District Not Recorded

Taking another step toward fulfilling President Trump’s goal of stamping out the brutal transnational criminal organization MS-13, Attorney General Jeff Sessions today formally designated the gang as a priority for the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (“OCDETF”).

Addressing the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Attorney General explained that the formal priority designation of MS-13 allows OCDETF to utilize an expanded toolkit in its efforts to dismantle the organization. This means that OCDETF should look to all laws in its investigative and prosecutorial efforts, including drug laws, gun laws, tax laws, RICO, and anything else that will cripple the gang. In his speech, the Attorney General said: “But this work is not finished.  I am announcing today that I have designated MS-13 as a priority for our Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces.  These task forces bring together a broad coalition of our federal prosecutors, DEA, FBI, ATF, ICE, HSI, the IRS, the Department of Labor Inspector General, the Postal Service Inspectors, the Secret Service, the Marshals Service, and the Coast Guard.  And they all have one mission: to go after drug criminals and traffickers at the highest levels. 

"Now they will go after MS-13 with a renewed vigor and a sharpened focus.  I am announcing that I have authorized them to use every lawful tool to investigate MS-13—not just our drug laws, but everything from RICO to our tax laws to our firearms laws.  Just like we took Al Capone off the streets with our tax laws, we will use whatever laws we have to get MS-13 off of our streets.”

For the Attorney General’s full speech click here.

To learn more about the mission of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces click here.

UPDATE

The defendants in this case, Kenneth Keyes and Leroy Weber, were acquitted by a jury of the charges alleged in the indictment described in the press release below.

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of California returned an indictment yesterday against two individuals for allegedly conspiring to defraud the United States, the Department of Justice announced. 

The indictment alleges that Kenneth Keyes, a former facility manager at Sierra Army Depot (SIAD), and Leroy Weber, the owner of a roofing company, participated in a conspiracy to defraud the United States from as early as February 2012, and continuing through at least July 23, 2013, by obstructing the lawful functions of the United States Army through deceitful or dishonest means.  

“Yesterday’s indictment demonstrates the Antitrust Division’s commitment to pursuing individuals who seek to enrich themselves by misusing federal programs at the expense of taxpayers,” said Assistant Attorney Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.      

SIAD is a United States Army facility located in Northern California.  In 2012, SIAD earmarked $40 million for construction and renovation projects at its site using contractors who qualified under the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Development Program.  The program provides assistance and benefits to small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.  

The indictment alleges that Keyes, Weber, and other unidentified co-conspirators: 

• Recruited eligible 8(a) contractors to work as primary contractors at SIAD;
• Represented to those contractors that Weber controlled the work and allocation of SIAD contract awards;
• Caused prime contracts to be assigned to selected 8(a) contractors;
• Used proprietary government pricing information to inflate contract prices for the SIAD contracts;
• Required selected 8(a) contractors to award work to companies owned or controlled by Weber; and
• Required a contractor to pay Weber in exchange for being awarded certain subcontracts by 8(a) contractors.

The indictment also alleges that Weber caused a company under his control to issue weekly paychecks to a relative of Keyes, and himself caused $10,000 to be paid directly to Keyes.  

The purpose of this conspiracy was to enable Keyes and Weber to unjustly enrich themselves and their family members by diverting government funds intended to rebuild and repair the SIAD Army facility to themselves and their companies.  

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  Weber and Keyes each face a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

The charges are the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation handled by the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office with assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, and the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General.  Anyone with information concerning the conspiracy should contact the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office at 415-934-5300.

A federal grand jury in Sacramento returned an indictment yesterday charging a California real estate investor with bid rigging at public real estate foreclosure auctions, the Department of Justice announced.

Real estate investor Yama Marifat has been charged with conspiring with other real estate investors to rig bids when purchasing selected properties at foreclosure auctions in San Joaquin County, California, beginning in or about April 2009 and continuing until in or about October 2009.

The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, alleges that Marifat and co-conspirators carried out the conspiracy by agreeing not to bid against each other on selected properties.  Instead of bidding against one another, they designated one conspirator to bid at the public auction, then held second, private auctions and made payoffs to each other.  An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  

“Bid rigging subverts the competitive process, undermines consumers’ confidence in the market, and will not be tolerated,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division.  “The Division remains committed to prosecuting the individuals who commit these crimes.” 

Yesterday's indictment carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a one million dollar fine.  The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.  

This case is part of an ongoing investigation of fraud and bidding irregularities in certain real estate auctions in San Joaquin County.  As a result of this ongoing investigation, 12 individuals have pleaded guilty or been convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.  Ten of these individuals have been sentenced to serve prison terms ranging from five to eight months.  In addition, the defendants have been ordered to pay a total of more than six million dollars in criminal fines and restitution. 

The investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco office and the FBI’s Sacramento Division.  Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco office at 415-394-5300, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html, or contact the FBI’s Sacramento Division at 916-481-9110
 

A Nigerian citizen, who resided in St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced to 78 months in prison for mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, voter fraud, and re-entering the United States after having been removed, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Carrie Costantin for the Eastern District of Missouri.

According to documents filed with the court, Kevin Kunlay Williams, a.k.a. Kunlay Sodipo, 56, and others stole public school employees’ IDs from a payroll company and used them to electronically file more than 2,000 fraudulent federal income tax returns seeking more than $12 million in refunds. He also stole several return preparer’s Electronic Filing Identification Numbers (EFINs) and used them to secure tax-related bank products and services that facilitated the issuance of tax refunds, to include blank check stock and debit cards. Williams used the blank stock to print checks funded by the fraudulent refunds and directed some of the refunds onto debit cards.

Williams previously entered the United States from Nigeria under the name Kunlay Sodipo, but was deported in 1995. In 1999, Williams illegally returned to the United States from Nigeria using the last name Williams. In 2012, Williams registered to vote in federal, state and local elections by falsely claiming that he was a U.S. citizen and voted in the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections.

In addition to the term of prison imposed, Chief U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel ordered Williams to pay restitution of $889,712 to the Internal Revenue Service, in addition to forfeiture of money orders totaling $10,810 seized during the investigation.  Williams is in custody and also faces deportation.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and Acting U.S. Attorney Costantin commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service as well as the Dothan, Alabama Police Department and Alexander City, Alabama Police Department, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Michael C. Boteler and Charles M. Edgar, Jr. of the Tax Division, who prosecuted this case with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Eastern District of Missouri and Middle District of Alabama.

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

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Justice today announced more than $3.42 million in funding to respond to elder abuse and victims of financial crimes throughout the United States. The awards will better protect older Americans by improving identification of elder abuse and strengthening the response to victims through innovative technology, closer interagency collaboration and enhanced legal services, among other approaches.

“Every American has the right to be safe,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions.  “Criminals who target and exploit our seniors are cowards, and their crimes are especially shameful because they prey upon the vulnerable. This Department of Justice will not accept these crimes in our society, and we are taking action to help investigate, punish, and deter crimes against our seniors with this $3.42 million investment.”

Nationally representative studies find that nearly 10 percent of older Americans have experienced some form of elder abuse. Elder abuse not only leads to a diminished quality of life, but has been shown to hasten mortality.

“Far too often, older Americans suffer from elder abuse, including crimes of financial exploitation,” said Office for Victims of Crime Director Darlene Hutchinson. “OVC is committed to supporting innovative solutions and responses to these terrible crimes perpetrated against this vulnerable and treasured population. This critical initiative should enhance the provision of services and support to victims of elder abuse and ensure that they receive the rights, services and responses they deserve.”

Funding was made by OVC in close collaboration with the Justice Department’s Elder Justice Initiative. Grants under OVC’s Field Generated Innovations in Addressing Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation program were awarded to eight organizations around the country:
 

• Futures Without Violence - STAGES: Strategies and Training to Advance Greater Elder Safety (CA); approximately $500,000 to educate teams of justice and community professionals about financial exploitation and elder abuse and create a shared, grassroots justice system-community vision for elder justice.
• American Bar Association Fund for Justice -  Enhancing and Evaluating Capacity of Elder Abuse Fatality Review Teams to Improve Victim Services (DC); approximately $235,000 to build on the foundational Elder Abuse Fatality Review Teams model with the goal of enhancing and evaluating the capacity of these teams to improve the delivery of victim and ancillary services.
• Northwestern University - Combating Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Through Technology/DASHBOARD (IL); approximately $500,000 to develop an interoperable and integrated dashboard to share data, risk factors and resources for elder abuse victims.
• Elder Law of Michigan Inc. - Innovation Framework for National Referral System Effective Referrals at the Community Level with Person-Enhanced Technology (MI); approximately $500,000 to develop a framework for a national referral system based on a community-level referral model used in Michigan for victimized and vulnerable older adults, along with research and evaluation.
• Lifespan of Greater Rochester Inc.  - Elder Justice Advocates: Improving Outcomes for Elder Abuse Victims in New York State’s Criminal Justice System (NY); approximately $352,000 to recruit at least 50 elder justice advocates from victim advocates and victim assistance staff in district attorney offices, law enforcement units and domestic violence programs in at least 10 regions or counties across New York State.
• Pro Bono Net, Inc. -  Pro Bono Net’s LawHelp Interactive/Risk Detector Elder Justice Initiative (NY); approximately $496,000 to create online tools that enable innovative partnership and outreach models to comprehensively identify, respond to and remedy elder abuse and financial exploitation.
• Utah Legal Services, Inc. - Innovative Remedies to Reduce Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation (UT); approximately $346,000 to educate the public on barriers to reporting by sharing victims’ experiences and challenges in culturally appropriate video and podcast programs in Navajo, Spanish and English; develop and implement tailored legal intervention for high risk individuals; and develop a training protocol in order to improve referrals.
• End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin - National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL)/ Lifting Up the Voices of Older Survivors Video Project (WI); approximately $485,000 to create a collection of video clips of older survivors describing their experiences and insights regarding effective interventions, such as support groups and transitional housing.

“OVC is committed to building the capacity of professionals to respond vigorously and skillfully to crimes against older Americans,” said Hutchinson. “The Department of Justice, through its Elder Justice Initiative, which includes the work of many Department components, is working on multiple fronts to protect older Americans from elder abuse, financial exploitation and fraud. Together, we are increasing the physical and financial safety of America’s older adults.”

The Office of Justice Programs, headed by Acting Assistant Attorney General Alan R. Hanson, provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice and assist victims. OJP has six bureaus and offices: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime; and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

A former supervisory deputy jailer at the Kentucky River Regional Jail has been sentenced to 108 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release related to his role in an unprovoked violent assault of a detainee who was being held at the jail, and for subsequently covering up the beating.                                           

Yesterday, United States District Judge Karen K. Caldwell formally sentenced Kevin Eugene Asher, 32, on his conviction.  Under federal law, Asher must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence.  Following the completion of his prison term, he will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for the London, KY office of the Eastern District of Kentucky. 

On April 12, 2017, a jury convicted 32-year-old Kevin Asher of deprivation of civil rights under color of law, and obstruction of justice.  

According to evidence and testimony presented during the jury trial, in November 2012, Asher and another deputy jailer, Damon Wayne Hickman, physically assaulted Gary Hill, a 55-year-old inmate who was being held following an arrest for a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.  

According to testimony, Deputies Asher and Hickman approached Hill after Hill had run the faucet in his jail cell to the point where water had spilled out onto the floor.  Hickman testified at trial that he punched Hill in the face, causing Hill to fall onto the floor.  Hickman further testified that while Hill was curled up in a fetal position, he and Asher began kicking Hill.  Asher and Hickman then immobilized Hill in a restraint chair and Hickman continued to beat him.  Evidence established that following the brutal assault, the deputies failed to obtain any medical treatment for Hill who had received numerous injuries.  

The jury also found that Asher obstructed justice by filling out an incident report at the jail in which he falsely claimed that Hill had slipped and fallen onto the floor and that no physical force had been used against him. 

The Kentucky River Regional Jail houses pre-trial detainees from Perry and Knott Counties.  As a supervisory deputy jailer, Asher was responsible for the custody, care, safety and control of the inmates at the jail. 

Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; John M. Gore, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; and Amy Hess, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, jointly made today’s announcement. 

“Nothing justifies or excuses the defendant’s outrageous conduct in this case,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore.  “When deputy jailers make the corrupt choice to violate our Constitution and laws, the Justice Department will prosecute such misconduct, just as it did here.”

“This type of criminal conduct not only causes real injuries to victims, but tarnishes the work of truly dedicated law enforcement personnel,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Carlton Shier.  “Prosecuting this type of disgraceful conduct is critical to making our communities safer.  We simply must hold officials accountable for violations of the public trust that was placed in them.”

“Law enforcement officers are given tremendous power to enforce the law and ensure justice. Preventing abuse of this authority is necessary to protect the rights of our citizens and maintain confidence in law enforcement,” said Amy Hess, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Louisville Office. “Mr. Asher’s sentence shows that the FBI will aggressively investigate color of law and civil rights violations, to hold those with the responsibility for upholding the law accountable to it.”

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Kentucky State Police.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Hydee Hawkins of the United States Attorney’s Office and Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel of the Civil Rights Division prosecuted this case on behalf of the federal government.  

PITTSBURGH – A resident of Costa Rica, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of mail fraud and money laundering, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced on October 16, 2017.

Ramiro Navarro Quesada, 41, a resident of Costa Rica pleaded guilty to two counts before Senior United States District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose. Quesada was arrested in Madrid, Spain, pursuant to an INTERPOL Red Notice, in February 2017. He was extradited to the United States in late August.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Quesada used a Costa Rican website to advertise the Internet sale of Schedule II and IV controlled substances and erectile dysfunction drugs, which were exported from India and received in the United States.

Judge Ambrose scheduled sentencing for March 19, 2018 at 11 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 40 years in prison, a fine of $750,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

“This case is a prime example of how the U.S. will use all available tools at our disposal to identify and apprehend drug traffickers,” said Wayne Salzgaber, INTERPOL Washington Acting Director.

Assistant United States Attorney Shardul S. Desai is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, the Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Quesada.

          The United States Postal Inspection Service, will hold a media event at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 6th Floor, Sirena Building, Hagatna, on WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2017, from 1:00 PM -2:00 PM, to discuss enforcement and prevention efforts regarding drug trafficking and drug abuse on Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI).

WHO:  U.S. Postal Inspection Service
                         Assistant Inspector Kevin Rho, San Francisco Division

 United States Attorney’s Office

 Drug Enforcement Administration 

 Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency

WHEN:  Wednesday, October 25, 2017, at 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

WHERE:  U.S. Attorney’s Office Conference Room, 6th Floor, Sirena Building, Hagatna

NOTE:  All media must present photo I.D. as well as valid media credentials.

Note: Relevant video can be found here. 

Underage Sex Trafficking Crackdown Leads to Recovery of 84 Minors

On Oct. 18, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), announced that 84 minors were recovered and 120 traffickers were arrested as part of Operation Cross Country XI, a nationwide effort focusing on underage human trafficking that ran from Oct. 12 to 15.  

The Attorney General made the following statement on this crackdown:  “Every American has the right to be safe from violence and exploitation, and it is the mission of this Department to help secure that right.  Today we take the next step toward that mission with the arrest of more than 120 alleged sex traffickers and the recovery of more than 80 trafficking survivors.

“I want to thank and commend the dedicated men and women of the FBI, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and our local, state and international law enforcement partners who made these arrests and rescues possible.  They have delivered results that make this country safer and show clearly that collaboration makes us more effective in combating child exploitation. 

“The Justice Department will continue to pursue our mission and, to that end, we will remain tireless in our efforts to rescue victims and put those who victimize children behind bars.”
 

From the FBI Release: 

This is the 11th iteration of the FBI-led Operation Cross Country (OCC), which took place this year in 55 FBI field offices and involved 78 state and local task forces, consisting of hundreds of law enforcement partners. This year’s coordinated operations took place with several international partners, including Canada (Operation Northern Spotlight), the United Kingdom (Aident 8), Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines. 

“We at the FBI have no greater mission than to protect our nation’s children from harm.  Unfortunately, the number of traffickers arrested—and the number of children recovered—reinforces why we need to continue to do this important work,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “This operation isn't just about taking traffickers off the street. It's about making sure we offer help and a way out to these young victims who find themselves caught in a vicious cycle of abuse."

As part of Operation Cross Country XI, FBI agents and task force officers staged operations in hotels, casinos, and truck stops, as well as on street corners and Internet websites. The youngest victim recovered during this year’s operation was 3 months old, and the average age of victims recovered during the operation was 15 years old. Minors recovered during Cross Country Operations are offered assistance from state protective services and the FBI’s Victim Services Division. Depending on the level of need, victims are offered medical and mental health counseling, as well as a number of other services. 

“Child sex trafficking is happening in every community across America, and at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, we’re working to combat this problem every day,” said NCMEC President and CEO John Clark. “We’re proud to work with the FBI on Operation Cross Country to help find and recover child victims. We hope OCC generates more awareness about this crisis impacting our nation’s children.”

Operation Cross Country XI is part of the FBI’s Innocence Lost National Initiative, which began in 2003 and has yielded more than 6,500 child identifications and locations. For additional information on Operation Cross Country XI and the Innocence Lost initiative, please visit www.fbi.gov.

Examples of stories from various cities that took part in Operation Cross Country XI: On October 13th, FBI Denver recovered two minor girls—one 3-month-old and one 5-year-old. The subject, a friend of the children's family, offered an undercover officer access to the two children for sexual purposes in exchange for $600. The FBI is working with Child Protective Services to conduct a forensic interview and secure safe placement of the children. The subject was placed under arrest.

Also on October 13th, a 16-year old female victim was recovered by FBI El Paso, after an undercover agent called an online advertisement for entertainment. Shortly thereafter, the agent met with a 21-year-old female, who offered a fee of $200 to engage in sexual intercourse with her and another female, the 16-year-old victim. Further investigations revealed that a second adult female drove the minor and the 21-year-old to the undercover’s location. Both female subjects have been arrested on federal charges.   

Note to Editors: B-Roll and interviews associated with this year’s operation can be downloaded at www.fbi.gov.

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, Acting United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendants Muksedur Rahman, Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, and David Trung Quoc Phan were found guilty of two counts of Mail Fraud, three counts of Fraud in Foreign Labor Contracting, and one count of Visa Fraud, by a 12-person jury in the District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

          The charges in the Indictment spring from a scheme to defraud Bangladeshi men by promising them good-paying jobs in the United States, as well as Green Cards.  Each of the victims paid over $10,000.00, but when they arrived in Saipan in April of 2016, they were not given work as promised.  Defendant Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, and unindicted co-conspirators in Bangladesh recruiting the men, collected large fees from them, and deposited them into the bank accounts of defendants’ family members in Bangladesh.  Defendant Muksedur Rahman coordinated the recruitment and employment of the victims from Saipan.  A necessary part of the scheme required the purported employer, Defendant David Trung Quoc Phan, to mail fraudulent applications to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in order to obtain CNMI-only work authorization permits.  The victims were also ‘coached’ to lie to U.S. Embassy personnel in Dhaka during their visa interviews; the Defendants told the victims not to admit they had paid any fees for their jobs, upon pain of losing all the money they had already paid.   

          Acting United States Attorney Anderson stated, “The CNMI has been plagued by illegal recruitment scams for more than 20 years.  They are difficult cases to investigate and prosecute.  Every CW-1 permit approved for a sham employer for a non-existent job represents one less nurse at the Commonwealth Health Center, one less power plant operator for the Commonwealth Utilities Commission, or one less worker for the CNMI economy.  The United States Attorney’s Office will continue to pursue these cases at every opportunity.” 

          Part of the evidence in the case consisted of official bank records obtained from the Government of Bangladesh pursuant to a mutual legal assistance letter request (MLAT) prepared by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs (OIA).  The case against Defendant Rahman and his co-defendants is the first NMI District case in which foreign evidence has been obtained through the MLAT process.

          Special Agents and Task Force Officers from the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorneys James Benedetto and Eric O’Malley prosecuted the case.  Sentencing is set for March 9, 2018.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment against an electrolytic capacitor manufacturer for participating in a conspiracy to fix prices for electrolytic capacitors sold to customers in the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice announced today.  

The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, charges that Nippon Chemi-Con Corporation, based in Japan, conspired to suppress and eliminate competition for electrolytic capacitors from as early as September 1997 until January 2014.  Three current Nippon Chemi-Con executives, and one former Nippon Chemi-Con executive, were previously indicted for their participation in the conspiracy: Takuro Isawa, Takeshi Matsuzaka, Yasutoshi Ohno, and Kaname Takahashi.  

“Today’s indictment affirms the Antitrust Division’s commitment to holding companies accountable for conspiring to cheat American consumers,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “The Division will prosecute companies—no matter where they are located—that violate U.S. antitrust laws.”

According to the one-count felony charge, Nippon Chemi-Con carried out the conspiracy by agreeing with co-conspirators to fix prices of electrolytic capacitors during meetings and other communications.  Capacitors were then sold in accordance with these agreements.  As part of the conspiracy, Nippon Chemi-Con and its co-conspirators took steps to conceal the conspiracy, including the use of code names and providing misleading justifications for prices and bids submitted to customers in order to cover up their collusive conduct.  

As a result of the government’s ongoing investigation, eight companies and ten individuals have been charged with participating in a conspiracy to fix prices of electrolytic capacitors.  Electrolytic capacitors store and regulate electrical current in a variety of electronic products, including computers, televisions, car engines and airbag systems, home appliances, and office equipment.

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

Today’s charge results from ongoing federal antitrust investigations being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the capacitor industry.  Anyone with information related to the focus of this investigation should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258, visit https://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations, or call the FBI tip line at 415-553-7400.

A former eastern Kentucky social security disability lawyer and an accomplice were charged in a federal indictment with various offenses related to the lawyer’s escape from home confinement and his failure to appear for sentencing. 

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Amy S. Hess of the FBI Louisville, Kentucky Field Division and Special Agent in Charge Michael McGill of the Social Security Administration-Office of Inspector General’s (SSA-OIG) Philadelphia Field Division made the announcement.

Eric Christopher Conn, 56, of Pikeville, Kentucky, the former disability lawyer, and Curtis Wyatt, 47, of Raccoon, Kentucky, his alleged accomplice, were charged in a seven-count indictment returned on Sept. 6, in the Eastern District of Kentucky in Lexington.  The indictment was unsealed prior to Wyatt’s initial appearance and arraignment today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert E. Wier of the Eastern District of Kentucky.  Wyatt entered pleas of not guilty and was released on bond pending his trial, which is scheduled for Dec. 18, before U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves.  Conn remains a fugitive. 

The indictment charges Conn and Wyatt with one count of conspiracy to escape and one count of conspiracy to fail to appear for sentencing.  Conn is also charged with one count of escape and one count of failing to appear.  Wyatt is also charged with one count each of assisting in Conn’s escape, aiding and abetting Conn’s failure to appear, and making a false statement to the FBI.

The indictment alleges that Conn, while on home confinement, escaped from custody by severing an electronic monitoring device from his ankle during a court-approved visit to Lexington on June 2, and fled to the Mexican border in a vehicle delivered to him by Wyatt a day earlier.  The indictment further alleges that Wyatt, at Conn’s direction and prior to Conn’s escape, crossed into Mexico at two different pedestrian checkpoints to assess security procedures for individuals exiting the United States in an effort to aid Conn in escaping prior to Conn’s sentencing hearing.  According to the indictment, Conn ultimately failed to appear for his sentencing hearing on July 14.

Conn was indicted last year, along with a former Social Security administrative law judge and a clinical psychologist, in an 18-count indictment charging conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, false statements, money laundering and other related offenses in connection with a $600 million social security disability fraud scheme.  Conn previously pleaded guilty on March 24, to a two-count information charging him with theft of government money and paying illegal gratuities, and was sentenced in absentia on July 14, to 12 years in prison on those charges.  Conn remains charged under the original indictment.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to the arrest of Eric Christopher Conn.  Anyone with information relating to Conn’s whereabouts should contact their local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.

The SSA-OIG and FBI investigated the case. Trial Attorney Dustin M. Davis of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Trial Attorney Elizabeth G. Wright of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section are prosecuting the case.  

Anthony Shelton, 19, pleaded guilty yesterday to assaulting a man because of the victim’s sexual orientation, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Texas, and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Dallas Division announced.

According to the plea agreement, Shelton admitted that he and Nigel Garrett used Grindr, a social media dating platform for gay men, to arrange to meet the victim at the victim’s home. Upon entering the victim’s home, the defendants restrained the victim with tape, physically assaulted the victim, and made derogatory statements to the victim for being gay. The defendants brandished a firearm during the home invasion, and they stole the victim’s property, including his motor vehicle. 

A federal grand jury previously had returned an eighteen-count superseding indictment, against Shelton and three other men, that included charges for hate crimes, kidnappings, carjackings, and the use of firearms to commit violent crimes.The indictment also charged the defendants with conspiring to cause bodily injury because of the victims’ sexual orientation during four home invasions in Plano, Frisco, and Aubrey, Texas, from January 17 to February 7, 2017. Nigel Garrett, Chancler Encalade, and Cameron Ajiduah subsequently pleaded guilty to hate crime charges from this indictment, and all three await sentencing. 

“Hate crimes are violent crimes that attack the fundamental principles of the United States to be free from fear of violence because of your sexual orientation, gender identity, race, color, religion, or national origin,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore. “The Justice Department will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute hate crimes.”

"Crimes of violence are an investigative priority for the U.S. Attorney's Office," said Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. "An assault perpetrated because of one's race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, or among other prohibited factors, is an attack on American values. We will leave no stone un-turned to prosecute hate crimes."

Shelton faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine for his guilty plea to the hate crime charge. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.  

The investigation is being conducted by the ATF, the Plano Police Department, and the Frisco Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Batson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas and Trial Attorney Saeed Mody of the Civil Rights Division.

          SHAWN ANDERSON, Acting United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant SHIH YA HUNG aka ANGIE, age 35, from Taiwan, was sentenced today in District Court to a two (2) year term of probation, 50 hours of community service, and must report to a duly authorized immigration official to determine whether deportation proceedings are appropriate.

          On August 18, 2014, HUNG, entered a guilty plea to an Information that charged Making a False Statement, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(1).  On June 16, 2013, December 5, 2013, and March 25, 2014, HUNG traveled from Taiwan and entered Guam under two Visa Waiver Programs:  the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program and the Visa Waiver Program, posing as a tourist, when in fact HUNG intended to and did find employment at Star Melody/Linda’s Lounge in violation of said Visa Waiver Programs.  HUNG worked at Star Melody/Linda’s Lounge as a club hostess soliciting drink sales from customers for financial profit for her and the lounge.  When interviewed, HUNG informed law enforcement she never worked for Star Melody/Linda’s Lounge, when in fact she was employed as a hostess for the establishment and she knew when making the statement it was untrue. 

          This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen F. Leon Guerrero prosecuted the case. 

A real estate investor pleaded guilty for his role in conspiracies to rig bids at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice announced. 

Raymond A. Grinsell pleaded guilty to two counts of bid rigging in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco.  Grinsell was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on October 22, 2014. 

According to court documents, Grinsell participated in conspiracies to rig bids by agreeing to refrain from bidding against other co-conspirators at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Mateo and San Francisco counties.  The conspiracies began as early as August 2008 and continued until January 2011.  

The primary purpose of the conspiracies was to suppress competition in order to obtain selected properties offered at San Mateo County and San Francisco County public foreclosure auctions at noncompetitive prices.  

Today’s guilty plea is the result of the Department’s ongoing investigation into bid rigging at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Francisco, San Mateo, Contra Costa, and Alameda counties, California. To date, 64 individuals have pleaded guilty.

These investigations are being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco Office.  Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office at 415-934-5300 or call the FBI tip line at 415-553-7400.

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, Acting United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant PETER D.T. OGO, JR., age 30, was sentenced in District Court today to a term of imprisonment of 41 months for Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud.  The Court also ordered five years of supervised release, restitution in the amount of $5,225.00, and a mandatory $100 assessment fee. 

          On February 15, 2017, defendant and three other co-defendants, were charged in an Indictment with Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud and Bank Fraud.  On April 26, 2017, defendant OGO entered a guilty plea to Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349.  The defendant participated in an ATM debit fraud scam involving Bank of Guam (BOG) funds and fraudulent Wells Fargo Bank checks.  As part of the conspiracy, the defendant deposited fraudulent Wells Fargo Bank checks into third party BOG accounts via ATM transactions, and then withdrew funds based upon the deposited checks.  The defendant recruited relatives to access their BOG bank accounts.  He used their debit cards and PINs to obtain cash from ATMs.  For the entire period of the conspiracy, the defendant and his co-conspirators deposited over 100 fraudulent Wells Fargo bank checks in order to obtain over $70,000 of BOG funds.  The fraudulent Wells Fargo Bank checks belonged to defendant’s cousin Katrina Tedtaotao, who is awaiting sentencing.

          Special Agents from the FBI conducted the investigation.  The case was prosecuted by Marivic P. David, Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Guam.

Phillip Michael Huddleston, 61, pleaded guilty today to violating the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) by illegally storing hazardous waste without a permit at Protech Metal Finishing, LLC, a metal plating facility he owned and operated in Vonore, Tennessee.  

John Thomas Hatfield, 43, Protech’s production manager, pleaded guilty on October 2, 2017, to being an accessory after-the-fact to Protech’s illegal storage of hazardous waste.  In order to hinder an investigation of Protech’s compliance with the RCRA, Hatfield represented that containers of hazardous waste were accurately labeled when he knew that they were not.

“These guilty pleas are the result of notable efforts undertaken by multiple law enforcement agencies to enforce provisions in government contracts and the RCRA that protect human health and the environment,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood. “In this case, what was at stake was the health and safety of Protech employees and the community of Vonore, Tennessee.”

When Congress passed the RCRA, it determined that the disposal of, and inadequate controls over hazardous waste “will result in substantial risks to human health and the environment.”  To that end, the RCRA imposes “cradle-to-grave” tracking, handling, and reporting controls to ensure that companies like Protech properly manage the generation, storage, transport, and disposal of hazardous wastes.  The maximum penalty for each felony RCRA count is five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.  The maximum penalty for this accessory-after-the-fact count is one year in prison and a fine of $25,000.  

Defendants Hatfield and Huddleston are scheduled to be sentenced by Senior District Court Judge Leon Jordan on January 10 and January 8, 2018, respectively.  

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matt Morris of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and Trial Attorneys Cassandra Barnum and Senior Trial Attorney Todd W. Gleason of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the IRS, EPA-CID, TVA-OIG, Department of Defense, and Department of Energy.
 

The Department of Justice announced that General Electric Co. (GE) has agreed to make incentive payments beginning in 2018 until GE completes the worldwide divestiture of its Water & Process Technologies business (GE Water).  GE agreed to divest GE Water to resolve the Department’s competitive concerns with GE’s acquisition of Baker Hughes Incorporated.  As part of the original proposed settlement filed on June 12, 2017, GE committed to divest the worldwide assets of GE Water to SUEZ S.A., a leading global water and waste management company, by approximately the end of September 2017. 

While GE has divested GE Water assets accounting for approximately 90 percent of GE Water’s revenues (including all assets in North America), it has not yet transferred to Suez legal title of GE Water assets in certain international jurisdictions due to various administrative challenges.  Delays are likely to push the divestiture in some international jurisdictions into 2018.  In the meantime, GE has conferred beneficial ownership and operational control of the assets in these jurisdictions to Suez.  

The Department filed a motion to enter a modified final judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which the Court approved and signed yesterday.  The Court Order contains two newly agreed-upon provisions of note.  First, in order to encourage GE to complete the divestitures promptly, the Court Order requires GE to begin making daily incentive payments as soon as January 1, 2018, until the divestitures in each international jurisdiction are completed.  Second, the Order reflects GE’s agreement to reimburse the United States for attorney’s fees and costs incurred in addressing these delays.

In moving the Court to approve the settlement and incentive payment structure, the Department explained that it only agrees to resolve the competitive concerns raised by a merger through a divestiture remedy “if it determines that the buyer of the divestiture assets will step seamlessly into the shoes of one of the merging parties and preserve the competition that otherwise would be lost due to the merger.”  To ensure that competition is preserved, merging companies must commit to completing the required divestiture in a timely fashion and, in return, they are allowed to consummate their merger before the divestiture is finalized.  In this case, GE signed a Hold Separate Stipulation and Order in which it agreed to make a prompt, complete divestiture and was allowed to consummate its merger with Baker Hughes on July 3.  However, GE is now unable to comply with the timing it committed to in its original settlement with the Department.

“The Antitrust Division takes seriously the enforcement of commitments parties make when settling antitrust lawsuits and will seek to have the parties reimburse United States taxpayers for the fees and expenses the Division incurs in enforcing our consent decrees,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Antitrust Division.  “I want to recognize and commend General Electric for its proactive cooperation in resolving the issues arising from the incomplete execution of the required divestiture within the original timeframe and for agreeing to reimburse the taxpayers in connection with the review and revision of the decree.”

GE is a New York corporation headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.  GE is a large, diversified corporation that, among other lines of business, supplies the oil and gas industry with a variety of products and services.  GE generated $16 billion in revenues from oil- and natural gas-related products and services in 2015.  

Note: The relevant court documents can be found here: Zhang et al Indictment and Yan et al Indictment.

The Justice Department announced today that federal grand juries in the Southern District of Mississippi and the District of North Dakota returned indictments, unsealed yesterday, against two Chinese nationals and their North American based traffickers and distributors for separate conspiracies to distribute large quantities of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues and other opiate substances in the United States.  The Chinese nationals are the first manufacturers and distributors of fentanyl and other opiate substances to be designated as Consolidated Priority Organization Targets (CPOTs). CPOT designations are those who have “command and control” elements of the most prolific international drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.

On Sept. 7, Xiaobing Yan, 40, of China, was indicted in the Southern District of Mississippi on two counts of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute multiple controlled substances, including fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, and seven counts of manufacturing and distributing the drugs in specific instances.  Yan, a distributor of a multitude of illegal drugs, used different names and company identities over a period of at least six years and operated websites selling acetyl fentanyl and other deadly fentanyl analogues directly to U.S. customers in multiple cities across the country.  Yan also operated at least two chemical plants in China that were capable of producing ton quantities of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues.  Yan monitored legislation and law enforcement activities in the United States and China, modifying the chemical structure of the fentanyl analogues he produced to evade prosecution in the United States. Over the course of the investigation, federal agents identified more than 100 distributors of synthetic opioids involved with Yan’s manufacturing and distribution networks.  Federal investigations of the distributors are ongoing in 10 judicial districts, and investigators have traced illegal proceeds of the distribution network.  In addition, law enforcement agents intercepted packages mailed from Yan’s Internet pharmaceutical companies, seizing multiple kilograms of suspected acetyl fentanyl, potentially enough for thousands of lethal doses. 

On Sept. 20, Jian Zhang, 38, of China, five Canadian citizens, two residents of Florida, and a resident of New Jersey were indicted in the District of North Dakota for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and fentanyl analogues in the United States, conspiracy to import the drugs from Canada and China, a money laundering conspiracy, an international money laundering conspiracy, and operation of a continuing criminal enterprise.  Zhang ran an organization that manufactured fentanyl in at least four known labs in China and advertised and sold fentanyl to U.S. customers over the Internet.  Zhang’s organization would send orders of fentanyl or other illicit drugs, or pill presses, stamps, or dies used to shape fentanyl into pills, to customers in the United States through the mail or international parcel delivery services.  Federal law enforcement agents determined that Zhang sent many thousands of these packages since January of 2013.

On Oct. 11, Elizabeth Ton, 26, and Anthony Gomes, 33, both of Davie, Florida were arrested. On Oct. 12, Darius Ghahary, 48, of Ramsey, New Jersey was arrested. Ton, Gomes, and Ghahary are charged with drug trafficking conspiracy in the Zhang indictment.

The investigations of Yan and Zhang revealed a new and disturbing facet of the opioid crisis in America:  fentanyl and fentanyl analogues are coming into the United States in numerous ways, including highly pure shipments of fentanyl from factories in China directly to U.S. customers who purchase it on the Internet.  Unwary or inexperienced users often have no idea that they are ingesting fentanyl until it is too late.  The Centers for Disease Control estimates that over 20,000 Americans were killed by fentanyl and fentanyl analogues in 2016, and the number is rising at an exponential rate.

Zhang was charged with conduct resulting in the deaths of four individuals in North Carolina, New Jersey, North Dakota, and Oregon in 2014 and 2015 and the serious bodily injuries related to five additional individuals.

These recent law enforcement efforts to keep fentanyl and fentanyl analogues from entering the United States were announced by Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein; Acting Administrator Robert W. Patterson of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Acting Deputy Director Peter T. Edge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Assistant Commissioner Joanne Crampton of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

“Zhang and Yan are the first Chinese nationals designated as Consolidated Priority Organization Targets (CPOTs),” said Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein.  “CPOTs are among the most significant drug trafficking threats in the world. The defendants allegedly shipped massive quantities of deadly fentanyl and other synthetic opioids to communities throughout the United States, mostly purchased on the Internet and sent through the mail.  The chemicals allegedly killed and injured people in several states, and surely caused misery to many thousands of people.  Under the leadership of President Trump and Attorney General Sessions, we are taking back our communities by pursuing suppliers of deadly drugs wherever they are located.”

“Xiaobing Yan, Jian Zhang and their respective associates represent one of the most significant drug threats facing the country – overseas organized crime groups capable of producing nearly any synthetic drug imaginable, including fentanyl, and who attempt to hide their tracks with web-based sales, international shipments and cryptocurrency transactions,” said DEA Acting Administrator Patterson.  “At a time when overdose deaths are at catastrophic levels, one of DEA’s top priorities is the pursuit of criminal organizations distributing their poison to American neighborhoods. These indictments are a first step; our investigators remain relentless in their pursuit to dismantle these organizations and bring those responsible to justice. DEA, along with our global network of law enforcement partners, will go after these types of criminals wherever they operate.”

“This case began when local police officers responded to what has become an all-too familiar tragedy in the United States: the heroin and fentanyl overdose of two young adults, one who survived and another who did not,” said ICE Acting Deputy Director Edge. “Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Drug trafficking organizations that deal in such a deadly game will have to face the combined resources of federal law enforcement agencies and our international partners. ICE Homeland Security Investigations is committed to helping combat this new and growing epidemic.”

“We live in an increasingly global and interconnected world – crime has no borders,” said Assistant Commissioner Crampton. “Law enforcement must respond accordingly by working beyond our borders together to detect and disrupt criminal activity. By fostering a solid integrated and coordinated law enforcement approach, we will continue to disrupt international drug trafficking networks.”

The cases against Yan and Zhang are being investigated by the DEA, ICE Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the RCMP.  Valuable investigative assistance has also been provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Ministry of Public Security of China.  The case against Yan is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Meynardie in the Southern District of Mississippi.  The case against Zhang is being prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Chris Myers and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin in the District of North Dakota, along with Trial Attorney Adrienne Rose of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section.  Substantial prosecutorial assistance has been provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Oregon and the Quebec office of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.

Both of the indictments announced today are the result of coordinated, multi-agency, multi-national investigations conducted by agents and investigators of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), and were further supported with national and international coordination led by the multi-agency Special Operations Division (SOD).  The OCDETF Program is a partnership between federal, state, local, and international law enforcement agencies. The OCDETF mission is to target the most serious transnational organized crime threats facing the United States, including drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering.  Prior to the announcement of these indictments, Jian Zhang and Xiaobing Yan were designated as OCDETF Consolidated Priority Organization Targets (CPOTs), and are considered by the United States as some of the most significant drug trafficking threats in the world.

If convicted, Yan faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine, and three years of supervised release. Zhang faces up to life in prison and $12.5 million in fines. Any sentences will be determined at the discretion of the district courts after considering any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Twenty-one individuals in total have been indicted on federal drug charges in both North Dakota and Oregon as part of the investigation.

On Oct. 16, a federal court in Houston, Texas, permanently enjoined Felisha Gibson and Ms. Lesa’s Tax Service LLC from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. Gibson agreed to a civil injunction order entered against her that requires her and Ms. Lesa’s Tax Service LLC to cease preparing tax returns for others.  The injunction also requires Gibson to produce a list of her customers to the United States.

According to the government’s complaint, Gibson, through her business located in Houston, Texas, routinely prepared federal tax returns for customers that reported false, improper, or inflated expense deductions and business income, as well as false claims for education tax credits and improper dependents. For example, the complaint alleges that a customer reported that Gibson fabricated a business with income and expenses for tax years 2013 and 2014, and falsely claimed an education credit in her tax returns even though the customer never attended college.

 Return preparer fraud is one of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2017 and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant.  The IRS has some tips on their website for choosing a tax preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. 

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

Attorney General Sessions issued a memorandum to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein this week, directing him to hire a Director of Asset Forfeiture Accountability (“Director”). The Director will review and coordinate all aspects of the Department’s Asset Forfeiture Program, and work with appropriate Department of Justice components to ensure compliance, review complaints, and advance the integrity, efficiency, and effectiveness of the program.

About the memorandum, Attorney General Sessions made the following statement: “As our law enforcement partners will tell you and as President Trump knows well, asset forfeiture is a key tool that helps law enforcement defund organized crime, take back ill-gotten gains, and prevent new crimes from being committed, and it weakens the criminals and the cartels. Even more importantly, it helps return property to the victims of crime.

“For this to be effective, however, we must start with strong leadership at the top, in conjunction with close coordination of forfeiture activities at all levels of the Department of Justice. That’s why, today, I have directed the hiring of a Director of Asset Forfeiture Accountability within the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. 

“The Director will begin work immediately on priority initiatives and recommendations, including: modernization of the National Asset Forfeiture Strategic Plan, updating the Asset Forfeiture Program's policy guidance, and improving controls over use of program funds. I make this decision today because I believe it is important to have senior-level accountability in the Department of the day-to-day workings of the asset forfeiture program, as well as authority to coordinate with relevant components to make the necessary changes to the program to ensure it continues to operate in an accountable and responsible way."


Note: View the memorandum here. 

A federal court in Houston, Texas, permanently enjoined Levett Navarro Camarena and her son Chase Edward Camarena from preparing federal tax returns for others, including under the name of the business Hispanic Services, the Justice Department announced today. Levett Camarena and Chase Camarena agreed to civil injunction orders that require them to cease preparing federal tax returns.

According to the government’s complaint, Levett Camarena and Chase Camarena, through a business called Hispanic Services located on Nyland Street in Houston, Texas, routinely prepared federal tax returns for customers that contained false, improper, or inflated individual deductions on Schedule A (Itemized Deductions) and business expenses on  Schedule C (Profit and Loss from Business Sole Proprietorship).  Furthermore, the returns reported Schedule C businesses that did not exist, according to the complaint. 

The complaint alleged that in some cases the returns overstated business income.  The allegations in the complaint explained that while overstating business income increased self-employment taxes, the increase was substantially less than increased earned income credits also claimed on the returns.  The increased earned income credits would cause an understatement of the client’s tax liability, according to the complaint.   

According to the complaint, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) examined 409 returns for years 2012 through 2014 filed by Hispanic Services and prepared by Levett Camarena or Chase Camarena.  The IRS adjusted 278 of the returns (68%) examined with average deficiencies between $1,848 to $2,352, according to the complaint.  The IRS selected 20 tax returns prepared and filed by Hispanic Services for 2015 and was able to talk to 17 taxpayers, according to the complaint.  Each taxpayer interviewed stated the charitable contributions or business expenses on the returns did not exist or were grossly exaggerated, according to the complaint.  Each taxpayer allegedly denied giving the amount used on the return to the preparer.  According to the complaint, the IRS selected and interviewed 17 taxpayers whose 2016 returns were prepared by Hispanic Services.  According to the complaint, at least 9 of the 16 clients whose returns were prepared by Levett Camarena said the returns understated their respective tax liabilities by reporting false business information.  In addition, one client whose return was prepared by Chase Camarena stated his charitable contributions were grossly overstated on his Schedule A, according to the complaint.

Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS's Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2017. The IRS has some tips on their website for choosing a tax preparer. In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions today issued the following statement on the FBI's 2016 Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted report, which show an unacceptable rise in law enforcement officers assaulted and killed in the line of duty: "Every law enforcement officer goes to work knowing that today might be his or her last.  But last year, we saw a staggering 61 percent increase in the number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty because of a felony, and on average, more than 150 officers were assaulted in the line of duty every single day. These numbers are as shocking as they are unacceptable.

“Our law enforcement deserves the support of the people they serve. Fortunately we have a President who understands this.  President Trump ran for office as a law-and-order candidate; now he is governing as a law-and-order President.

“In one of his first Executive Orders to this Department, President Trump directed us to prevent violence against law enforcement officers.  He stands with our law enforcement 100 percent—and so does this Department of Justice. That's one more reason why we're focused on the President's goal of reducing violent crime and united with local, state, and federal law enforcement in our shared mission to protect law-abiding people in every community."

According to statistics collected by the FBI, 118 law enforcement officers were killed in line-of-duty incidents in 2016 – this is a 37 percent increase from 2015, when 86 law enforcement officers were killed in line-of-duty incidents. 

Additionally, in 2016 there were 66 law enforcement officers killed in line-of-duty incidents as a result of felonious acts – this is a staggering 61 percent increase from 2015, when 41 law enforcement officer were killed in line-of-duty incidents.

Moreover, 57,180 officers were victims of line-of-duty assaults – this is a 14 percent rise from the 50,212 officer that were victims of line-of-duty assaults in 2015.

For the full comprehensive data tables about these incidents and brief narratives describing the fatal attacks and selected assaults resulting in injury, please see  the 2016 edition of Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted report, released today.

 

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with Ark Rustic Inn LLC d/b/a Rustic Inn Crabhouse (Rustic Inn), a restaurant located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  The agreement resolves the department’s investigation into whether Rustic Inn discriminated against work-authorized immigrants when verifying their employment authorization, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). 

The department’s investigation revealed that Rustic Inn routinely requested that work-authorized non-U.S. citizens present specific documents, such as Permanent Resident Cards or Employment Authorization Documents, to verify their citizenship status information, but did not subject U.S. citizens to such verification.  The anti-discrimination provision of the INA prohibits employers from subjecting employees to different or unnecessary documentary demands based on employees’ citizenship, immigration status or national origin.

Under the settlement, Rustic Inn will pay a civil penalty to the United States, train its staff, post notices informing workers about their rights under the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, and be subject to departmental monitoring for three years.

“Employers, large and small, must be aware of their legal obligations to avoid imposing barriers to employment based on citizenship status or national origin,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore of the Civil Rights Division.  “We commend Rustic Inn for its cooperation throughout this investigation and its commitment to ensure compliance with the law.”

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; and 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 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 California federal court entered a consent decree permanently prohibiting Custompax Inc. of Fremont, California, and owner and Chief Executive Officer Cedric P. Ling from distributing adulterated dietary supplements, the Department of Justice announced today.  Under the terms of the injunction, the defendants must stop manufacturing such products until remedial steps are taken.

The Department also filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Sept. 12, at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  According to the complaint, the company did not manufacture its dietary supplements in conformity with current good manufacturing practices.  For example, the complaint alleged that the defendants failed to establish and maintain adequate specifications and testing procedures for the purity, strength, and composition of its dietary supplements, and failed to adequately test the identities of the ingredients used to make those supplements.

“Dietary supplement manufacturers that fail to comply with basic manufacturing requirements risk the health and well-being of consumers in the United States and abroad,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “The Department of Justice and FDA remain vigilant against the dangers posed by such adulterated products.”

The consent decree entered today resolves the litigation, requiring that the defendants adhere to the law’s current good manufacturing practices for dietary supplements.  The decree also directs Custompax to stop manufacturing dietary supplements until the company implements specified remedial measures.  The measures include, among other things, retaining an expert to inspect Custompax’s facilities and certifying that the company’s manufacturing methods, facilities and controls are in conformity with current good manufacturing practices for dietary supplements.

This matter was handled by Trial Attorney Gabriel H. Scannapieco of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, with the assistance of Associate Chief Counsel for Enforcement Tara Boland of the FDA’s Office of General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services.

Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca.

A Grand Junction, Colorado, man was sentenced to 88 months in prison today for tax evasion and failing to file personal and corporate income tax returns, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. 

Timothy Stubbs, 52, was convicted in September 2015 of tax evasion, wilful failure to file an individual income tax return, and wilful failure to file a corporate income tax return following a jury trial in Denver, Colorado.  According to the evidence presented at trial, Stubbs owned National Rebate Fund Inc. in Grand Junction.  Despite earning more than $7 million between 2005 and 2007, Stubbs did not file corporate income tax returns.  Stubbs also earned more than $2 million in income taxable to him personally during those same years and did not file individual tax returns. According to the evidence at trial, Stubbs had not filed a personal tax return since 1992 and had not paid individual income taxes since 1993.  To conceal his income, Stubbs paid more than $700,000 in personal expenses from the business bank accounts and acquired more than $370,000 in gold and silver in 2007.  The evidence also showed that during those three years Stubbs purchased real estate in Grand Junction and Crested Butte, Colorado, and two condos in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, which cost in total more than $2.9 million dollars.

In December 2015, two weeks prior to his scheduled sentencing hearing, Stubbs removed his electronic GPS monitoring ankle bracelet and fled to Costa Rica, where he had been living in 2014, prior to being arrested for the indictment.

According to documents filed with the court, Stubbs lied to immigration officials in Costa Rica in an attempt to renew his residency in Costa Rica and stay there permanently in an effort to avoid punishment in this case.  In April 2017, Costa Rica deported Stubbs.  He has been held in custody pending sentencing since that time and was remanded.

In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello ordered Stubbs to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $639,114 in restitution to the IRS and a fine of $50,000.   

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Lori A. Hendrickson and Leslie A. Goemaat of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

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

The Justice Department today responded to seven jurisdictions following a preliminary assessment of the jurisdictions’ compliance with 8 U.S.C. 1373. These jurisdictions were identified in a May 2016 report by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General as having laws that potentially violate 8 U.S.C. 1373.

The following jurisdictions have preliminarily been found to have laws, policies, or practices that may violate 8 U.S.C. 1373:

• Cook County, Illinois;
• Chicago, Illinois;
• New Orleans, Louisiana;
• New York, New York; and
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The department found no evidence that the following jurisdictions are currently out of compliance with 8 U.S.C. 1373:

• Milwaukee County, Wisconsin; and
• the State of Connecticut.

The department also previously sent letters to the following jurisdictions notifying them that the department found no evidence that they are currently out of compliance with 8 U.S.C. 1373:

• Clark County, Nevada; and
• Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Jurisdictions that were found to have possible violations of 8 U.S.C 1373 will have until Oct. 27, 2017 to provide additional evidence that the interpretation and application of their laws, policies, or practices comply with the statute.

“Jurisdictions that adopt so-called ‘sanctuary policies’ also adopt the view that the protection of criminal aliens is more important than the protection of law-abiding citizens and of the rule of law,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “I commend the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office and the State of Connecticut on their commitment to complying with Section 1373, and I urge all jurisdictions found to be out of compliance in this preliminary review to reconsider their policies that undermine the safety of their residents. We urge jurisdictions to not only comply with Section 1373 but to establish sensible and effective partnerships to properly process criminal aliens.”

An indictment was unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina charging Bobby Paul Edwards, 52, of Conway, S.C., with one count of forced labor, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Beth Drake of the District of South Carolina.

According to the indictment, over a five-year period, between September 2009 and October 2014, Edwards used force, threats of force, physical restraint, and coercion, among other means, to compel the victim, who has an intellectual disability, to work as the buffet cook of J&J Cafeteria in Conway, South Carolina. Edwards managed the restaurant at the time of the alleged incidents.  

An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted of forced labor, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and mandatory restitution.

The case is being investigated by FBI’s Myrtle Beach Resident Agency.  It is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Jared Fishman and Trial Attorney Lindsey Roberson of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alyssa Richardson of the District of South Carolina.

The Department of Justice today announced it will offer a $1 million award to the State of Nevada in order to assist with the immediate costs of responding to the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. The grant is drawn from emergency response funds within the Bureau of Justice Assistance. 

The grant funds announced today recognize the hard work and dedication of law enforcement officers across Las Vegas and the State of Nevada, who worked tirelessly in the wake of the tragic shooting last week. The Justice Department is continuing to work with Las Vegas officials to address law enforcement and public safety costs related to this tragedy.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement with InMotion Software LLC (InMotion), a software developer and recruiter in Texas, resolving the department’s investigation into whether the company violated the Immigration and Nationality Act’s (INA) anti-discrimination provision. 

Based on its investigation, the department concluded that InMotion retaliated against a work-authorized job applicant after she protested InMotion’s requirement that she provide a Permanent Resident Card even though she had a valid employment authorization card issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.  After the worker complained that InMotion’s request constituted discrimination under the INA, InMotion removed her from its pool of candidates available for job placement.  The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from retaliating against or intimidating workers because they have opposed employer conduct that may violate that provision or have participated in the department’s activities to enforce it. 

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

“Employees must be able to assert their rights without fear of reprisal,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore of the Civil Rights Division.  “Employers should familiarize themselves with the law and ensure that they do not engage in retaliatory conduct against workers who raise concerns about compliance.”

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; and 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.

WASHINGTON – El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha llegado a un acuerdo con InMotion Software LLC (InMotion), una compañía que se dedica al reclutamiento y desarrollo de software en Tejas, lo que resuelve la investigación iniciada por el Departamento con el fin de determinar si tal compañía había vulnerado la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA, por sus siglas en inglés).

Con base en su investigación, el Departamento concluyó que InMotion tomó represalias contra un solicitante de empleo, autorizada a trabajar en los EEUU, después de que protestara contra el requisito de InMotion que presentara una tarjeta de residencia permanente aunque ella disponía de una tarjeta de autorización para trabajar válida, emitida por los Servicios de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de los EE. UU. Tras quejarse de que el requisito de InMotion constituya discriminación conforme a la INA, InMotion la eliminó de su lista de posibles candidatos para empleo. La disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA prohíbe que los empleadores intimiden o tomen represalias contra los trabajadores porque estos se opongan a una conducta del empleador que podría representar una vulneración de la disposición o porque participen en las actividades del Departamento para hacer cumplir la ley.

Conforme al acuerdo, InMotion pagará la sanción civil máxima por haber tomado represalias. Asimismo, publicará avisos para informar a sus trabajadores acerca de sus derechos al amparo de la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA, capacitará a su personal y se someterá a la supervisión y los requisitos de declaración del Departamento durante un año.

«Es de primordial importancia que los empleados puedan hacer valer sus derechos sin temer represalias», declaró el Fiscal General Auxiliar en funciones, John M. Gore, de la División de Derechos Civiles. «Los empleadores deben familiarizarse con la ley y asegurar que no tomen represalias contra aquellos trabajadores que vocalicen sus preocupaciones acerca del cumplimiento».

La Sección para los 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.

The Departments of Justice and State announced today that they have formalized a partnership aimed at protecting U.S. workers from discrimination and combatting fraud by employers that misuse visas.  The partnership, memorialized by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, facilitates information sharing in an effort to help each agency advance its mission. 

Under the MOU, the Civil Rights Division and the Bureau of Consular Affairs will share information about employers that may be engaging in unlawful discrimination, committing fraud, or making other misrepresentations in their use of employment-based visas, such as H-1B, H-2A, and H-2B visas.  The agencies will also provide each other with technical assistance and training to encourage complaint referrals and effective collaboration.  

The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER), formerly known as the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, enforces the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).  The provision prohibits, among other things, citizenship and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruiting. 

In February 2017, IER launched its Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, an initiative aimed at targeting, investigating, and bringing enforcement actions against companies that discriminate against U.S. workers in favor of foreign visa workers. The Initiative filed its first lawsuit last week against a Loveland, Colorado company for allegedly discriminating against U.S. workers.

“Employers that discriminate against qualified U.S. workers by favoring foreign visa workers will be held accountable,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore of the Civil Rights Division.  “Today’s agreement reflects the Civil Rights Division’s commitment to use all available tools, including collaboration with other federal agencies, to protect U.S. workers from discrimination.  The Division welcomes the Department of State as a partner in this effort.”

“The Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs is pleased to have joined forces with the Department of Justice to protect U.S. workers, combat fraud, and facilitate legitimate international travel,” said Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Carl C. Risch.

For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar; email IER@usdoj.gov; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites.  Applicants or employees who believe they were subjected to discrimination based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment or referral, or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify), should contact IER’s worker hotline for assistance.

For additional information on U.S. visas and other U.S. consular services, please see the State Department's website at travel.state.gov.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Bar-T Year Round Programs for Kids (Bar-T), located in Montgomery County, Maryland, to remedy alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Title III of the ADA prohibits public accommodations, including child care centers, from discriminating against individuals with disabilities and those associated with them.  Bar-T is the largest provider of before and after school programs in Montgomery County, operating at approximately 30 Montgomery County public school locations.    

The department investigated whether Bar-T discriminated against a student with a disability, specifically Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and her parents when it expelled the student on the basis of behaviors associated with ASD, without properly considering whether Bar-T staff could implement reasonable modifications to permit the student to remain enrolled.  The settlement agreement requires Bar-T to adopt a nondiscrimination policy; designate staff at each operating location to address ADA issues; implement a process for parents or guardians of children with disabilities to request reasonable modifications and for Bar-T to conduct an individualized assessment of each request; provide ADA training to staff; and report on compliance with the agreement.  Bar-T will also pay $13,500 in compensatory damages to the student and her parents.

 “Through this agreement, Bar-T is taking important steps to make sure that all children in its programs, including children with disabilities, will be given the opportunity to have a positive and successful experience in a supportive after school environment,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. 

 “Children with disabilities deserve equal opportunities to attend after school programs.  The policies Bar-T has agreed to implement will ensure that its programs provide an inclusive environment for all students,” said Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning.

To read the settlement agreement or for more information on the ADA, visit www.ada.gov.  For more information about the ADA, including how to file a complaint, call the Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or access the ADA website at www.ada.gov.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions today issued the following statement on restoring the rule of law to a lawful immigration system:

“For decades the American people rightly have pleaded with their government for a lawful system of immigration.  They have asked for secure borders and an immigration system that serves the national interest.

“Unfortunately, over the last several decades respect for the rule of law has broken down and immigration enforcement has been sacrificed for the sake of political expediency. This has made us less secure and it cannot stand.

“Now President Trump has put forth a series of proposals that will restore the rule of law to our immigration system, prioritize America's safety and security, and end the lawlessness.

"These are reasonable proposals that will build on the early success of President Trump's leadership. This plan will work. If followed it will produce an immigration system with integrity and one in which we can take pride.  Perhaps the best result will be that unlawful attempts to enter will continue their dramatic decline.

“I applaud President Trump and urge Congress to listen to the American people and swiftly pass these commonsense proposals into law. The Department of Justice stands ready to continue making our neighborhoods and communities safe and secure again.” 

A real estate investor pleaded guilty for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice announced. 

Jim Appenrodt pleaded guilty to two counts of bid rigging in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco. Appenrodt was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on October 22, 2014.

According to court documents, Appenrodt participated in a conspiracy to rig bids by agreeing to refrain from bidding against other coconspirators at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Francisco County and San Mateo County from as early as August 2008 until January 2011.  

“The Antitrust Division has prosecuted scores of real estate investors who, for their own benefit and profit, conspired to corrupt the bidding process at foreclosure auctions,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates the Division’s continued commitment to bringing to justice the individuals who committed these crimes.”   

Today’s guilty plea is the result of the Department’s ongoing investigation into bid rigging at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Francisco, San Mateo, Contra Costa and Alameda counties, California. To date, 63 individuals have agreed to plead or have pleaded guilty.

These investigations are being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to real-estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office at 415-934-5300 or call the FBI tip line at 415-553-7400.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement with CitiStaff Solutions Inc., and CitiStaff Management Group Inc. (collectively CitiStaff), companies that provide staffing services in the greater Los Angeles, California area.  The settlement resolves the department’s investigation into whether CitiStaff violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by discriminating against work-authorized immigrants when verifying their work authorization.

Based on its investigation, the department concluded that CitiStaff routinely requested that non-U.S. citizens present specific documents to prove their work authorization, such as Permanent Resident Cards or Employment Authorization Documents, but did not make similar requests for specific documents to U.S. citizens.  The department’s investigation also found that CitiStaff unnecessarily required lawful permanent resident workers to prove their work authorization again when their Permanent Resident Cards expired, while not making similar requests to U.S. citizen workers when their documents expired.  

All work-authorized individuals, whether U.S. citizens or non-U.S. citizens, have the right to choose which valid documentation to present to prove they are authorized to work, and employers should not reverify Permanent Resident Cards.  The anti-discrimination provision of the INA prohibits employers from subjecting employees to different or unnecessary documentary demands based on employees’ citizenship, immigration status or national origin.

Under the settlement, CitiStaff will pay a civil penalty of $200,000 to the United States, train its staff on the law, and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements for three years.

“Employers must take care to avoid discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore of the Civil Rights Division.  “Companies should ensure that their practices at initial hire, and in re-verifying employees’ work authorization, comply with federal law.”

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; and 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 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.

Summary of Outcomes

On October 4, 2017, Attorney General Jefferson B. Sessions III and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke, together with Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun, co-chaired the first U.S.-China Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity Dialogue (LECD).  The LECD is one of four dialogues agreed to by President Trump and President Xi during their first meeting in Mar-a-Lago in April 2017 and is an important forum for advancing bilateral law enforcement and cyber priorities between our two governments. 

The following topics were discussed: 

1) Repatriation. Both sides acknowledged the need to make continued progress in the area of repatriation of foreign nationals with final orders of removal. The United States and China committed to develop a repeatable process whereby the identities of individuals with final orders of removal are verified in a timely manner and travel documents are issued within 30 days of verification. This process should be finalized within three months following the LECD.

2) Counter-narcotics.  Both sides intend to continue to enhance cooperation on narcotics control and enforcement. Such cooperation may include: exchanging intelligence and operational information on trafficking of new psychoactive substances and other synthetic drugs, opioids, and cocaine; combatting the illicit production and trafficking of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances and precursor chemicals, with attention to applicable laws, scheduling actions, and use of express mail and consignment services; exchanging technical information on the relevant science and law; demand reduction cooperation; exchanging views on international narcotics control issues through UN-based and other multilateral forums; and sharing tracking information for packages between the two countries so as to identify individuals and criminal networks responsible for narcotics trafficking.  

3) Cybercrime and Cybersecurity. Both sides will continue their implementation of the consensus reached by the Chinese and American Presidents in 2015 on U.S.-China cybersecurity cooperation, consisting of the five following points: (1) that timely responses should be provided to requests for information and assistance concerning malicious cyber activities; (2) that neither country’s government will conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential business information, with the intent of providing competitive advantages to companies or commercial sectors; (3) to make common effort to further identify and promote appropriate norms of state behavior in cyberspace within the international community; (4) to maintain a high-level joint dialogue mechanism on fighting cybercrime and related issues; and (5) to enhance law enforcement communication on cyber security incidents and to mutually provide timely responses.

Both sides reiterated that all consensus and cooperative documents achieved at the three rounds of the China-U.S. High-Level Joint Dialogue on Combating Cyber Crimes and Related Issues since 2015 remain valid.

Both sides intend to improve cooperation with each other on cybercrime, including sharing cybercrime-related leads and information, and responding to Mutual Legal Assistance requests, in a timely manner, including with regard to cyber fraud (including business email compromises), hacking crimes, abuse of internet for terrorist purposes, and internet dissemination of child pornography.

Both sides will continue to cooperate on network protection, including maintaining and enhancing cybersecurity information sharing, as well as considering future efforts on cybersecurity of critical infrastructure.

Both sides intend to maintain and make full use of the established hotline mechanism for addressing urgent cybercrime and network protection issues pertaining to significant cybersecurity incidents, and to communicate in a timely way at the leadership level or working level, as needed.

4) Fugitives. Both sides will continue to cooperate to prevent each country from becoming a safe haven for fugitives and will identify viable fugitive cases for cooperation. Both sides plan to continue regular meetings and working groups to identify priority cases. Both sides commit to take actions involving fugitives only on the basis of respect for each other’ssovereignty and laws, and any violation of the above mentioned principles will be addressed in accordance with law. 

While differences remain, both sides intend to make actual progress on all of the above matters, to make possible another Dialogue in 2018 to measure that progress.

El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que había llegado a un acuerdo con CitiStaff Solutions, Inc. y CitiStaff Management Group, Inc. (colectivamente, CitiStaff), empresas que ofrecen servicios de contratación y empleo en el área metropolitana de Los Ángeles, California. El acuerdo resuelve la investigación por parte del Departamento en cuanto a si CitiStaff vulneró la ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA, por sus siglas en inglés) al discriminar a inmigrantes con autorización para trabajar a la hora de verificar su autorización para trabajar.

Con base en su investigación, el Departamento concluyó que CitiStaff habitualmente había solicitado a aquellos postulantes que no fueran ciudadanos estadounidenses que presentasen documentos específicos para demostrar su autorización para trabajar, tales como las tarjetas de residencia permanente o documentos de autorización para trabajar. No obstante, no pidió documentos específicos a los ciudadanos estadounidenses. Asimismo, la investigación del Departamento determinó que CitiStaff tuvo el requisito innecesario de que todo trabajador que fuera residente permanente legal demostrara nuevamente su autorización para trabajar al vencerse su tarjeta de residencia permanente, mientras que no pidió lo mismo a trabajadores que son ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos cuando sus documentos se vencieron.

Todos aquellos que disponen de autorización para trabajar, ya sean ciudadanos o no, tienen el derecho a elegir cuáles documentos válidos desean presentar para demostrar su autorización para trabajar, y los empleadores no deben reverificar las tarjetas de residencia permanente. La disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA prohíbe que los empleadores sometan a los empleados a requisitos documentales diferentes o innecesarios con base en la ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen del empleado.

Conforme al acuerdo, CitiStaff pagará $200,000 en sanciones civiles a los Estados Unidos, capacitará a su personal en cuanto a la ley y se someterá a la supervisión del Departamento, así como a sus requisitos de declaración, durante tres años.

Los empleadores deben procurar que eviten la discriminación durante el proceso de verificación de la elegibilidad para trabajar», declaró el Fiscal General Auxiliar en funciones, John M. Gore, de la División de Derechos Civiles. Las empresas deben asegurar que sus prácticas durante la contratación inicial, así como la reverificación de la autorización del empleado para trabajar, cumplan con las leyes federales aplicables».

La Sección para los Derechos de los 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.

Attorney General Sessions today issued guidance to all administrative agencies and executive departments regarding religious liberty protections in federal law and made the following statement: “Our freedom as citizens has always been inextricably linked with our religious freedom as a people. It has protected both the freedom to worship and the freedom not to believe. Every American has a right to believe, worship, and exercise their faith. The protections for this right, enshrined in our Constitution and laws, serve to declare and protect this important part of our heritage.

“As President Trump said, ‘Faith is deeply embedded into the history of our country, the spirit of our founding and the soul of our nation . . . [this administration] will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied or silenced anymore.’

“The constitutional protection of religious beliefs and the right to exercise those beliefs have served this country well, have made us one of the most tolerant countries in the world, and have also helped make us the freeist and most generous. President Trump promised that this administration would ‘lead by example on religious liberty,’ and he is delivering on that promise.”

The memorandum was issued pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order No. 13798 (May 4, 2017), which directed the Attorney General to “issue guidance interpreting religious liberty protections in Federal law” in order “to guide all agencies in complying with relevant Federal law.”

The guidance interprets existing protections for religious liberty in Federal law, identifying 20 high-level principles that administrative agencies and executive departments can put to practical use to ensure the religious freedoms of Americans are lawfully protected. Attorney General Sessions also issued a second memorandum to the Department of Justice, directing implementation of the religious liberty guidance within the Department.


NOTE: To view the guidance click here and to view the Attorney General’s implementing memorandum click here. 

William Sheldon, Timothy Lewis, and Charles Good appeared today in federal court in Portland, Maine, where each pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act by trafficking juvenile American eels (also known as “elvers” or “glass eels”).  Sheldon and Lewis had each been separately indicted by a Grand Jury in March 2017 for conspiring to smuggle elvers and violate the Lacey Act. Good pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with aiding and abetting the illegal transport of elvers in violation of the Lacey Act.

Historically, Japanese and European eels were harvested and sold as food in East Asia  As overfishing has led to a decline in the population of these eels, harvesters have turned to the American eel to fill the void resulting from the decreased number of Japanese and European eels.

American elvers are exported to East Asia, where they are raised to adult size and sold for food.  Harvesters and exporters of American eels can sell elvers to East Asia for more than $2000 per pound.  Because of the threat of overfishing, elver harvesting is prohibited in the United States in all but two states: Maine and South Carolina.  Both states heavily regulate elver fisheries, requiring that individuals be licensed and report all quantities of harvested eels to state authorities. 

Today’s guilty pleas were the result of “Operation Broken Glass,” a multi-state U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) investigation into the illegal trafficking of American eels.  To date, the investigation has resulted in 18 guilty pleas in Maine, Virginia, and South Carolina.  Combined, these 18 defendants have admitted to illegally trafficking more than $4.5 million worth of elvers.  The offenses in these case are felonies under the Lacey Act, each carrying a maximum penalty of five years’ incarceration, a fine of up to $250,000 or up to twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss, or both.

Operation Broken Glass was conducted by the 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.

A former Arkansas State Judge pleaded guilty today to wire fraud and witness tampering for perpetrating a seven year-long fraud and bribery scheme in which he dismissed cases on his docket in exchange for personal benefits, and then bribed a witness in an attempt to obstruct an official investigation into the scheme.  Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division made the announcement.

O. Joseph Boeckmann, 71, of Wynne, Arkansas, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of witness tampering.  The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Kristine G. Baker of the Eastern District of Arkansas.  Boeckmann has been on home detention since his arrest in October 2016 and will remain on home detention until he is sentenced at a later date.

According to admissions made in connection with his plea, from 2009 to 2015, Boeckmann served as a district judge for the First Judicial Circuit of Arkansas.  Boeckmann admitted to corruptly using his official position to dismiss traffic citations and misdemeanor criminal charges for young men in exchange for acts that he claimed were “community service,” but which actually benefited Boeckmann himself.  Among other things, Boeckmann admitted that on some occasions he took official action to order these individuals to perform “community service” and used his access to these individuals during their purported “community service” to take photographs of them in compromising positions.  In other cases, Boeckmann dismissed pending charges against defendants in exchange for sexually related conduct.

Boeckmann admitted that the corrupt use of his office defrauded the State of Arkansas and its citizens of their right to Boeckmann’s honest services and also defrauded various cities and counties in Arkansas, as well as the State of Arkansas and the Arkansas courts, of money and property that they should have received as fines or fees from the individuals whose cases were fraudulently dismissed.

In addition, Boeckmann admitted that during his scheme he instructed various individuals not to tell anyone about their “community service” sentences.  After Boeckmann learned he was under investigation, Boeckmann also arranged to pay a witness to change his testimony.  Specifically, Boeckmann admitted that in the fall of 2015, he learned of a witness who had provided information to the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission (JDDC) regarding Boeckmann’s practice of imposing personally beneficial “community service” sentences.  Boeckmann admitted that he directed another individual to pay the witness to write a letter recanting the information the witness gave to the JDDC.  According to his admissions, Boeckmann did this in order to prevent that witness from providing truthful information about Boeckmann to law enforcement and to influence, delay, and prevent that witness’s testimony in an official proceeding. 

The FBI investigated this case with assistance of the Arkansas State Police and the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission.  Trial Attorneys Peter Halpern, Jonathan Kravis, and Simon Cataldo of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section prosecuted the case, with assistance from Special Prosecutor Jack McQuary of the State of Arkansas Office of the Prosecutor Coordinator.

Attorney General Jeff B. Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein announced the designation of Robert W. Patterson as the Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration.  Patterson took charge upon the departure of former Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg.

“The DEA plays a vital role in combatting the drug crisis facing this country.  Robert Patterson is currently the highest ranking career special agent at DEA, where he has ably served for almost 30 years,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said.  “I have the highest confidence that Acting Administrator Patterson will continue the important mission of the DEA in stemming the tide of the opioid crisis.”

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein added, “Ending the unprecedented rise in deaths from drug overdoses is one of the Department of Justice’s highest priorities.  I thank Acting Administrator Patterson for taking the helm of the DEA at this critical time.” 

Patterson joined the DEA in 1988, starting in the DEA’s New York Division.  In that role, he was part of a special program established to combat the growing opioid epidemic and associated violence in the greater New York area. 

Since joining the agency, Patterson has served in a number of high-ranking leadership positions within the DEA.  Patterson was an acting special agent in charge of the DEA Special Operations Division, where he oversaw classified programs and communication exploitation tools.  In November 2015, Patterson was named as DEA’s chief inspector, where he had oversight over the agency’s Office of Inspections, Office of Security Programs, and Office of Professional Responsibility.  In November 2016, Patterson was appointed the DEA’s principal deputy administrator.  In that role, he served as DEA’s chief operating officer, overseeing all of the agency’s enforcement, intelligence, administrative, and regulatory activities worldwide.

Today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced several Department of Justice actions to reduce the rising tide of violent crime in America. Foremost of those actions is the reinvigoration of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

In announcing this recommitment to Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Attorney General issued a memo directing United States Attorneys to implement an enhanced violent crime reduction program that incorporates the lessons learned since Project Safe Neighborhoods launched in 2001.

In a statement on the program, the Attorney General said:

"According to the FBI, the violent crime rate has risen by nearly seven percent over the past two years, and the homicide rate has risen by more than 20 percent. We cannot be complacent or hope that this is just an anomaly: we have a duty to take action.

“Fortunately, we have a President who understands that and has directed his administration to reduce crime. The Department of Justice today announces the foundation of our plan to reduce crime: prioritizing Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that has been proven to work.

“Let me be clear – Project Safe Neighborhoods is not just one policy idea among many. This is the centerpiece of our crime reduction strategy.

“Taking what we have learned since the program began in 2001, we have updated it and enhanced it, emphasizing the role of our U.S. Attorneys, the promise of new technologies, and above all, partnership with local communities. With these changes, I believe that this program will be more effective than ever and help us fulfill our mission to make America safer."

The Attorney General also announced the following Department of Justice initiatives to help reduce violent crime:

-Additional Assistant United States Attorney Positions to Focus on Violent Crime – The Department is allocating 40 prosecutors to approximately 20 United States Attorney’s Offices to focus on violent crime reduction.

-More Cops on the Streets (COPS Hiring Grants) – As part of our continuing commitment to crime prevention efforts, increased community policing, and the preservation of vital law enforcement jobs, the Department will be awarding approximately $98 million in FY 2017 COPS Hiring Grants to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies.

-Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force’s (OCDETF) National Gang Strategic Initiative – The National Gang Strategic Initiative promotes  creative enforcement strategies and best practices that will assist in developing investigations of violent criminal groups and gangs into enterprise-level OCDETF prosecutions.  Under this initiative, OCDETF provides “seed money” to locally-focused gang investigations, giving state, local, and tribal investigators and prosecutors the resources and tools needed to identify connections between lower-level gangs and national-level drug trafficking organizations.

-Critical Training and Technical Assistance to State and Local Partners – The Department has a vast array of training and technical assistance resources available to state, local and tribal law enforcement, victims groups, and others.  To ensure that agencies in need of assistance are able to find the training and materials they need, OJP will make available a Violence Reduction Response Center to serve as a “hot line” to connect people to these resources. 

-Crime Gun Intelligence Centers (CGIC) – The Department has provided grant funding to support a comprehensive approach to identifying the most violent offenders in a jurisdiction, using new technologies such as gunshot detection systems combined with gun crime intelligence from NIBIN, eTrace, and investigative efforts.  These FY 2017 grants were awarded to Phoenix, AZ, and Kansas City, MO. 

-Expand ATF’s NIBIN Urgent Trace Program – The Department will expand ATF’s NIBIN Urgent Trace Program nationwide by the end of the year.  Through this program, any firearm submitted for tracing that is associated with a NIBIN “hit” (which means it can be linked to a shooting incident) will be designated an “urgent” trace and the requestor will get information back about the firearm’s first retail purchaser within 24 hours, instead of five to six business days.

Note: For more information, please see the attached memo from the Attorney General. 

A federal court in Madison, Wisconsin, ordered Spectrum Brands Inc., a large consumer products distributor, to pay $1.9 million in civil penalties for failing to timely report dangerously defective Black & Decker SpaceMaker coffee carafes and for continuing to distribute the carafes following a recall, the Department of Justice announced today. 

The civil penalty and a related permanent injunction, imposed by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley, follows a 2016 court ruling that Spectrum and its former subsidiary, Applica Consumer Products Inc., violated the Consumer Product Safety Act by waiting years to inform the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) of customer reports about handles that suddenly broke or separated from carafes of hot coffee. The court noted that between 2008 and 2012, Spectrum received approximately 1,600 reports of broken SpaceMaker carafe handles, with about 66 consumers referencing burns from spilled coffee, and three others referencing cuts from broken carafe glass. The court noted that one consumer reported to the company in 2009 that she sought medical attention after hot coffee burned her stomach.

“When a company learns that one of its products could seriously injure customers, it must immediately report that information to the CPSC,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Waiting until someone is hurt before taking action is irresponsible and illegal. We will continue to enforce safety laws that protect consumers from unreasonable harm.”

The Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) requires manufacturers, retailers, and distributors of consumer products to report “immediately” to the CPSC information that reasonably supports the conclusion a product contains a defect which could create a substantial product hazard or creates an unreasonable risk of serious injury. In its summary judgment ruling, the court held that Spectrum knowingly failed to report information it was required to report to the CPSC. The court found that by May 2009, the company knew of 60 reports of broken handles and four reports of burns, and had identified a similar cause of the breakages in two separately returned carafes. While the company implemented a design change in 2009 to remedy the handle issue, it continued to sell the old carafes through the end of that year. By June 2010, the court found, Spectrum knew of 714 complaints regarding carafe-handle failures. 

As set out in the court orders, Spectrum did not report the carafe-handle incidents to the CPSC until April 2012, after the company was served with a private class action complaint alleging the carafes were defectively designed. Spectrum subsequently recalled the coffeemakers in consultation with the CPSC. As the company acknowledged, however, it distributed more than 600 additional carafes after the recall announcement. The United States filed suit against Spectrum in 2015 in the Western District of Wisconsin over the company’s failure to timely report the carafe hazard and the company’s sales of recalled products. 

“I am pleased with the court’s order for a permanent injunction and a civil penalty against Spectrum Brands Inc.,” said CPSC Acting Chairman Ann Marie Buerkle.  “Companies who fail to immediately report hazards with their products to CPSC put consumers at risk. Consumer safety should be the top priority for companies making consumer products.”

As detailed in the court’s summary judgment ruling, Applica and Spectrum received reports over the years from customers who said that they believed the carafe handle was dangerous. Numerous consumers told the company that spills related to broken handles caused burns to themselves or to family members. Other consumers reported near misses.

Along with the $1,936,675 in civil penalties, the court entered a permanent injunction against the company. The court ordered Spectrum to maintain systems and internal controls to ensure future compliance with the CPSA. The court further ordered Spectrum to provide copies of its rulings to officers and managers at the company. Under the terms of the injunction, Spectrum must report back to the court in six months to verify the company has made improvements to avoid repeating the CPSA violations.

The government was represented in the case by former Trial Attorney Thomas Ross and Assistant Director Alan Phelps of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, with the assistance of Harriet Kerwin of the CPSC Office of the General Counsel and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin.

Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the Consumer Product Safety Commission, visit its website at https://www.cpsc.gov.

A real estate investor was sentenced today for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice announced.

Brian McKinzie was charged on June 30, 2011, in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of California. McKinzie pleaded guilty on Oct. 26, 2016, to two counts of bid rigging at real-estate foreclosure auctions in Alameda and Contra Costa County. Today, McKinzie was sentenced to serve 14 months in prison and to serve three years of supervised release. In addition to his term of imprisonment, McKinzie was ordered to pay a criminal fine of $10,000 and $652,824.43 in restitution.

“Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of offenses that subvert the competitive process,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “The Division remains firm in its resolve to seek prison terms for individuals who commit antitrust crimes.”  

Between November 2008 and January 2011, McKinzie and other bidders at the auctions conspired not to bid against one another for selected properties, instead designating a winning bidder to win the property at the auction. The members of the conspiracy then held second, private auctions, known as “rounds,” to award the properties to members of the conspiracy and determine payoffs for other conspirators who had agreed not to bid against each other at the public auctions. The private auctions often took place at or near the courthouse steps where the public auctions were held.

When real estate properties are sold at public auctions, the proceeds are used to pay off the mortgage and other debt attached to the property, with the remaining proceeds, if any, paid to the homeowner.

The sentence is a result of the division’s ongoing investigation into bid rigging at public real estate foreclosure auctions in California’s San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda and Contra Costa counties. These investigations are being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco Office.

Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office at 415-934-5300 or call the FBI tip line at 415-553-7400.

A federal grand jury sitting in the Eastern District of Michigan returned an indictment today charging the owner of a tax return preparation business with 26 counts of preparing fraudulent tax returns, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. 

According to the indictment, Gary Hairston owned and operated Gary Y Hairston & Co PLLC, a tax return preparation business located in Inkster, Michigan.  From at least 2010 through 2014, Hairston allegedly filed fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on behalf of his clients.  The indictment alleges that Hairston reported fake businesses and falsely claimed the earned income tax credit on clients’ tax returns, seeking refunds to which those clients were not entitled.

If convicted, Hairston faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison on each count, as well as a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Carl F. Brooker, IV and Thomas F. Koelbl Sr. of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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

The Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today released statistics on the impact of Executive Order (EO) 13767: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements, which called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to assign immigration judges to immigration detention facilities.

Pursuant to the President’s Executive Order, over one hundred immigration judges have been mobilized to Department of Homeland Security detention facilities across the country, including along the southern border. This mobilization includes both in-person assignments and dockets heard via video teleconferencing (VTC).

Comparing the results of the surge to historical scheduling and outcome data, EOIR has projected that the mobilized immigration judges have completed approximately 2,700 more cases than expected if the immigration judges had not been detailed. This means that completed cases by detailed immigration judges have outpaced expected home court deferrals, resulting in a positive net effect on the nationwide caseload. Also, immigration judges mobilized to surge sites completed approximately 21 percent more cases on detail than the historical, expected performance of nondetailed immigration judges at the same base locations.

“EOIR is pleased with the results of the surge of immigration judges to detention facilities and the potential impact it has on the pending caseload nationwide,” said Acting Director James McHenry. “The Justice Department will continue to identify ways in which it can further improve immigration judge productivity without compromising due process.”

The Department of Justice today announced that it reached an agreement with the city of New Albany, Indiana (New Albany), to resolve its lawsuit alleging that the New Albany Police Department and Merit Commission discriminated against an employee on the basis of his disability, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Justice Department’s complaint alleges that the New Albany Police Department and Merit Commission disclosed to the public and press an employee’s confidential medical information, which it had obtained through employment-related medical examinations and inquiries. The complaint further alleges that New Albany provided documents and information detailing the employee’s disability, prescription medications, medical care, and psychological evaluations to the press and that, as result of this unlawful disclosure, local press widely publicized the employee’s medical information.

Under the agreement, New Albany’s Police Department and Merit Commission will institute policies to keep confidential its employees’ medical information and procedures to effectively respond to employees’ complaints of unlawful disclosure of medical information. The City of New Albany will also ensure that Police Department and Merit Commission officials, supervisors, and personnel who have access to employees’ confidential medical information are fully trained in those policies. In addition, New Albany will pay $100,000 in compensatory damages to the employee.

“Under the ADA, employers have a legal responsibility to keep confidential their employees’ medical information.  This responsibility is critical to ensuring that employees with disabilities can work without fear of discrimination,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This agreement is another important step towards eliminating employment barriers for people with disabilities.”

“The unlawful disclosure in this case deprived an employee of his privacy and his dignity, causing him to endure public ridicule and emotional stress,” said U.S. Attorney Josh J. Minkler of the Southern District of Indiana. “We commend the City of New Albany for committing to changing its policies, training its staff, and compensating the employee.”

This matter was based on a referral from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Indianapolis District Office, which completed the initial investigation of the facts.

To read the settlement agreement, please find it here, and to read the complaint, please find it here. For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the Civil Rights Division’s Disability Rights Section, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov.

Former Georgia prison guard Edgar Daniel Johnson, 51, pleaded guilty on Monday to sexually assaulting three female inmates at the Emanuel Women’s Facility in Swainsboro, Georgia, and to coercing the women to help him cover up the assaults.  Johnson also pleaded guilty to making a bomb threat at Elba Island on a separate occasion, in May 2017.  Johnson pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Georgia to three counts of willfully depriving the inmates of their Eighth Amendment rights under color of law, three counts of obstruction for coercing the women to cover up the assaults, and one count of maliciously conveying false information about explosive materials. 

During the plea hearing, Johnson admitted that, between November 1, 2012, and September 30, 2013, while he was working as a Georgia Department of Corrections prison guard at the Emanuel Women’s Facility, he engaged in non-consensual vaginal intercourse on more than one occasion with female inmates S.A., M.A., and M.P.  Johnson further admitted that each act of intercourse was against the inmate’s will and violated the inmate’s right under the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, which includes the right to be free from unwanted sexual assaults.  Johnson further admitted that he coerced each of the inmates to cover up the assaults after the fact to help him avoid detection by investigators.  Johnson also admitted that on May 3, 2017, he used a cellular telephone to call Southside Fire Department in Chatham County, Georgia and falsely report a bomb threat at Elba Island. 

“This defendant abused his legal authority to prey on vulnerable women who had been entrusted to his care.  His actions undermine the rule of law and the well-being of our communities,” said John Gore, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is committed to protecting the constitutional and civil rights of all individuals, and will hold law enforcement officers accountable to their oath to uphold the Constitution.”

 “No one is above the law, and the criminal actions of this former prison guard compel a strong rebuke. Anyone who chooses to prey on others under color of official right should expect federal prosecution and jail,” said United States Attorney R. Brian Tanner. 

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Augusta Resident Agency with assistance from the Georgia Department of Corrections and the District Attorney’s Office for Swainsboro, Georgia.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tara Lyons and Matthew Josephson of the Southern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Risa Berkower of the Civil Rights Division.

A former U.S. Postal Service (USPS) station manager was sentenced on Oct. 2, to 97 months in prison for his role directing a bribery and drug scheme in which USPS workers delivered hundreds of pounds of marijuana to individuals in the District of Columbia in exchange for cash bribes.  Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division made the announcement.

Deenvaughn Rowe, 48, of Odenton, Maryland, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan.  In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Court Judge Chutkan ordered Rowe to serve four years of supervised release and to forfeit $64,000.  During the sentencing Judge Chutkan told Rowe, who had immigrated to the United States from Jamaica, “What you have done has betrayed all this country has given you.”  Last month, Judge Chutkan sentenced two of Rowe’s co-conspirators, Kendra Brantley, 32, and Alicia Norman, 39, both of Washington, D.C., to 46 months and 18 months in prison respectively, for using their positions as letter carriers to deliver boxes of marijuana.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Rowe, the then-acting manager of the River Terrace Carrier Annex, used his USPS computer to track packages containing marijuana mailed from the Western United States to the Lamond-Riggs Post Office in Washington, D.C.  The packages were typically addressed to fictitious individuals or non-existent addresses.  The evidence at trial revealed that once the packages arrived at Lamond-Riggs, Rowe coordinated the delivery of the packages with Lamond-Riggs Letter Carriers Brantley and Norman, among others, by cell phone and text message.  Brantley and Norman then delivered the boxes of marijuana on the street to men in expensive cars in exchange for cash bribes.   

This case was investigated by the USPS Office of the Inspector General’s Capital Metro Field Office and the Postal Inspection Service’s Washington Division.  Trial Attorneys Mark J. Cipolletti, Shamiso Maswoswe, Molly Gaston and Nicholas Connor of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section prosecuted the case.