilty to bribery on Sept. 27, 2016.

The indictment alleges that Mehta paid these bribes to Dodd in exchange for preferential treatment for his company, FutureNet, which received approximately $7.5 million from Detroit in 2015 and 2016.  According to the indictment, Mehta and FutureNet benefitted from Dodd’s influence over the administration of city contracts, expenditures under those contracts, and the hiring and selection of contract personnel.  The indictment further alleges that Mehta obtained confidential information about Detroit’s internal budgets for specific technology projects.

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

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Detroit Division.  Trial Attorneys Robert J. Heberle and James I. Pearce of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case. 

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced yesterday that, over the next 45 days, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will surge Special Agents, Diversion Investigators, and Intelligence Research Specialists to focus on pharmacies and prescribers who are dispensing unusual or disproportionate amounts of drugs. To intensify the fight against prescription drug diversion, DEA will utilize data from approximately 80 million transaction reports it collects every year from prescription drug manufacturers and distributors. DEA will aggregate and analyze this data, which includes distribution figures and inventory of prescription drugs, to identify patterns, trends, and statistical outliers that can be developed into targeting packages.

“Our country is in the midst of a drug abuse crisis, enabled and worsened by rampant drug trafficking and prescription drug diversion,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “This surge of resources by the Drug Enforcement Administration will help us make more arrests, secure more convictions, and reduce the number of diverted or unnecessary prescription drugs causing addiction and overdose.”

The surge announced yesterday is the latest in a series of efforts by the Department of Justice to turn the tide of the opioid epidemic and reduce the inevitable violent crime that accompanies widespread drug trafficking. In August, the Department announced a new data analytics program, the Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit, which uses data to identify and prosecute individuals who are contributing to the opioid epidemic. The Department has also assigned experienced prosecutors to opioid hot spot districts to focus solely on investigating and prosecuting opioid-related health care fraud, and the DEA has reorganized its field divisions for the first time in nearly 20 years to increase its effectiveness nationwide.

Read Attorney General Sessions’ complete remarks here.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued the following proclamation commemorating January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month:

“Human trafficking is a nationwide public health and civil rights crisis. Its victims are everywhere: at truck stops, in cities, in rural areas, and in suburbs, and who now total an unconscionable 25 million victims globally according to some estimates. That means 25 million human beings—parents, siblings, and children—have been coerced into a commercial sex act, forced into labor, or exploited because they desperately seek a better life. It is a priority of the Department of Justice to combat this depraved and predatory behavior through swift and aggressive enforcement of our nation’s laws to bring traffickers to justice and restore the lives of victims and survivors.

“The Justice Department’s U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, working closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), other federal agencies, and our state, local, and tribal partners, are on the front lines, leading our shared fight against human trafficking in all its forms.  These entities are supported by the Department’s Civil Rights Division which is home to a team of dedicated investigators and prosecutors—the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit (the HTPU)—tasked with bringing human traffickers to justice and vindicating the rights of their victims. Additionally, the Department’s Criminal Division includes the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), which is committed to harnessing expertise in attacking the technological and systemic challenges that are involved in the sexual exploitation of minors, as well as other specialized prosecution teams who bring expertise in organized crime and money laundering.

“Our efforts have produced high-impact prosecutions to dismantle transnational organized human trafficking enterprises, have launched interagency anti-trafficking initiatives with unprecedented momentum, and have vindicated the rights and freedoms of countless victims and survivors. 

“These efforts resulted in the conviction of nearly 500 defendants in trafficking cases in fiscal year 2017, and making $47 million available to help trafficking survivors.  Last fall, the FBI—along with state and local task forces and international law enforcement partners—recovered 84 minors and arrested 120 traffickers, as part a single week-long operation. However, we are keenly aware that many challenges lie ahead and we are committed to taking our efforts to the next level.

“In his Presidential Proclamation, President Trump asked us to ‘recommit ourselves to eradicating the evil of enslavement’ and to ‘pledge to do all in our power to end the horrific practice of human trafficking.’ In the spirit of the President’s request, the Justice Department is hosting a Human Trafficking Summit in Washington, D.C. on February 2, 2018, two days before Super Bowl LII.  The Super Bowl provides an opportunity to raise awareness of the surge in commercial sex activity around major sporting events, and of our commitment to finding and protecting sex trafficking victims who are at risk of being compelled, coerced, or exploited as minors in that context.

“The Human Trafficking Summit will be led by Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand and will convene law enforcement, victim support organizations, and the business community to focus on enhancing the strong partnerships behind all successful anti-trafficking efforts and identifying opportunities to increase collaboration and coordination as we take on new challenges.

“There is no room in a civilized society for those who choose to violate an individual’s rights and freedoms by subjecting them to any form of human trafficking. To those that still make that choice: make no mistake, the Justice Department will use every lawful tool to uncover your illegal activity and bring you to justice.”

INTERPOL Washington—the U.S. National Central Bureau—participated in the 2018 Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) Workshop, held January 9-10, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The workshop brought together approximately 200 sex offender registry officials to participate in working groups, presentations, and panel discussions designed to assist U.S. states, tribes, and territories to improve sex offender registration and notification in their areas. It was sponsored by the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART) in the Office of Justice Programs. Other participants included faculty from the U.S. Marshals Service’s National Sex Offender Targeting Center; the FBI DNA Laboratory; FBI-Criminal Justice Information Services; and state, territory, and tribal representatives.

INTERPOL Washington Supervisory Investigative Analyst Michelle Ford-Stepney along with representatives from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, and the U.S. Marshals Services participated in a panel on “Information Sharing: Enforcement Strategies.” The panel encompassed registration requirements once an offender is released from custody as well as federal enforcement efforts. Ford-Stepney explained INTERPOL’s role in supporting implementation of SORNA, speaking specifically on the dissemination of sex offender notifications and the Green Notice program.

Under SORNA Supplemental Guidelines, registered sex offenders are required to inform their residence of jurisdiction of any intended travel outside of the United States at least 21 days prior to their departure. The registration jurisdiction collects the information about the offender’s intended international travel and sends that information to the U.S. Marshals Service’s National Sex Offender Targeting Center, which, in turn, reviews and forwards it to INTERPOL Washington for foreign country notification. INTERPOL Washington uses Green Notices to provide information to warn law enforcement organizations in INTERPOL member countries about subjects who are a possible threat to public safety or may commit a criminal offense, including those subjects who have been registered under SORNA.

“These workshops are a great opportunity for officials to come together to share information to improve our tracking and monitoring of sex offenders. Our work to support SORNA is one of a number of areas INTERPOL Washington supports to combat the exploitation of children,” said Ford-Stepney. INTERPOL Washington supports domestic law enforcement agencies by providing investigative assistance and serving as a dedicated channel for exchanging intelligence with INTERPOL member countries to counter the transnational, mobile, and clandestine nature of the criminal organizations and violators who commit human trafficking offenses. The agency also works with domestic and foreign law enforcement authorities, as well as non-government organizations, to locate missing and abducted children, combat child sex tourism, track the international movements of registered and non-compliant sex offenders, and end the production and distribution of child sexual exploitation images worldwide.

SORNA refers to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, which is Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-248). SORNA provides a comprehensive set of minimum standards for sex offender registration and notification in the United States. SORNA aims to close potential gaps and loopholes that existed under prior law and generally strengthens the nationwide network of sex offender registration and notification programs. Additionally, SORNA:

•Extends the jurisdictions in which registration is required beyond the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the principal U.S. territories, to include federally recognized Indian tribes.

•Incorporates a more comprehensive group of sex offenders and sex offenses for which registration is required.

•Requires registered sex offenders to register and keep their registration current in each jurisdiction in which they reside, work, or go to school.

•Requires sex offenders to provide more extensive registration information.

•Requires sex offenders to make periodic in-person appearances to verify and update their registration information.

•Expands the amount of information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders.

•Makes changes in the required minimum duration of registration for sex offenders.

A component of the U.S. Department of Justice, INTERPOL Washington is co-managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. As the designated representative to INTERPOL on behalf of the Attorney General, INTERPOL Washington serves as the national point of contact for all INTERPOL matters, coordinating international investigative efforts among member countries and the more than 18,000 local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement agencies in the United States.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions today announced a new resource to help federal law enforcement disrupt online illicit opioid sales, the Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team.

“Criminals think that they are safe on the darknet, but they are in for a rude awakening,” Attorney General Sessions said.  “We have already infiltrated their networks, and we are determined to bring them to justice.  In the midst of the deadliest drug crisis in American history, the FBI and the Department of Justice are stepping up our investment in fighting opioid-related crimes.  The J-CODE team will help us continue to shut down the online marketplaces that drug traffickers use and ultimately that will help us reduce addiction and overdoses across the nation.”

J-CODE will more than double the FBI’s investment in fighting online opioid trafficking.  The FBI is dedicating dozens more Special Agents, Intelligence Analysts, and professional staff to J-CODE so that they can focus on this one issue of online opioid trafficking.

In July 2017, Attorney General Sessions announced the seizure of the largest dark net marketplace in history.  This site hosted some 220,000 drug listings and was responsible for countless synthetic opioid overdoses, including the tragic death of a 13 year old.

In August 2017, Attorney General Sessions ordered the creation of a new data analytics program, the Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit, to focus specifically on investigating opioid-related health care fraud.  The same day, he assigned a dozen prosecutors to “hot spot” districts—where opioid addiction is especially prevalent—to focus solely on investigating and prosecuting opioid-related health care fraud.

In November, Attorney General Sessions ordered all 94 U.S. Attorney offices to designate an opioid coordinator who will customize federal law enforcement’s anti-opioid strategy in their district.

A former Major at Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) in Angola, Louisiana, was found guilty yesterday in federal court for conspiring to cover up the beating of a handcuffed and shackled inmate, and for writing a false report, falsifying official records, and lying under oath about what happened. 

After four days of trial, a jury convicted Daniel Davis, 41, of Loranger, Louisiana, on four charges related to the cover up.  The jury heard evidence that Davis and three other supervisory officers used excessive force against an inmate who was shackled and handcuffed.  The other three officers -- former Captains James Savoy, 39, John Sanders, 30, and Scotty Kennedy, 49 -- had all previously pleaded guilty to various federal charges related to the beating and the conspiracy to cover it up.  At Davis’s trial, two of the Captains testified for the government and described the abuse and the extensive obstruction of justice.

After hearing testimony over the course of three days, the jury convicted Davis on all four counts related to the cover up of the beating. The evidence showed that Davis and the other officers conspired to cover up an incident in which the officers had repeatedly punched, kicked, and stomped an inmate, causing serious injury including a bloody gash under his eye, a dislocated shoulder, broken ribs, and a collapsed lung.  The extensive cover up included lying to investigators, writing false reports, and fabricating prison documents to provide a false alibi for some of the participants. 

The jury convicted Davis of conspiring with other officers to obstruct justice; obstructing justice by writing a false report; obstructing justice by corruptly persuading his subordinates to lie; and committing perjury by lying under oath in a federal civil deposition.  The jury acquitted Davis on one charge of violating the rights of the inmate by beating him, and failed to reach a unanimous verdict on a second charge related to the beating.  The government has not announced whether it intends to re-try the defendant on the count for which there was no verdict.

“As a Major at Angola, defendant Davis had been entrusted with great power, which he grossly abused by perverting the justice system by lying, writing false reports, and using his influence to encourage others to lie,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute correctional officers who violate the public’s trust by committing crimes and to covering up violations of federal criminal law.”

“Justice was served today,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Corey R. Amundson.  “Although most corrections officers are good and honest public servants doing an enormously challenging and important job, Defendant Davis chose instead to become a criminal himself.  His actions were unjustifiable, intolerable, and criminal.  Our office remains steadfast in holding accountable those who violate the federal criminal civil rights laws and this prosecution of four high-ranking Angola corrections officers should illustrate that point very clearly.  I greatly appreciate the dedication and hard work of the FBI and the prosecutors from my office and the Civil Rights Division who handled this important matter.”

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Baton Rouge Resident Agency Office and was tried by Trial Attorneys Christopher J. Perras and Zachary Dembo of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Frederick A. Menner, Jr., of the Middle District of Louisiana.

The former County Executive for Jackson County, Missouri and his former chief of staff pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to defraud political campaign funds, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Michael Sanders, 50, of Independence, Missouri, and Calvin Williford, 60, of St. Joseph, Missouri, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark of the Western District of Missouri. 

According to admissions made in connection with their pleas, Sanders was the elected County Executive for Jackson County from January 2007 until December 2015.  Prior to serving as County Executive, Sanders was the elected Prosecuting Attorney for Jackson County.  Williford was a senior staff member for Sanders, and then later chief of staff, in the Office of the County Executive from 2007 to December 2015.  Prior to then, Williford served as Sanders’s Director of Public Affairs at the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.  Sanders and Williford defrauded political committees with which Sanders was affiliated by converting campaign contributions for their personal use.  Sanders and Williford misappropriated the money by directing the political committees to issue checks to certain individuals who performed little or no campaign-related work.  Instead, the individuals cashed the checks and then returned a portion of the money to Sanders or Williford, who used the cash at times to pay for personal expenses.   

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Kansas City Division.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Lauren Bell and Edward P. Sullivan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.

A former Hadley, Massachusetts, Police Officer was arrested today and charged in federal court in Springfield in connection with using unreasonable force during an arrest.

Christopher M. Roeder, 48, of Feeding Hills, was charged in an indictment unsealed today with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of falsification of a document. Roeder will appear in federal court in Springfield this afternoon.

According to court documents, on April 3, 2017, while acting under the color of law, Roeder deprived a male arrestee of the right to be free from an unreasonable seizure, which includes the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer. It is alleged that during the arrest, Roeder struck the arrestee in the face - breaking the arrestee’s nose, which the arrestee would need plastic surgery to repair - without legal justification, while the arrestee was seated on a bench in the Hadley Police Department booking area.

The indictment alleges that Roeder subsequently attempted to obstruct the investigation into the assault on the arrestee by falsifying his police report describing the events that led to the assault. Roeder wrote that the defendant arrestee made an obscene comment toward Roeder and that when the arrestee was instructed to sit down, he sat down slowly, and then when Roeder attempted to handcuff the arrestee, the arrestee began to stand again. According to Roeder, he had no option but to deliver an elbow strike directly to the bridge of the arrestee’s nose in order to gain the arrestee’s compliance. Conversely, the indictment alleges that Roeder’s statements were false.

The charge of deprivation of civil rights under color of law resulting in injury provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of falsifying a police report provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division John Gore, United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling, and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Deepika Bains Shukla of the District of Massachusetts’ Springfield Branch Office and Trial Attorney Timothy Visser of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BNP Paribas USA Inc. (BNPP USA), a subsidiary of BNP Paribas S.A., pleaded guilty yesterday to participating in a price-fixing conspiracy in the foreign currency exchange (FX) market, the Justice Department announced.  

According to the one-count information filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, between September 2011 and July 2013, BNPP USA conspired to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing prices in Central and Eastern European, Middle Eastern and African (CEEMEA) currencies, in violation of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1.  The conspiracy involved manipulation of prices on an electronic FX trading platform through the creation of non-bona fide trades, coordination of bids and offers on that platform and agreements on currency prices to quote specific customers, among other conduct.

“The Antitrust Division is committed to uncovering and prosecuting wrongdoing in all corners of the foreign currency exchange market, including this conspiracy affecting multiple emerging market currencies,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “The Division’s investigation aims to root out and eradicate the manipulation that has plagued this industry.”

“This guilty plea holds BNP Paribas accountable for its corrupt price-fixing behavior which violated the integrity of the financial services industry and undermined competition,” said FDIC Inspector General Jay N. Lerner. “We are pleased to work with our law enforcement partners in combating this misconduct.”

As part of its sentence, BNPP USA has agreed to pay a criminal fine of $90 million.  Both the government and BNPP USA have agreed to recommend no probation, in light of, among other factors, the bank’s substantial efforts relating to compliance and remediation.  BNPP USA also has agreed to cooperate with the government’s ongoing criminal investigation into the FX market, and to report relevant information to the government.

BNPP USA’s guilty plea follows the Jan. 4, 2017 guilty plea of its former CEEMEA trader Jason Katz, and the Jan. 12, 2017 guilty plea of a former CEEMEA trader from another financial institution, Christopher Cummins.  In addition, on Jan. 10, 2017, three individuals from other financial institutions – Richard Usher, Rohan Ramchandani and Christopher Ashton – were indicted for conspiring to fix prices and rig bids for U.S. dollars and euros.  The charge in the indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

BNPP USA is the sixth major bank to plead guilty as a result of the department’s ongoing investigation into antitrust and fraud crimes in the FX market.  On May 20, 2015, four major banks – Citicorp, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays PLC and The Royal Bank of Scotland plc – pleaded guilty at the parent level and agreed to pay collectively more than $2.5 billion in criminal fines for their participation in an antitrust conspiracy to manipulate the price of U.S. dollars and euros exchanged in the FX market.  A fifth bank, UBS AG, pleaded guilty to manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and other benchmark interest rates and agreed to pay a $203 million criminal penalty, after breaching its December 2012 non-prosecution agreement resolving the LIBOR investigation.

This antitrust investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Office with the assistance of the FDIC OIG and the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section also provided substantial assistance in this matter.  

SunCoke Energy Inc., its subsidiary Indiana Harbor Coke Company (IHCC), and Cokenergy have agreed to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations relating to excess emissions of coke oven gases from their coke plant in East Chicago, Indiana, announced the Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Office of the Indiana Attorney General, and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.  

Implementation of the Consent Decree’s requirements will result in estimated annual emissions reductions of 2,075 tons of coke oven emissions, which are hazardous air pollutants, and include 1,895 tons of SO2, 125 tons of particulate matter, 55 tons of volatile organic compounds, and 680 pounds of lead.  In addition, under the settlement agreement Cokenergy will spend $250,000 on a lead abatement project in the East Chicago area to reduce lead hazards in schools, day-care centers, and other buildings with priority given to young children and pregnant women.  Additionally, the companies will provide copies of reports submitted under the Consent Decree to two public libraries in East Chicago.  

The settlement also requires comprehensive coke oven rebuilds to address oven leaks, including potential permanent shut down of the worst performing battery.  The companies have agreed to enhanced monitoring and testing requirements, including two stack tests to measure lead emissions.  Further, the settlement requires implementation of preventive maintenance and operations plans to minimize excess emissions.  Finally, the companies will pay a $5 million civil penalty, to be split evenly between the United States and the State of Indiana.  
    
“This settlement will result in significant reductions in harmful air pollution and is welcome news for East Chicago, an area which is currently not meeting national air quality standards for ozone,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood.  “The Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division is proud to have partnered with the EPA, the state of Indiana, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in achieving these results. Today’s action reflects our commitment to working together to enforce environmental laws.”  

“Today’s settlement is one example of how EPA is committed to reducing exposure to lead and other contaminants in communities across the country,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.  “Lead exposure is a serious problem and reducing it is a priority for EPA.” 

“We fight every day to protect the safety of Hoosiers and their families,” Attorney General Curtis Hill of the State of Indiana said. “This agreement goes a long way to protect Hoosiers and their families in Northwest Indiana and the East Chicago community.”

“I’m grateful to have worked with our federal partners to get this issue resolved,” said Commissioner Bruno Pigott of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. “It’s my hope that, now and in the future, this settlement will improve not only the air quality in Northwest Indiana, but also the quality of life for Hoosiers living in East Chicago.”

 “This settlement provides a long-term solution to protect air quality and control emissions,” said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana Thomas L. Kirsch II. “We will continue to work with other agencies to protect Indiana families from environmental harm.” 

The primary violations alleged relate to leaking coke ovens and excessive bypass venting of hot coking gases directly to the atmosphere, resulting in excess SO2, particulate matter, and lead emissions from the facility’s coke ovens and bypass vent stacks, in violation of applicable permit limits.  SO2 contributes to acid rain and exacerbates respiratory illness, particularly in children and the elderly.  Exposure to particulate pollution has been linked to health impacts that include decreased lung function, aggravated asthma and premature death in people with heart or lung disease.  EPA has recognized that lead poisoning is the number one environmental health threat in the United States for children ages 6 and younger.  In addition, coke oven emissions are a known human carcinogen.  Chronic (long-term) exposure in humans can result in conjunctivitis, severe dermatitis and lesions of the respiratory system and digestive system. 

The Consent Decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court.  It is available on the Justice Department website at www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.

IDEM has created a link on the agency’s website where the public will be able to access the documents that the companies submit to IDEM under the Consent Decree.  Once the Consent Decree has become effective, documents submitted to IDEM will be uploaded to the dedicated link.  The public will then be able to access the documents by going to: www.in.gov/idem/airquality/ and clicking the page entitled “Indiana Harbor Coke/Cokenergy Consent Decree.”

The former owner and president of a Glassboro, New Jersey, drum reconditioning company was indicted today for allegedly illegally storing and disposing of hazardous waste, U.S Attorney Craig Carpenito and Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, announced.

Thomas Toy, 73, of Elmer, New Jersey, was charged with one count of illegal storage and disposal of hazardous waste at the site of Superior Barrel and Drum Company Inc. (Superior) in Glassboro, New Jersey, in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

According to the Indictment, Superior received drums from various industrial customers, cleaned and processed those drums, and then resold them. Toy directed and supervised the operations of Superior, including the storage and disposal of large amounts of waste – including hazardous waste – at the company’s site. Superior did not have a permit to store or dispose of hazardous waste there.  From Sept. 27, 2013, to Sept. 25, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted a removal action of waste stored at Superior’s site. Approximately 1,800 containers of waste were removed, and much of the waste was found to be hazardous. The EPA’s removal cost was $4.2 million.

Toy was charged under RCRA, which was enacted in 1976 to address a growing nationwide problem with industrial and municipal waste. The law is designed to protect human health and the environment and provided controls on the management and disposal of hazardous waste. It prohibits the treatment, storage or disposal of any hazardous waste without a permit.  The charge on which Toy was indicted carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss caused by the offense.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under the direction Special Agent in Charge Tyler C. Amon, with the investigation leading to today’s charge. 

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen P. O’Leary of the Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark and Trial Attorney Adam Cullman of the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The charge and allegations against Toy are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The Department of Justice today filed a Statement of Interest in Young America’s Foundation and Berkeley College Republicans v. Janet Napolitano. The plaintiffs, Berkeley College Republicans (BCR) and Young America’s Foundation (YAF), allege that the University of California, Berkeley, enforced a double standard when applied to free speech. BCR alleges that UC Berkeley applied a more rigorous and highly discretionary set of rules to their organization compared to other campus groups, especially with respect to “high-profile” campus speakers.

The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit as a result of excessive hurdles BCR faced in bringing speakers of their choice onto campus. They allege that UC Berkeley’s High Profile Speaker Policy and Major Events Policy violated their rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that Berkeley’s “High-Profile Speaker Policy” granted administrators unfettered discretion to decide which speakers are subject to arduous curfews, prohibitive security costs, or undesirable venues. In one instance, administrators—who had full discretion to determine who constituted a “high-profile speaker”—established a 3:00 pm “curfew” that conflicted with class times.

While the plaintiffs attempted to book speakers under the restrictions of the “High-Profile Speaker Policy,” a former president of Mexico and a former White House adviser were hosted at the University, but University administrators did not apply the High-Profile Speakers Policy to those events.

In filing the Statement of Interest, Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand provided the following statement:

“This Department of Justice will not stand by idly while public universities violate students’ constitutional rights.”

In addition to the statement, Associate Attorney General today penned an op-ed on the issue of campus free speech.

This is the third Statement of Interest filed by the Department of Justice in a First Amendment case under Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The first was filed on September 26, 2017 in Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, and the second was filed on October 24, 2017 in Shaw v. Burke.

Attorney General Sessions reestablished the Department’s commitment to protecting First Amendment rights—especially campus free speech-- in a speech at Georgetown Law School in 2017.

Today, as a follow-up to a memo issued by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in November, the Office of the Associate Attorney General issued a new policy that prohibits the Department of Justice from using its civil enforcement authority to convert agency guidance documents into binding rules. Under the Department’s new policy, Department civil litigators are prohibited from using guidance documents—or noncompliance with guidance documents—to establish violations of law in affirmative civil enforcement actions.

On November 17, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo prohibiting the Department of Justice from issuing guidance documents that have the effect of adopting new regulatory requirements or amending the law binding on persons or entities outside the Executive Branch. The memo prevents the Department of Justice from evading required rulemaking processes by using guidance memos to create de facto regulations. In the past, the Department of Justice and other agencies had blurred the distinction between regulations and guidance documents. 

“Although guidance documents can be helpful in educating the public about already existing law, they do not have the binding force or effect of law and should not be used as a substitute for rulemaking,” Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand said.  “Consistent with our duty to uphold the rule of law with fair notice and due process, this policy helps restore the appropriate role of guidance documents and avoids rulemaking by enforcement.” 

NOTE: The new policy can be found here. 

The Department of Justice today sent the attached letters to 23 jurisdictions, demanding the production of documents that could show whether each jurisdiction is unlawfully restricting information sharing by its law enforcement officers with federal immigration authorities.

All 23 of these jurisdictions were previously contacted by the Justice Department, when the Department raised concerns about laws, policies, or practices that may violate 8 U.S.C. 1373, a federal statute that promotes information sharing related to immigration enforcement and with which compliance is a condition of FY2016 and FY2017 Byrne JAG awards.

The letters also state that recipient jurisdictions that fail to respond, fail to respond completely, or fail to respond in a timely manner will be subject to a Department of Justice subpoena.

“I continue to urge all jurisdictions under review to reconsider policies that place the safety of their communities and their residents at risk,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “Protecting criminal aliens from federal immigration authorities defies common sense and undermines the rule of law. We have seen too many examples of the threat to public safety represented by jurisdictions that actively thwart the federal government’s immigration enforcement—enough is enough.”

Failure to comply with section 1373 could result in the Justice Department seeking the return of FY2016 grants, requiring additional conditions for receipt of any FY2017 Byrne JAG funding, and/or jurisdictions being deemed ineligible to receive FY2017 Byrne JAG funding.

The following jurisdictions received the document request today:

• Chicago, Illinois;
• Cook County, Illinois;
• New York City, New York;
• State of California;
• Albany, New York;
• Berkeley, California;
• Bernalillo County, New Mexico;
• Burlington, Vermont;
• City and County of Denver, Colorado;
• Fremont, California;
• Jackson, Mississippi;
• King County, Washington;
• Lawrence, Massachusetts;
• City of Los Angeles, California;
• Louisville Metro, Kentucky;
• Monterey County, California;
• Sacramento County, California;
• City and County of San Francisco, California;
• Sonoma County, California;
• Watsonville, California;
• West Palm Beach, Florida;
• State of Illinois; and
• State of Oregon.

A jury in the Western District of Virginia convicted two business owners of tax evasion and conspiring to structure currency transactions, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Jeffrey and Karen Dalton owned Blue Ridge Stainless Inc. (BRS), a subcontracting business that provided labor to renovate large retail department and grocery stores.  The Daltons operated BRS out of their home in Hillsville, Virginia.  The Daltons filed their 2009 through 2014 personal tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reporting the income earned from BRS, but failed to pay the taxes, penalties, and interest owed.  Despite an IRS revenue officer repeatedly contacting the Daltons over a period of years about their delinquent taxes and pending IRS liens, the Daltons refused to pay their outstanding tax liabilities, used nominees to conceal their ownership of property, and filed false documents with the IRS.  After the IRS levied the Daltons’ personal bank accounts, they used funds from the BRS business bank account to start a cattle business and pay their children’s wedding expenses.

The evidence at trial also proved that during a six-month period in 2015 the Daltons repeatedly withdrew cash from BRS’s business bank account in amounts less than $10,000 to evade federal bank-reporting requirements, thereby structuring more than $250,000 in withdrawals.

U.S. District Court Judge James P. Jones scheduled sentencing for April 24.  Jeffrey and Karen Dalton face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison on the tax evasion and conspiracy charges.  They also face a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. 

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Daniel McGraw and Sean Beaty of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

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

The Justice Department today announced that two former Tuskegee Police Department lieutenants, Alex Huntley, 53, and Darian Locure, 44, have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in the beating of an arrestee and an attempted cover-up.

The five-count indictment charges that on or about Dec. 24, 2014, Huntley physically assaulted an arrestee, while Locure willfully failed to intervene to stop Huntley’s assault. The assault caused the arrestee to suffer bodily injuries.

Huntley and Locure are also charged with directing and encouraging other Tuskegee Police Department officers and recruits who witnessed the assault to keep it a secret. Finally, the indictment charges that Huntley gave false testimony under oath about the assault in a state court proceeding regarding criminal charges against the arrestee.  

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Alabama State Bureau of Investigation has also assisted the investigation. The matter is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Samantha Trepel of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant United States Attorney Denise Simpson of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

A Detroit, Michigan, resident who owned a janitorial service company was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison today for obstructing the internal revenue laws and failing to file an individual tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. 

According to documents and information provided to the court, from approximately 2001, Braint N. Hall owned Braint N Hall Inc., which also did business as Sunrise Janitorial Service, Sunrise Janitorial and Maintenance Inc. and Detroit Industrial Cleaners Inc. To conceal his ownership of these firms, Hall caused two relatives to establish nominee entities, which he controlled, to assume their business operations, employees, equipment, and client contracts.  Despite earning income from these businesses, Hall has not filed individual or corporate income tax returns since 2010.

In approximately 2009, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) began auditing Hall for his failure to file individual income tax returns and to determine his income tax liability. To obstruct the audit, Hall provided the IRS with false information about the ownership of his janitorial business, the business’ bank accounts, and its client relationships. 

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Court Judge David M. Lawson ordered Hall to serve one year of supervised release.  Hall pleaded guilty in August 2017 to obstructing the internal revenue laws and failing to file a personal tax return. 

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Kenneth Vert and Jeffrey McLellan of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.  Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman also thanked the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan for its substantial assistance. 

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

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement with Omnicare Inc. (Omnicare), a wholly owned subsidiary of CVS Health Corporation and provider of long-term care pharmacy services in Ohio, resolving the Department’s investigation into whether the company violated the Immigration and Nationality Act’s (INA) anti-discrimination provision. 

The Department’s investigation, which was initiated in response to a worker’s complaint, revealed that Omnicare engaged in citizenship status discrimination against a work authorized job applicant by refusing to refer him to the hiring manager for an interview because he was not a permanent resident or U.S. citizen, and removing him from the candidate pool based on his status as an asylee.  The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from discriminating against asylees because of their citizenship or immigration status, unless authorized by law to do so.

Under the settlement agreement, Omnicare will pay the maximum civil penalty for one instance of citizenship status discrimination, post notices informing workers about their rights under the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, train its staff and its contractors, and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements for two years. 

“Employers should ensure that all of the employees and contractors who screen their applicants for employment have the proper training to avoid improperly rejecting work authorized applicants based on a protected citizenship or immigration status,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. 

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

For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar; email IER@usdoj.gov; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites.

Applicants or employees who believe they were subjected to retaliation; different documentary requirements based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin; or discrimination based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee, should contact IER’s worker hotline for assistance.

A former Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) official pleaded guilty today to charges of wire fraud and bribery for orchestrating a scheme to steal more than $66,000 in benefit money from the VA for veterans in need.

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division made the announcement.

Russel M. Ware, 39, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of bribery before U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta in the District of Columbia.  Sentencing has been scheduled for May 8, before Judge Mehta.

According to the plea documents, between September 2013 and May 2014, Ware devised a scheme to steal more than $21,000 in VA disability benefit money by wiring payments in the names of legitimate VA beneficiaries to his own bank account.  Between October 2014 and February 2015, Ware directed additional disability benefits totaling almost $46,000 to a friend, Jacqueline Crawford of Gulfport, Mississippi.  Ware and Crawford were not entitled to receive the money. 

Ware also admitted that, at his direction, Crawford then kicked back more than $13,000 to Ware, usually through the use of Walmart2Walmart money transfers.  Crawford pleaded guilty in February 2017, to an information charging her with a single count of theft of government property related to the scheme, and is awaiting sentencing.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General investigated the case.  Trial Attorneys Richard B. Evans and Rebecca Moses of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation today released the 2017 Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, a part of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). The report, which covers January-June 2017, suggests that the violent crime increases that occurred in 2015 and 2016 may have begun to level off. The number of violent crimes decreased by 0.8 percent nationwide in the first half of 2017 when compared with the same period in 2016. The nationwide violent crime rate (the number of violent crimes per 100,000 people in the U.S.) increased by a total of nearly 7 percent during 2015 and 2016, (3.3 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively), the largest two increases in a quarter of a century.

“When President Trump took office, he ordered the Department of Justice to prioritize the reduction of violent crime, and that is what we have done every day since,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “Last year, we charged more defendants with violent crime offenses than in any year in decades. We convicted hundreds of human traffickers, arrested thousands of violent gang members, and charged hundreds of people suspected of contributing to our opioid abuse epidemic. Working with our state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners, we are making a difference and protecting our communities. These data are encouraging, because it is essential that drastic increases in violent crime not become the new normal. We are dedicated to ensuring they do not.”

The data released by the FBI today also show that murders increased by 1.5 percent nationwide during the first six months of 2017, compared with the same period in 2016. This suggests a significant leveling off of the previous increase. In the first half of 2016, murders increased by 5.2 percent. Other categories of violent crime, including rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, all decreased in the first half of 2017 (by 2.4 percent, 2.2 percent, and 0.1 percent, respectively). All three categories increased during the same period in 2016. The FBI’s 2017 Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report is based on information received by the FBI from 13,033 law enforcement agencies nationwide.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha llegado a un acuerdo con Omnicare, Inc. («Omnicare»), una empresa filial de propiedad total de CVS Health Corporation que brinda servicios de farmacia para cuidados a largo plazo en Ohio. El acuerdo resuelve la investigación del Departamento para determinar si la empresa había vulnerado la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA, por sus siglas en inglés).

La investigación del Departamento, la cual se inició como respuesta a una denuncia de un trabajador, reveló que Omnicare había discriminado a un postulante con autorización para trabajar por motivos de su estatus de ciudadanía al negarse a referirlo al director de contratación para una entrevista porque no era residente permanente o ciudadano de los EE. UU. y al eliminarlo del grupo de candidatos debido a su estatus como asilado. La disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA prohíbe que los empleadores discriminen a asilados por motivos de su estatus migratorio o de ciudadanía, a no ser que cuenten con la autorización de la ley para hacerlo.

Conforme con el acuerdo, Omnicare pagará la sanción civil máxima para un caso de discriminación por motivos de estatus de ciudadanía, publicará notificaciones para informar a los trabajadores acerca de sus derechos al amparo de la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA, capacitará a su personal y contratistas y se someterá a los requisitos de supervisión y declaración del Departamento durante un período de dos años.

«Los empleadores deben asegurar que todos los empleados y contratistas que seleccionen a sus postulantes hayan sido capacitados adecuadamente para evitar que rechacen de manera incorrecta a postulantes autorizados a trabajar por motivos de un estatus migratorio o de ciudadanía protegido», declaró el Fiscal General Adjunto en funciones, John M. Gore, de la División de Derechos Civiles.

La Sección de Derechos de Inmigrantes y Empleados (IER, por sus siglas en inglés), que anteriormente se conocía como la Oficina del Consejero Especial para Prácticas Injustas en el Empleo Relacionadas a Inmigración, que pertenece a la División, es responsable de aplicar la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA. Entre otras cosas, esta ley prohíbe la discriminación por motivos de estatus migratorio, ciudadanía o nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido o reclutamiento o recomendación por comisión; la discriminación en el proceso de verificación de la elegibilidad para trabajar; las represalias y la intimidación.

Para más información sobre protecciones contra la discriminación en el empleo en virtud de las leyes migratorias, llame a la línea directa de la IER para trabajadores al 1‑800‑255-7688 (1‑800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); llame a la línea directa de la IER para empleadores al 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); matricúlese para un seminario en línea gratuito; mande un correo electrónico a IER@usdoj.gov o visite la página web de la IER en inglés o español.  

Aquellos postulantes o empleados que creen haber sido sometidos a otros requisitos documentales por motivos de su estatus migratorio, ciudadanía o nacionalidad de origen, o a la discriminación por motivos de su estatus migratorio, ciudadanía o nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido o reclutamiento o recomendación por comisión deben llamar a la línea directa de la IER para trabajadores para pedir ayuda.

On Wednesday, January 17, 2018, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, along with Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch and Chief of Staff John Elias, met with high school students participating in dropout prevention organization Communities In Schools of Atlanta.  The group discussed overcoming obstacles and achieving their goals.

“These impressive students are already on the road to achieving great things,” said Assistant Attorney General Delrahim.  “Their stories inspired me, and I was grateful for the chance to share my experiences with them.  I applaud the critical work that Communities In Schools and my friend and former colleague Frank Brown are doing.” 

The Communities In Schools contingent also toured the White House, the Supreme Court, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture on its trip to Washington.

About Communities in Schools of Atlanta

Communities In Schools (CIS) of Atlanta, established in 1972, is dedicated to doing whatever it takes to help students succeed in school and achieve in life. Operating in more than 62 schools, mainly in Atlanta Public Schools, as well as Clayton County Public Schools, DeKalb County Schools and Fulton County Schools, CIS of Atlanta supports more than 36,000 students and their families in the 2016-2017 academic year. Based directly inside the schools, CIS of Atlanta connects students and their families to basic and critical educational and community-based resources, tailored to each student’s specific needs.  Its Chief Executive Officer is Frank Brown, who has extensive experience with community organizations and on Capitol Hill.  

CIS Atlanta runs “Real Talk about the Law.”  This program is designed to reach young men in high school, encourage high school and post-secondary education, strengthen relationships between law enforcement and the community, and expose young men to positive career role models. The series has hosted prosecutors from the United States Attorney’s Office to discuss the realities of African-American boys’ and young men’s interactions with law enforcement.

A former police officer with the Veterans Affairs Medical Center Police Department in Indianapolis, Indiana, has been indicted on federal civil rights and obstruction charges, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division John Gore, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana Josh J. Minkler, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge of the Indianapolis Division W. Jay Abbott.

The indictment charges that on April 18, 2017, Michael Kaim, 27, assaulted a patient whom he was in the process of arresting outside of the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center.  As a result of the assault, the patient sustained bodily injury. The indictment also charges the defendant with obstructing justice by writing a false report about the arrest. 

The civil rights charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years, and the obstruction of justice charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years.

This case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Anita T. Channapati of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division with assistance from the United States Attorney’s Office in Indianapolis.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

A former chief-of-staff for LIUNA in Washington D.C. was charged yesterday with health care fraud and stealing from LIUNA.    

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; District Director Mark Wheeler of the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor Management Standards Washington, D.C., District Office; Regional Director Michael Schloss, Washington District Office, of the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration; and Special Agent in Charge Robin Blake of the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General’s Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations Washington, D.C., made the announcement.  

On Jan. 18, a grand jury in Washington, D.C. indicted Roderick Marvin Bennett, 49, of Alexandria, Virginia, the former chief-of-staff for LIUNA, in a five-count indictment with three counts of theft from a labor organization, one count of health care fraud conspiracy and one count of health care fraud.  Mr. Bennett will appear before U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper at a later date.

LIUNA is a labor organization that represents more than 580,000 laborers in the construction industry in the United States and Canada.  For approximately four years, until October 2016, Bennett served as the chief-of-staff at LIUNA headquarters in Washington, D.C.  According to the indictment, from December 2013 to October 2016, Bennett made numerous unauthorized personal charges on his LIUNA-issued AMEX card totaling at least $170,000, which was contrary to the rules of LIUNA governing use of the AMEX card and which provided no benefit to LIUNA.  The alleged unauthorized charges by Bennett included:

• Personal trips to Las Vegas, New York City and Orlando, Florida;
• Boat slip charges in Prince William Marina for his private boat;
• More than $33,000 in hotel and restaurant charges in Washington, D.C.;
• Personal electronics and toys, storage space, lawn care and furniture and antiques for his home;
• Private school tuition;
• A puppy and veterinary and kennel services;
• Lavish jewelry, luxury wristwatches and gold-flecked makeup; and
• Personal clothing, shoes, and dry cleaning services.

In addition, the indictment charge Bennett and Aimee Occhetti of The Villages, Florida, an attorney formerly of the District of Columbia, with health care fraud conspiracy and health care fraud.  According to the allegations, Bennett arranged for Occhetti to be fraudulently placed on the LIUNA Healthcare Plan even though Occhetti was not a full-time employee of LIUNA and therefore not eligible to participate in the plan.  The indictment further alleges that Occhetti obtained more than $66,000 in medical reimbursements from Aetna to which she was not entitled.  

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Vincent Falvo of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.

Joseph Kelley and James Lewis were each indicted in Newark, New Jersey, with crimes related to illegally trafficking juvenile American eels, also known as “elvers” or “glass eels.”  A seven-count indictment was returned on Jan. 18, 2018, charging Kelley and Lewis with conspiracy to smuggle elvers and violate the Lacey Act. 

The Indictment alleges that Kelley and Lewis knowingly harvested elvers illegally in the states of New Jersey and Massachusetts, and sold those elvers to dealers or exporters. Among those dealers is Thomas Choi, who pleaded guilty to related crimes in the District of Maine in 2016, and who was subsequently sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for those offenses. 

The indictments were announced today by Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Acting Director Greg Sheehan of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  

Eels are highly valued in east Asia for human consumption.  Historically, Japanese and European eels were harvested to meet this demand. However, overfishing has led to a decline in the population of these eels.  As a result, harvesters have turned to the American eel to fill the void resulting from the decreased number of Japanese and European eels.  Because of the threat of overfishing, elver harvesting is prohibited in the United States in all but two states: Maine and South Carolina.  Maine and South Carolina heavily regulate elver fisheries, requiring that individuals be licensed and report all quantities of harvested eels to state authorities.  

These indictments were the result of “Operation Broken Glass,” a multi-jurisdiction, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) investigation into the illegal trafficking of American eels.  To date, the investigation has resulted in two other indictments, as well as guilty pleas for nineteen other individuals in Maine, Virginia, and South Carolina.  These defendants combined have admitted to illegally trafficking more than $4.5 million worth of elvers.

Operation Broken Glass was conducted by USFWS and the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section in collaboration with the Maine Marine Patrol, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division, New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife Bureau of Law Enforcement, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Conservation Police, Virginia Marine Resources Commission Police, USFWS Refuge Law Enforcement, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement, Massachusetts Environmental Police, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Division of Law Enforcement, New York State Environmental Conservation Police, New Hampshire Fish and Game Division of Law Enforcement, Maryland Natural Resources Police, North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission Division of Law Enforcement, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Yarmouth, Massachusetts Division of Natural Resources, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Police Department and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

The government is represented by Environmental Crimes Section Trial Attorneys Cassandra Barnum and Shane Waller.

Today Attorney General Sessions issued the following statement on Deputy U.S. Marshal Christopher David Hill, killed in the line of duty in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, while protecting his community:  "Today in the law enforcement community, our hearts are broken over the senseless killing of one of our Deputy Marshals, Chris Hill. He was shot and killed while doing his job executing a warrant on a wanted fugitive. Every day, Deputy U.S. Marshals make the people of this country safer by catching fugitives on the run, protecting our courthouses, our judges, and witnesses at trial. They achieve these critical accomplishments at often heroic risk. Chris Hill’s ultimate sacrifice calls to my mind the example of Robert Forsyth, whose name is given to the Marshals Service award for valor. Chris Hill’s name should also be remembered as synonymous with valor.”

The United States today filed a civil denaturalization complaint in the Northern District of Iowa against a 51-year old man who allegedly obtained his naturalized U.S. citizenship by fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced.

Eso Razic, a native of the former Yugoslavia and subsequently a citizen of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, allegedly concealed his service in multiple paramilitary organizations during the conflict in the Balkans in the early 1990s.  The United States alleges that while serving as a member of those combatant groups, Razic participated in the extrajudicial killing of three individuals, including a wounded prisoner of war.  The complaint alleges that Razic fraudulently obtained permanent resident status and citizenship by misrepresenting and concealing his membership in and conduct with these groups.

“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that our immigration system serves the national interest,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “When our immigration system and public safety are undermined by fraudsters, the Justice Department will prosecute them and use civil denaturalization to protect the integrity of our nation’s immigration system and defend the security of our nation.”

“Laws that regulate access to United States citizenship must be respected,” said Peter E. Deegan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa. “Our office will work vigorously with our enforcement partners to ensure that naturalization is reserved for qualified individuals and that the rule of law is upheld.”

“This denaturalization filing demonstrates the U.S. government’s enduring commitment to identify and bring to justice those who have committed human rights violations in any part of the world,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Deputy Executive Associate Director Derek Benner. “The United States will not serve as a safe haven for those who have committed such atrocities and then fled from justice. We will identify, locate, and work to prosecute and/or remove human rights violators in the U.S. regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, or religious background.”

The case was investigated by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Human Rights Violator and War Crimes Unit (HRVWCU) and the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation, District Court Section (OIL-DCS), with support from ICE’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) Human Rights Law Section (HRLS). The case is being jointly prosecuted by Counsel for National Security Aaron Petty of OIL-DCS’s National Security and Affirmative Litigation Unit (NS/A Unit) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Schunk of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa, with support from Assistant Chief Counsel Abby Meyer of ICE OPLA, Omaha Office.

The claims made in the complaint are allegations only, and there have been no determinations of liability.

United Kingdom-based global financial services company HSBC Holdings plc (HSBC) entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) and agreed to pay a $63.1 million criminal penalty and $38.4 million in disgorgement and restitution to resolve charges that it engaged in a scheme to defraud two bank clients through a multi-million dollar scheme commonly referred to as “front-running.”  The DPA, which was filed in connection with a two-count criminal information charging wire fraud in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, is pending review by the Court.   

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Inspector General Jay N. Lerner of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division made the announcement.    

“HSBC’s admissions in connection with this resolution confirm that the company misused confidential client information for its own profit on more than one occasion,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan.  “This sort of misconduct not only harmed their clients, costing the victims money, but it also ran a serious risk of undermining the public’s confidence in our financial markets.  The Department of Justice takes these types of cases seriously and will hold to account financial institutions and individuals that circumvent the rule of law in favor of illicit profits.”

“Today’s agreement represents that the financial services company, HSBC Holdings, is responsible for the conduct of its employees, and that it must not be permitted to benefit from the fraud committed by bank personnel,” said Inspector General Lerner.  “Such financial crimes violated the trusted relationships between HSBC and its clients, and therefore, we are pleased to join our law enforcement partners in combating this misconduct.”

"HSBC defrauded two bank clients in a front-running scheme that enabled them to acquire millions of dollars to benefit their institution and harm their clients," said Special Agent in Charge Slater.  "The FBI remains dedicated to ensuring the integrity is upheld in the financial services industry, and prosecuting those who engage in illegal business practices."

According to HSBC’s admissions, on two separate occasions in 2010 and 2011, traders on its foreign exchange desk misused confidential information provided to them by clients that hired HSBC to execute multi-billion dollar foreign exchange transactions involving the British Pound Sterling.  After executing confidentiality agreements with its clients that required the bank to keep the details of their planned transactions confidential, traders on HSBC’s foreign exchange desk transacted in the Pound Sterling for the traders and HSBC’s own benefit in their HSBC “proprietary” accounts.  HSBC traders then caused the large transactions to be executed in a manner designed to drive the price of the Pound Sterling in a direction that benefited HSBC, and harmed their clients.  HSBC also made misrepresentations to one of the clients, Cairn Energy, to conceal the self-serving nature of its actions.  In total, HSBC admitted to making profits of approximately $38.4 million on the first transaction in March 2010, and approximately $8 million on the Cairn Energy transaction in December 2011.     

Pursuant to its agreement with the Justice Department, HSBC agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $63.1 million. HSBC also agreed to continue to cooperate with the department and with foreign authorities in any ongoing investigations and prosecutions relating to the conduct (including of individuals), to enhance its compliance program, and to pay $38.4 million in disgorgement and restitution for its conduct related to one of the two victim companies.  HSBC previously settled with the other victim company, Cairn Energy, for approximately $8 million, which the Department credited as full restitution for Cairn.

The Department reached this resolution based on a number of factors, including the approximately $46.4 million that HSBC gained from the offense; the bank’s remedial measures to date, including dedicating significant resources to improving its systems and controls and terminating the employment of employees involved in wrongdoing; and the bank’s commitment to continuing to enhance its compliance program and internal controls.  HSBC did not receive credit for voluntarily disclosing the misconduct.  HSBC received substantial cooperation credit because, although as detailed in the DPA, the bank’s initial cooperation with the government’s investigation was deficient in certain respects, after being notified of the Department’s concerns, HSBC changed course and its cooperation improved substantially.  

In connection with the government’s investigation, Mark Johnson was charged on Aug. 16, 2016 with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud as well as 10 counts of wire fraud stemming from the Cairn Energy transaction.  Johnson, the former head of foreign exchange cash trading at HSBC, was found guilty on Oct. 23, 2017 of one count of conspiracy and eight counts of wire fraud after a four-week jury trial in Brooklyn, New York.  His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 15.  

The investigation was conducted by the FDIC’s Office of Inspector General and the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  Assistant Chiefs Carol Sipperly and Brian Young and Trial Attorney Blake Goebel of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided significant support.  

The Department of Justice today filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of Montana supporting parents who claim that the state unconstitutionally discriminated against their children when it barred them from a private school scholarship program because they attend a religious school. 

The case, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, involves children attending a Christian school who were denied participation in the Montana Tax Credit Scholarship Program after the Department of Revenue issued a rule declaring ineligible students attending schools owned or controlled “by a church, religious sect, or denomination.”  Under the scholarship program, Montana taxpayers can contribute up to $150 to privately run scholarship organizations and receive a tax credit. The scholarship organizations then provide scholarships for families attending non-public elementary and secondary schools in the state.  The parents filed suit in December 2015 after their children were denied participation in the scholarship program because they attend a Christian school.  A state trial court ruled in favor of the parents in May 2017 and issued an injunction requiring them to be allowed to participate.  The state appealed, arguing that the rule is valid under state law, and that it does not violate the U.S. Constitution.

The United States’ brief argues that excluding these families from the scholarship program because they have chosen to attend a religious school violates their rights under the U.S. Constitution’s Free Exercise Clause, which forbids government discrimination on the basis of religion.

“The Constitution prohibits states from discriminating based on religion,” said Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand.  “Today’s amicus brief is further proof that this administration will lead by example on religious liberty.” 

The United States’ brief notes that school choice scholarships programs like this one are plainly permissible under the Establishment Clause.  And, the brief argues, the Supreme Court’s holding last year in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer makes clear that blocking students attending religious schools from participating in such scholarship programs violates the Free Exercise Clause.  In Trinity Lutheran, the Court held that a Colorado program providing recycled tires for playground surfacing violated the Free Exercise Clause when it excluded religious organization from the program.  The Court held that “the Free Exercise Clause protects religious observers against unequal treatment and subjects to the strictest scrutiny laws that target the religious for special disabilities.”  The United States brief argues that the Montana scholarship program likewise cannot treat families attending religious schools unequally.

Today’s filing addresses issues set forth in Attorney General Sessions’ Guidance on Federal Law Protections for Religious Liberty issued on Oct. 6, 2017.   The Guidance stated that “government may not target persons or individuals because of their religion” and may not “deny religious schools-including schools whose curricula and activities include religious elements-the right to participate in a voucher program, so long as the aid reaches the schools through independent decisions of parents.”

Today Attorney General Sessions issued the following statement applauding Congress for voting to reauthorize Section 702:  “Today's vote to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is crucial to allowing us to continue to gather intelligence on foreign terrorists overseas and foil potential plots against Americans abroad and at home. I would especially like to thank the Senate and House leadership on both sides of the aisle, as well as the bipartisan efforts from those leaders on the Senate and House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees that supported and helped pass this critical legislation that gives us the tools to continue to keep the American people safe.”

U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke sentenced a Miami-area man to 12 months and one day in prison and three years’ supervised release for threatening to shoot members of a mosque in Miami Gardens, Florida, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg for the Southern District of Florida.

Gerald Wallace, 35, pleaded guilty in October 2017 in the Southern District of Florida to one count of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs for making the threatening call.  During the plea hearing, Wallace admitted that on the evening of Feb. 19, 2017, Wallace left a voicemail message for the Islamic Center of Greater Miami, located in Miami Gardens, Florida.  The defendant admitted leaving a hate-filled and profanity-laden message against Islam, the prophet Mohammed, and the Koran, during which he threatened to go to the mosque, and stated, “I’m gonna shoot all ya’ll.” He further admitted that by leaving this threatening message, he obstructed congregants who worship at the Islamic Center from freely exercising their religious beliefs.

“Our Constitution and laws guarantee all people – regardless of where they worship – the right to live free from violence and discrimination,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore.  “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute those who commit violent acts of hate by threat or action.”

“Hate crimes violate our country’s most fundamental principles,” said U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg. “Today, Wallace was sentenced for depriving the Islamic Center’s congregants of the right to freely exercise their religion.  This office will continue to aggressively prosecute hate crimes in order to protect those in our community who would otherwise fall victim to discriminatory violence.” 

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force and the Miami Gardens Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry C. Wallace, Jr. of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Samantha Trepel of the Civil Rights Division.

A Colombian national was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for his participation in a conspiracy and bribery scheme that resulted in the dismissal of a drug trafficking indictment filed against a Colombia-based drug kingpin, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

According to admissions in his plea agreement, Juan Carlos Velasco Cano, 49, acted as an intermediary between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Christopher V. Ciccione II, 52, of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and Colombian national Jose Bayron Piedrahita Ceballos, 58, to use Ciccione’s official position to cause a drug trafficking indictment against Piedrahita to be dismissed and to obtain official authorization for Piedrahita to enter the United States.

Velasco admitted that Piedrahita gave Ciccione approximately $20,000 in cash, dinner, drinks and prostitution during an extended hotel stay in Bogota, Colombia in exchange for Ciccione using his official position to obtain the dismissal of the indictment against Piedrahita.  In furtherance of the scheme, Velasco arranged for a meeting of the conspirators in Bogota; facilitated communications between Piedrahita and Ciccione; and received confidential law enforcement information from Ciccione about himself and others, including the names of a confidential source and cooperating witnesses.

Velasco was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. of the Southern District of Florida.  Ciccione will be sentenced on Feb. 9 and Piedrahita is currently incarcerated in the Republic of Colombia. 

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Piedrahita as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act on May 3, 2016.

ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and the FBI investigated the case.  The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the Office of the Judicial Attaché in Colombia and the Drug Enforcement Administration provided valuable assistance to the investigation.  The Colombian Attorney General’s Office also provided invaluable support. Trial Attorneys Luke Cass and Jennifer A. Clarke of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case.

On January 17, 2018, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), in collaboration with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Federal Communications Commission, conducted a test of micro-jamming technology at the Federal Correctional Institution at Cumberland, Maryland.  The test was conducted to determine if micro-jamming could prevent wireless communication by an inmate using a contraband device at the individual cell housing unit level. 

Prior to this test, the BOP had conducted a limited cellphone jamming demonstration with NTIA in 2010, at the same field site in Cumberland supporting NTIA’s congressionally-mandated study of cellphone interdiction technologies.  

As part of the Jan. 17 test, NTIA conducted an independent evaluation of micro-jamming technology to determine its efficacy and interference potential with Radio Frequency communications.  The BOP and NTIA will review the data and analysis results from both BOP’s and NTIA’s testing and develop recommendations for strategic planning and possible acquisition.

“Contraband cell phones in prisons pose a major and growing security threat to correctional officers, law enforcement officials, and the general public,” said Assistant Attorney General Beth Williams of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy.  “As criminals increase their technological capacity to further criminal activity from within prisons, we must also explore technologies to prevent this from happening.  This test is part of our ongoing efforts to find a solution.” 

Contraband cellphones have been an ongoing correctional security and public safety concern for the BOP as well as for state and local correctional agencies across the country.  Contraband phones are used to further ongoing criminal activity, including threats to public officials, intimidation of witnesses, and continuance of criminal enterprises.  

The BOP will continue to evaluate cell phone detection technologies and work with its federal partners and Congress to achieve cost-effective options to combat this threat to corrections and public safety.  The agency does not endorse any specific vendor or product. 

The Department of Justice today filed a notice of appeal in The Regents of the University of California and Janet Napolitano v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Elaine Duke seeking review before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  The Department also intends later this week to take the rare step of filing a petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment, seeking direct review in the Supreme Court.

“It defies both law and common sense for DACA—an entirely discretionary non-enforcement policy that was implemented unilaterally by the last administration after Congress rejected similar legislative proposals and courts invalidated the similar DAPA policy—to somehow be mandated nationwide by a single district court in San Francisco,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “It is clear that Acting Secretary Duke acted within her discretion to rescind this policy with an orderly wind down. This was done both to give Congress an opportunity to act on this issue and in light of ongoing litigation in which the injunction against DAPA had already been affirmed by the Supreme Court. We are now taking the rare step of requesting direct review on the merits of this injunction by the Supreme Court so that this issue may be resolved quickly and fairly for all the parties involved.”

The Department of Justice today filed an amicus brief supporting reversal of the D.C. District Court’s decision denying the Archdiocese of Washington’s motion for preliminary injunction against Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA).

In November, the Archdiocese of Washington requested to purchase an advertisement on WMATA buses as part of its “Find the Perfect Gift” Christmas charitable campaign. WMATA denied this request, claiming that the advertisement violated WMATA’s policies banning ads that “promote or oppose any religion, religious practice or belief.” WMATA’s sole basis for rejecting the advertisement—which conveys the implicit message that viewers should “seek spiritual gifts,” make charitable donations, attend church services, and pursue “public service opportunities”—was that the advertisement “seeks to promote religion.” WMATA accepts advertisements that contain non-religious Christmas messages from charitable and commercial viewpoints.

In the amicus brief, the department asserts that WMATA’s rejection of the advertisement constitutes viewpoint discrimination and is a violation of the Archdiocese of Washington’s First Amendment right of free speech.

"As the Supreme Court has made clear, the First Amendment prohibits the government from discriminating against religious viewpoints," said Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand.  "By rejecting the Archdiocese’s advertisement while allowing other Christmas advertisements, WMATA engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination."

The Justice Department, under Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ leadership, has shown a commitment to religious liberty and free speech protections, highlighted by the Government’s amicus brief in Masterpiece Cakeshop and its briefs in support of free speech on college campuses.

Note: The amicus brief can be found here. 

Update: On March 4, 2019, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Charles Roberts Breyer of the Northern District of California granted the Rule 29 motion and granted an acquittal. Mr. Bogucki was acquitted on all charges.

The former head of Barclays Capital Inc.’s (Barclays) New York foreign exchange trading operation was charged yesterday in an indictment for his alleged role in a scheme to defraud a client of Barclays through a method commonly referred to as “front-running.”  The charges relate to the manipulation of foreign exchange options in advance of an exceptionally large trade by the Palo Alto, California-based Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) in 2011.

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Alex G. Tse of the Northern District of California and Inspector General Jay N. Lerner of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) made the announcement.  

Robert Bogucki, 45, of East Setauket, New York, was charged in an indictment filed in the Northern District of California on Jan. 16, with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and six counts of wire fraud.  Bogucki will make his initial appearance on Wednesday, Jan. 17, at 2:00pm in Brooklyn, New York, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak of the Eastern District of New York. 

“Robert Bogucki and others allegedly not only betrayed his client’s confidences, but also risked undermining public trust in the foreign exchange options market,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan.  “The Criminal Division and our law enforcement partners remain committed to protecting American interests by investigating and prosecuting sophisticated schemes such as the one alleged in this indictment.”

 “The indictment returned today charges a fraudulent manipulation scheme where the defendant betrayed Barclays’ client by lying and misusing the client information, and then masked the activities,” said Inspector General Lerner.  “We are pleased to work with our law enforcement partners in investigating these matters and protecting the integrity of the banking system against such alleged abuses.”

According to the indictment, in September and October 2011, Bogucki misused information provided to him by HP, which had hired Barclays to execute a foreign exchange transaction related to the planned acquisition of a UK-based company.  Barclays was selected to execute the foreign exchange transaction – which required the sale of 6 billion British pounds worth of options – in September 2011.  The defendant and other Barclays employees assured HP and its employees that they understood the need to keep the planned transaction, which was exceptionally large, and therefore “market-moving,” confidential.  Instead, Bogucki and other Barclays employees allegedly used the confidential information they received to manipulate the price of “volatility,” a metric that affects the value of foreign exchange options.  During conversations with Bogucki, one Barclays trader stated that he and other traders would “bash the sh*t out of” and “spank the market” to depress the price of volatility.  Other Barclays traders also discussed “hammer[ing] the market lower” in order to decrease the value of the HP’s options.

The indictment alleges that, as part of the scheme, Bogucki made misrepresentations to HP and its employees about Barclays’ activities and the state of the options market that concealed the self-serving nature of Barclays’ actions.  Specifically, the indictment alleges that Bogucki directed options trading in a way that was designed to depress the price of volatility, to the benefit of Barclays and at HP’s expense.

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.  This is the second indictment brought against the head of a foreign exchange desk of a global financial institution related to the Criminal Division’s ongoing investigation of fraud and manipulation in the foreign exchange markets.

The investigation is being conducted by the FDIC’s Office of Inspector General.  Assistant Chief Brian Young and Trial Attorney Justin Weitz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California provided substantial assistance in this matter.

Today, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a report, revealing that three out of every four, or 402, individuals convicted of international terrorism-related charges in U.S. federal courts between September 11, 2001, and December 31, 2016 were foreign-born. Over the same period, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed approximately 1,716 aliens with national security concerns. Further, in 2017 alone DHS had 2,554 encounters with individuals on the terrorist watch list (also known as the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Database) traveling to the United States. 

This report was required by Section 11 of President Trump’s Executive Order 13780, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, which declared that “it is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from terrorist attacks, including those committed by foreign nationals,” directed a series of actions to enhance the security and safety of the American people. The actions directed by Executive Order have raised the baseline for the vetting and screening of foreign nationals, prevented the entry of malicious actors, and enhanced the safety and security of the American people.

“This report reveals an indisputable sobering reality—our immigration system has undermined our national security and public safety,” said Attorney General Sessions.  “And the information in this report is only the tip of the iceberg: we currently have terrorism-related investigations against thousands of people in the United States, including hundreds of people who came here as refugees.  Our law enforcement professionals do amazing work, but it is simply not reasonable to keep asking them to risk their lives to enforce the law while we admit thousands every year without sufficient knowledge about their backgrounds.  The pillars of President Trump’s immigration policy—securing our porous borders, moving to a merit-based immigration system that ends the use of diversity visas and chain migration, and enforcing our nation’s laws—will make their jobs easier and make the United States a safer place.”

“My top priority as Secretary of Homeland Security is to ensure the safety and security of the American people,” said Secretary Nielsen. “This report is a clear reminder of why we cannot continue to rely on immigration policy based on pre-9/11 thinking that leaves us woefully vulnerable to foreign-born terrorists, and why we must examine our visa laws and continue to intensify screening and vetting of individuals traveling to the United States to prevent terrorists, criminals, and other dangerous individuals from reaching our country. Without legislative change, DHS will continue to see thousands of terrorists a year attempt to enter the United States, and while we must be right every time, the terrorists only need to be lucky once.  Therefore, DHS has personnel deployed around the world and along our borders working with our global and domestic law enforcement partners to stop terrorists before they enter the homeland.”   

The report reveals that at least 549 individuals were convicted of international terrorism-related charges in U.S. federal courts between September 11, 2001, and December 31, 2016.  An analysis conducted by DHS determined that approximately 73 percent (402 of these 549 individuals) were foreign-born.  Breaking down the 549 individuals by citizenship status at the time of their respective convictions reveals that:

• 254 were not U.S. citizens;
• 148 were foreign-born, naturalized and received U.S. citizenship; and,
• 147 were U.S. citizens by birth.

According to information available to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), since September 11, 2001, there were approximately 1,716 removals of aliens with national security concerns. 

As mentioned above, in FY 2017, DHS encountered 2,554 individuals on the terrorist watchlist (also known as the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Database) traveling to the United States. Of those individuals, 335 were attempting to enter by land, 2,170 were attempting to enter by air, and 49 were attempting to enter by sea. Where consistent with the law, such individuals are denied entry into the United States, while in some cases law enforcement authorities are notified and can take appropriate action.

From October 1, 2011, to September 30, 2017, a total of 355,345 non-U.S. citizen offenders, were administratively arrested after previously being convicted of an aggravated felony, as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43), or two or more crimes each punishable by more than one year (felony offenses).  During that same period, a total of 372,098 non-U.S. citizen offenders were removed from the United States after conviction of an aggravated felony or two or more felonies. 

Data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate shows that between 2007 and 2017, USCIS referred 45,858 foreign nationals who applied for immigration benefits to ICE for criminal or civil enforcement action, based on information indicating that such foreign nationals had committed egregious public safety-related offenses within the United States.

Between FY 2010 and FY 2016, CBP identified and prevented the boarding of 73,261 foreign travelers on flights destined for the United States, who may have presented an immigration or security risk.

In October, the Trump Administration sent to Congress a list of legislative priorities that would enhance our national security—such as eliminating the diversity visa lottery and extended family chain migration, funding the wall, closing loopholes in our asylum system, combatting visa overstays, and closing other loopholes in existing law that potentially benefit aliens who pose threats to our national security.

Background on the Executive Order

Section 11 of Executive Order requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Attorney General, to collect and make publicly available the following information:

1. Information regarding the number of foreign nationals in the United States who have been charged with terrorism-related offenses while in the United States; convicted of terrorism-related offenses while in the United States; or removed from the United States based on terrorism-related activity, affiliation with or provision of material support to a terrorism-related organization, or any other national-security-related reasons;
2. Information regarding the number of foreign nationals in the United States who have been radicalized after entry into the United States and who have engaged in terrorism-related acts, or who have provided material support to terrorism-related organizations in countries that pose a threat to the United States;
3. Information regarding the number and types of acts of gender-based violence against women, including so-called “honor killings,” in the United States by foreign nationals; and,
4. Any other information relevant to public safety and security as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney General, including information on the immigration status of foreign nationals charged with major offenses.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions released the following proclamation commemorating Religious Freedom Day: “Thomas Jefferson served as President for two terms, as Vice President, and as Secretary of State, but he did not mention these prestigious titles on his tombstone. Instead, he named three accomplishments he was more proud of: that he had founded the University of Virginia, authored the Declaration of Independence, and authored the Virginia statute of religious freedom.

“To commemorate Religious Freedom Day, the Department of Justice will file an amicus brief today supporting reversal of the D.C. District Court’s decision denying the Archdiocese of Washington’s motion for preliminary injunction against Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) and will file a second amicus brief later this week with the Supreme Court of Montana supporting parents who claim that the state unconstitutionally discriminated against their children when it barred them from a private school scholarship program because they attend a religious school.    

“On this Religious Freedom Day, as we remember this historic statute, we do well to remember the timeless truths it articulates: that religious freedom is an inalienable human right which deserves the protection of the law and that ‘truth is great and will prevail if left to herself.’”

A North Carolina man pleaded guilty to federal dog fighting and conspiracy charges yesterday, announced United States Attorney Matthew G.T. Martin and Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

Brexton Redell Lloyd, 54, of Eagle Springs, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy and two felony counts of possession and training a dog intended for use in an animal fighting venture, contrary to the animal fighting provisions of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Each count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to documents filed with the court, Lloyd participated with Justin “Jay” Love and others in a multi-state dog fighting conspiracy. These documents describe Lloyd and Love’s attempt to set up a dog fight between Lloyd and an unknown opponent in October 2015 and Lloyd’s breeding and training activities. Court documents further note that earlier this year, agents seized thirteen pit bull-type dogs from Lloyd’s residence. Ten of the dogs were secured outdoors by excessive chains, wearing thick collars, and positioned so that each dog was out of reach of any other dog. The other dogs were housed individually in pens. The water in the dogs’ bowls was frozen. Two of the four adult dogs seized exhibited scars consistent with dog fighting, and a third adult dog had four fractured teeth. In addition to the dogs, agents seized items related to training dogs for dog fighting purposes, including: a spring pole, a dog harness, and a hanging scale. Agents also seized veterinary supplies, including: intravenous fluids, intravenous administration sets stated for “Veterinary Use Only,” injectable and other antibiotics, a 100-count package of syringes, blood clotting medications such as Blood Stop Powder, and a skin stapler.  

“Organized crime has no place in North Carolina or the United States – and dog fighting of this sort is nothing short of organized crime. Our law enforcement partners at the Department of Agriculture, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Moore County Sheriff’s Office, and the N.C. State Highway Patrol demonstrated exceptional coordination in bringing this defendant to justice,” said United States Attorney Matthew G.T. Martin for the Middle District of North Carolina. 

“Yesterday’s guilty plea and our continuing efforts to investigate and prosecute these cases send a strong message that our justice system will not tolerate the torment and death of animals in the fighting ring, all for the sake of illegal gambling,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General. “Federal law is clear on this point and will continue to be enforced.”

“The provisions of the Animal Welfare Act were designed to protect animals from being used in illegal fighting ventures, which often entail other forms of criminal activity involving drugs, firearms and gambling,” said Special Agent in Charge Bethanne M. Dinkins for U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General. “Together with the Department of Justice, animal fighting is an investigative priority for USDA OIG, and we will work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and assist in the criminal prosecution of those who participate in animal fighting ventures.”

This case is part of Operation Grand Champion, a coordinated effort across numerous federal judicial districts to combat organized dog fighting. The phrase “Grand Champion” is used by dog fighters to refer to a dog with more than five dog fighting “victories.” To date, over one hundred dogs have been rescued as part of Operation Grand Champion, and either surrendered or forfeited to the government. The Humane Society of the United States assisted with the care of the dogs seized by federal law enforcement. 

This case was investigated by USDA-OIG and FBI, with assistance from the Moore County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina Highway Patrol, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney JoAnna G. McFadden and Trial Attorney Erica H. Pencak of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section Environmental Crimes Section. 

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a man from Maurice pleaded guilty Wednesday to submitting false receipts in order to draw more than $1.6 million from a bank line of credit.

Richard J. Viator Jr., 52, of Maurice, La., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick Hanna to one count of bank fraud. The plea will become final after it is accepted by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell. According to the guilty plea, Viator was the owner/president of the oilfield company Safety Analysis Team Inc. located in Abbeville, La. Viator had a revolving line of credit for $2 million at an Abbeville bank. In order to access the credit, he was required to submit receipts. From November 4, 2010 to February 23, 2011, Viator received 11 draws or payments from the line of credit totaling $1,673,304.85 based on false and fraudulent invoices, which purported to be accounts receivable from various companies for work performed by Safety Analysis Team.

Viator faces up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, restitution and a $1 million fine. The court set April 10, 2018 as the sentencing date.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jamilla A. Bynog and Kelly P. Uebinger are prosecuting the case.

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), announced that defendant JOSEPHINE JOANN QUINTANILLA, age 37, from Mangilao, was sentenced in the District Court of Guam to 46 months imprisonment for the crimes of Drug User in Possession of Firearms and Ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), and Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1). The Court also ordered three years of supervised release following defendant’s term of imprisonment, in addition to the forfeiture of seven firearms and 98 rounds of ammunition. Additionally, defendants convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits.

          On May 31, 2017, defendant Quintanilla pleaded guilty to two counts in an Indictment charging her with Drug User in Possession of Firearms and Ammunition and Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. The investigation showed that Quintanilla was a regular user of methamphetamine hydrochloride throughout 2016. A search of her home also revealed drug paraphernalia and scales used to weigh the drug. During this same period, federal agents learned that Quintanilla possessed and sold firearms and ammunition. Quintanilla also traveled to California to mail 28.24 grams of methamphetamine to Guam.

          The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Service Inspection and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The case was prosecuted by Rosetta San Nicolas, Assistant

U.S. Attorney.

The FBI Washington Field Office announced today the release of age-progressed photographs of four alleged hijackers charged in the United States with the September 5, 1986 attack of Pan American World Airways Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan: Wadoud Muhammad Hafiz al-Turki, Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim, Muhammad Abdullah Khalil Hussain ar-Rahayyal, and Muhammad Ahmed al-Munawar. These images were created by the FBI Laboratory using age-progression technology and original photographs obtained by the FBI in the year 2000.

The attack on Pan Am Flight 73 resulted in the murder of 20 passengers and crew, including two Americans, the attempted murder of 379 passengers and crew, and the wounding of more than 100 individuals on board.

This announcement is in coordination with the U.S. Department of State Rewards for Justice Program, which is offering a reward of up to $5 million each for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of the alleged hijackers. Each of these individuals is believed to have been a member of the Abu Nidal Organization (ANO), previously on the U.S. Department of State’s list of designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations.  Each suspect is currently on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist List.

Anyone with information regarding these terrorists is asked to contact the FBI, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or submit a tip on https://tips.fbi.gov, which can remain anonymous.

Individuals on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists List have been indicted by sitting Federal Grand Juries in various jurisdictions in the United States for the crimes reflected on their wanted posters. The indictments currently listed on the posters allow them to be arrested and brought to justice. Additional information regarding the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists program can be found at: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/wanted_terrorists

Attorney General Jeff Sessions today announced the creation of the Hezbollah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team (HFNT), a group of experienced international narcotics trafficking, terrorism, organized crime, and money laundering prosecutors. HFNT prosecutors and investigators are tasked with investigating individuals and networks providing support to Hezbollah, and pursuing prosecutions in any appropriate cases. The HFNT will begin by assessing the evidence in existing investigations, including cases stemming from Project Cassandra, a law enforcement initiative targeting Hezbollah’s drug trafficking and related operations.  

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division will supervise the HFNT, and will convene a coordination meeting focused on identifying and combatting such support to Hezbollah.  The HFNT will coordinate with, among others, investigators from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), including the DEA’s Special Operations Division; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Homeland Security Investigations; Assistant United States Attorneys; and attorneys from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and National Security Division.

“The Justice Department will leave no stone unturned in order to eliminate threats to our citizens from terrorist organizations and to stem the tide of the devastating drug crisis,” said Attorney General Sessions. “In an effort to protect Americans from both threats, the Justice Department will assemble leading investigators and prosecutors to ensure that all Project Cassandra investigations as well as other related investigations, whether past or present, are given the needed resources and attention to come to their proper resolution. The team will initiate prosecutions that will restrict the flow of money to foreign terrorist organizations as well as disrupt violent international drug trafficking operations.”

“The investigation and prosecution of terrorist organizations that contribute to the growing drug crisis are a priority for this administration,” said Acting Assistant General Cronan. “At the Attorney General’s direction, the HFNT will use all appropriate tools to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who provide financial support to Hezbollah in an effort to eradicate the illicit networks that fuel terrorism and the drug crisis.”

Paul Carter, 47, of Milwaukee was sentenced today to 21 years in prison, reduced by three years for time served, after pleading guilty on Oct. 6, 2017, to four counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion and one count of conspiracy to commit forced labor and sex trafficking, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Gregory Haanstad of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge James M. Gibbons.

According to documents filed in court and in connection with the defendant’s guilty plea, for over a decade, from 2001 to 2013, the defendant recruited young women and girls to dance at clubs using false promises of money and a better life. He then used a combination of physical violence, isolation, emotional manipulation, sexual assault, and threats to harm the victims’ families to exert control over the victims and compel them to engage in commercial sex acts.

For example, on one occasion, the defendant used a heated wire hanger to brand a “P” on a victim’s buttock to demonstrate his ownership of her. When he learned that another victim was considering leaving, he put the barrel of a gun in her mouth and threatened to “blow her head off.”

On another occasion, the defendant, believing that a victim had hidden money from him, responded by searching her genitals and then forcing her to engage in sexual intercourse with him. In another instance, the defendant required her to choose between two punishments: drowning or jumping out of a window. After the victim jumped out of the window and fell to the ground, the defendant kicked her several times in the head, threw the victim to the ground, and stepped on her head hard enough to break her teeth.

President Donald J. Trump recently announced January 2018 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, which culminates on February 1, 2018 with the annual celebration of National Freedom Day. In February 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order, which directed the Attorney General to dismantle transnational criminal organizations, including those involved in human trafficking.

“Combatting sex trafficking—a heinous crime that often times preys on the youngest and most vulnerable members of our society—is one of the highest priorities of the Justice Department,” said Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand. “We will continue to work tirelessly to vindicate the civil rights of victims of human trafficking.”

“Sex traffickers target and prey upon some of the most vulnerable members of our society, threatening victims and subjecting them to extraordinary levels of violence,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory Haanstad of the Eastern District of Wisconsin. “Sex traffickers use violence not only to coerce victims into engaging in commercial sex acts, but also as a way to keep victims from cooperating with trafficking investigations and prosecutions. The United States Attorney’s Office remains committed to working with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to vindicate the rights of sex trafficking victims and to protect citizens from these violent and predatory offenses.”

“This case is an example of the ruthlessness of human traffickers who are willing to do anything, including victimizing women and girls, to make money,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge James M. Gibbons. “Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and HSI will continue to collaborate with community partners to bring justice to those impacted by this terrible crime.”

Two of Carter’s co-defendants previously pleaded guilty. Defendant David Moore pleaded guilty on October 27, 2015, to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and trafficking with respect to forced labor.  Sentencing is scheduled for January 30, 2018.  Defendant Najee Moore pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and use of an interstate facility to promote a prostitution business enterprise on June 9, 2014, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison on December 22, 2016. 

This prosecution is the result of the joint investigation by the Eastern District of Wisconsin’s Human Trafficking Task Force and cooperative efforts of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice, the Milwaukee Police Department, the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karine Moreno-Taxman and Laura Kwaterski of the Eastern District of Wisconsin and Trial Attorney Vasantha Rao of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions today announced the appointment of James McHenry as the permanent Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) at the Department of Justice. McHenry has served as the Acting Director of EOIR since May 30, 2017.

“I am pleased to announce the appointment of James as the permanent Director of EOIR. Since his appointment as Acting Director last May, James has led EOIR in restoring its commitment to the timely and efficient adjudication of immigration cases, and in identifying additional common-sense improvements to the immigration court system,” said Attorney General Sessions. “James is an exceptionally talented and capable leader, and I am confident that he will continue to ensure that EOIR and its components will adjudicate cases in a manner that serves the national interest.”

“Under Attorney General Sessions’ leadership, EOIR has implemented a series of sensible reforms that aim to reduce the pending caseload by realigning the agency towards completing cases, increasing both productivity and capacity, and changing policies that lead to inefficiencies and waste,” said EOIR Director McHenry. “I look forward to building on the success of last year and further realizing our goal of cutting the pending caseload in half by 2020.”

EOIR was created on Jan. 9, 1983, through an internal department reorganization which combined the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) with the immigration judge function previously performed by the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) (now part of the Department of Homeland Security). The Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO) was added in 1987.

EOIR is headed by a director who is responsible for the supervision of the Chairman of BIA, the Chief Immigration Judge, the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer and all agency personnel. EOIR has more than 2,100 employees in its 59 immigration courts nationwide, at the BIA, at OCAHO, and at EOIR headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia.

Director McHenry has previously served in the Executive Office for Immigration Review; he first joined the agency in 2003 through the Attorney General’s Honors Program and returned to the agency in 2016, when he was appointed as an administrative law judge (ALJ) for EOIR OCAHO.

Last year, McHenry served as a Deputy Associate Attorney General working on a variety of immigration-related litigation matters and overseeing multiple components reporting to the Office of the Associate Attorney General. From 2014 to 2016, he served as an ALJ for the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review in the Social Security Administration. Prior to that, he worked for the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security as an Assistant Chief Counsel and, later, as a Senior Attorney where he served as a lead attorney for national security, denaturalization, gang cases, anti-human trafficking operations, and worksite enforcement matters. He also served a detail as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia.

Director McHenry earned a Bachelor of Science from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, a Master of Arts in political science from the Vanderbilt University Graduate School, and a Juris Doctor from the Vanderbilt University Law School.

           SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that REBECA PALOUKOS, age 51, from Nimitz Hill, Piti, was sentenced today in District Court to a term of 18 months imprisonment for Theft of Government Money, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641. The Court also ordered Paloukos to serve three years of supervised release following her term of imprisonment. She must also pay restitution to the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in the amount of $295,414.40, in addition to a $100.00 special assessment.

          Paloukos and her mother had a joint bank account that was electronically funded by a Civil Service Retirement System annuity on a monthly basis. The defendant’s mother received the money as the surviving spouse of her deceased husband, a former federal employee. Following her mother’s death in 1997, Paloukos continued to withdraw money from the account as it was funded by OPM. OPM had not been informed of the mother’s death. Paloukos unlawfully received $295,414.40 over the period of the scheme.

          The investigation was conducted by agents of the Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen F. Leon Guerrero.

On January 5, Judge Stanley R. Chesler of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey entered an order revoking the naturalized U.S. citizenship of Baljinder Singh aka Davinder Singh, and canceling his Certificate of Naturalization, the Justice Department announced.

Following Judge Chesler’s order, Singh’s immigration status reverted from naturalized citizen to lawful permanent resident, rendering him potentially subject to removal proceedings at the Department of Homeland Security’s discretion.

Singh’s denaturalization is the first arising out of a growing body of cases referred to the Department of Justice by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as part of Operation Janus. The action against Singh was filed contemporaneously with two other Operation Janus cases, as announced by the Justice Department on Sept. 19, 2017.

A Department of Homeland Security initiative, Operation Janus, identified about 315,000 cases where some fingerprint data was missing from the centralized digital fingerprint repository. Among those cases, some may have sought to circumvent criminal record and other background checks in the naturalization process. These cases are the result of an ongoing collaboration between the two departments to investigate and seek denaturalization proceedings against those who obtained citizenship unlawfully.

“The defendant exploited our immigration system and unlawfully secured the ultimate immigration benefit of naturalization, which undermines both the nation’s security and our lawful immigration system,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will continue to use every tool to protect the integrity of our nation’s immigration system, including the use of civil denaturalization.”

USCIS dedicated a team to review these Operation Janus cases, and the agency has stated its intention to refer approximately an additional 1,600 for prosecution.

“We appreciate the dedication of our Justice Department partners as we work together to ensure the integrity of our nation’s legal immigration system,” said USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna. “I hope this case, and those to follow, send a loud message that attempting to fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship will not be tolerated. Our nation’s citizens deserve nothing less.”

Baljinder Singh aka Davinder Singh, 43, a native of India, arrived at San Francisco International Airport on Sept. 25, 1991, without any travel documents or proof of identity. He claimed his name was Davinder Singh. He was placed in exclusion proceedings, but failed to appear for his immigration court hearing and was ordered excluded and deported on Jan. 7, 1992. Four weeks later, on Feb. 6, 1992, he filed an asylum application under the name Baljinder Singh. He claimed to be an Indian who entered the United States without inspection. Singh abandoned that application after he married a U.S. citizen, who filed a visa petition on his behalf. Singh naturalized under the name Baljinder Singh on July 28, 2006. Singh has been residing in Carteret, New Jersey.

This case was investigated by USCIS and the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation, District Court Section (OIL-DCS). The case was prosecuted by Counsel for National Security Aaron Petty of OIL-DCS’s National Security and Affirmative Litigation Unit, with support from Deputy Chief Patrice Rodman of USCIS’s Office of the Chief Counsel, Northeast Law Division and Immigration Services Officer Caroline D’Angelo of USCIS’s Field Operations Directorate.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued the following statement on National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, a day set aside to show support for the brave men and women who have dedicated themselves to protecting our communities: “Serving as a law enforcement officer is an honorable profession that is demanding, dangerous, and all too often unappreciated. Those who have chosen law enforcement as a profession and who work selflessly day and night through the harshest of conditions are a special breed.  We owe them our undying gratitude.  And, while our gratitude should not be limited to a single day of the year, I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate my deep and sincere appreciation to all serving in tribal, local, state, and federal law enforcement across the country for the daily sacrifices they make to serve and protect our communities.”

Today Attorney General Sessions also visited the Washington, D.C. Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge with Metropolitan Police Department Auxiliary Police Officers to express his gratitude and support for them and their work.

Throughout his tenure as Attorney General, Jeff Sessions has shown unwavering support for law enforcement officers:

International Association of Chiefs of Police Midyear Conference April 2017

Bureau of Prisons Correctional Workers Week Memorial Service May 2017

Sergeants Benevolent Association of New York City Award Presentation May 2017

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund 29th Annual Candlelight Vigil May 2017

International Law Enforcement Academy Graduation Ceremony July 2017

41st Annual National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives Training Conference and Exhibition August 2017

63rd Biennial Conference of the National Fraternal Order of Police August 2017

Oklahoma Sheriffs’ Association October 2017

Major Cities Chiefs Association 2017 Fall Meeting October 2017

International Association of Chiefs of Police October 2017

National Fusion Center Association November 2017

The Attorney General has spoken to law enforcement audiences across America, including in Pennsylvania, Oregon, Nevada, Tennessee, New York, Florida, Virginia, Missouri, West Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Alabama, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Ohio—all to show his support for the men and women in blue.