District Not Recorded

The Department of Justice announced today that it will require CenturyLink, Inc. and Level 3 Communications, Inc. to divest Level 3’s telecommunications networks in Albuquerque, Boise, and Tucson, and to offer long-term leases called indefeasible rights of use (IRUs) for dark fiber along 30 intercity routes in order for the companies to proceed with CenturyLink’s acquisition of Level 3.  The deal is valued at approximately $34 billion.  

The Department’s Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed acquisition.  At the same time, the Department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the Court, would resolve the competitive concerns alleged.  

“Because of competition between CenturyLink and Level 3, consumers have benefited from lower prices and higher-quality services in local telecommunications services and in the sale of intercity dark fiber,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “These divestitures will ensure that consumers of such services in the affected metropolitan areas and consumers of dark fiber between the city pairs in question will continue to enjoy the benefits of competition.”

According to the department’s complaint, the combined company would have reduced competition for fiber-optic-based telecommunications services in Albuquerque, Boise, and Tucson as well as for the sale of dark fiber along certain intercity routes across the U.S., including routes traversing Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.  Dark fiber is fiber-optic cable with no electronics attached to it.  The complaint states that this reduction in competition likely would have led to higher prices, lower quality, and reduced access for consumers.

The proposed settlement requires the parties to divest all assets that support Level 3’s provision of telecommunications services in Albuquerque, Boise, and Tucson to a buyer or buyers to be approved by the United States.  The parties must also enter into IRUs for 24 strands of dark fiber on 30 specified routes.  Each IRU must have a 25-year term with two optional renewal periods of five years.  The dark fiber to be divested must go to a single buyer to be approved by the United States.

The transaction is also subject to review by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is ongoing. The Department coordinated with the FCC throughout its investigation.

CenturyLink, the third largest wireline telecommunications provider in the United States, is the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) in portions of 37 states and is also a global communications, hosting, cloud and IT services company.  CenturyLink offers network and data systems management, big data analytics and IT consulting.  The company provides broadband, voice, video, data and managed services over a robust 360,000 route-mile global network, including a 265,000 route-mile U.S. fiber network.  In 2016, CenturyLink had revenues of approximately $17.5 billion.  

Level 3, one of the largest competitive exchange carriers (CLEC) in the United States, is a Fortune 500 company that provides local, national and global communications services to enterprise, government and carrier customers.  Level 3’s portfolio of secure, managed solutions includes fiber and infrastructure solutions; IP-based voice and data communications; wide-area Ethernet services; video and content distribution; and data center and cloud-based solutions.  Level 3 serves customers in more than 500 markets in over 60 countries across a global services platform, including over a 200,000 route-mile global fiber network.  In 2016, Level 3 had revenues of approximately $8.2 billion.  

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with a competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register.  Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement during a 60-day comment period to Scott Scheele, Chief, Telecommunications and Media Enforcement Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 7000, Washington D.C. 20530.  At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia may approve the proposed settlement upon finding that it is in the public interest. 

The Justice Department today announced that Frank D. Tjoelker, an owner and manager of rental properties in and around Grand Rapids, Michigan, will pay $150,000 to resolve allegations that he sexually harassed multiple women who have lived in or inquired about his rental properties.  Since January of this year, the Civil Rights Division has filed or settled five cases alleging unlawful sexual harassment of women in housing and recovered over $1 million for victims such harassment. 

“No woman should ever have to endure sexual harassment to secure a roof over her head,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “Such harassment is unacceptable and illegal, and this Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce the Fair Housing Act in order to combat this type of discrimination and to obtain relief for its victims.”

“It is illegal to discriminate in housing on the basis of sex, including through such unwelcome and unwanted behavior as alleged in this case,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for Western Michigan Andrew Birge. “Cases like this will always be a priority for my office.”

Under the settlement agreement, Tjoelker will pay $140,000 to compensate ten victims of discrimination already identified by the Justice Department, along with any additional individuals who are determined to be victims through a process established in the settlement agreement. Individuals who believe they may have been victims of housing discrimination by Tjoelker or who have information about this matter can contact the Justice Department by phone at 1-800-896-7743, mailbox number 4, or by e-mail at fairhousing@usdoj.gov.  In addition, Tjoelker must pay $10,000 as a civil penalty to the United States. The settlement agreement also prohibits Tjoelker from engaging in discrimination and requires him to establish a non-discrimination policy and hire an independent manager for his rental properties. 

The settlement will resolve a lawsuit, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, alleging that Tjoelker’s unlawful conduct against female tenants and applicants at his properties has included making unwelcome sexual comments and advances towards them, engaging in unwanted sexual touching of these women, offering housing benefits in exchange for sex acts, and taking or threatening to take adverse housing actions against women who object to his harassment.  Under the terms of the settlement, the parties will jointly move to dismiss the lawsuit after Tjoelker makes the monetary payments, which are due within 30 days. 

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability.  Sexual harassment is a form of prohibited sex discrimination under this law.  More information about the Civil Rights Division and the civil rights laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt.  Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination should call the department at 1-800-896-7743, or send an e-mail to fairhousing@usdoj.gov, or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777 or through HUD’s website at www.hud.gov. 

Awards Include Over $56.3 Million for Responses to Violence Against Women in Indian Country

Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand today announced more than $130 million in Department of Justice grants to combat violence against women, improve public safety, serve victims of crime, and support youth programs in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

“Supporting our tribal partners as they work to protect their communities remains fundamental to our mission at the Department of Justice,” said Brand. “These awards stand as a clear expression of our support for Native American women and tribal self-determination and reflect the vital role we believe American Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages play in ensuring the safety of all our citizens.”

Associate Attorney General Brand, the Department’s third ranking official, will make the announcement as part of her remarks during the Department’s participation in the 12th Annual Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation on the reservation of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation in Fountain Hills, Arizona. 

On Wednesday, Associate Attorney General Brand will visit a domestic violence shelter in the Gila River Indian Community. Gila River will receive two grant awards this year: one that supports the tribe’s implementation of special domestic violence jurisdiction under the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act and one to enhance the safety of rural victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.

More than $101 million was awarded to 125 American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, tribal consortia and tribal designees through the Department’s Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS), a streamlined application for tribal-specific grant programs.  Of the $101 million, $47.6 million comes from the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), $34.1 million from the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), and $19.4 million from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).

The Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) awarded 101 grants totaling $56.3 million to tribal governments and nonprofit entities to help respond to the crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking and sex trafficking in Indian country.  Of the $56.3 million, $34.1 was awarded through the CTAS application process as noted above and $22.1 million was awarded through other OVW grant programs and special initiatives.

CTAS grants are designed to enhance law enforcement practices, expand victim services and sustain crime prevention and intervention efforts. Awards cover nine purpose areas: public safety and community policing; justice systems planning; alcohol and substance abuse; corrections and correctional alternatives; children’s justice act partnerships; services for victims of crime; violence against women; juvenile justice; and tribal youth programs.

American Indians and Alaska Natives experience disproportionate rates of violence and victimization and often encounter significant obstacles to culturally relevant services. CTAS funding helps tribes develop and strengthen their justice systems’ response to crime, while expanding services to meet their communities’ public safety needs.

Today’s announcement is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing initiative to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

 A listing of today’s CTAS awards is available at www.justice.gov/tribal/awards. Additional tribal grant awards announced by the Office on Violence Against Women and other department components are available at: www.justice.gov/ovw/page/file/1000416/download.

The Justice Department today announced a new initiative to combat sexual harassment in housing.  The initiative specifically seeks to increase the Department’s efforts to protect women from harassment by landlords, property managers, maintenance workers, security guards, and other employees and representatives of rental property owners.  As part of the initiative, the Department will work to identify barriers to reporting sexual harassment to the Department and other enforcement agencies, and will collaborate with local law enforcement, legal services providers, and public housing authorities to leverage their expertise. 

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division enforces the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability.  Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination prohibited under this law.  The Civil Rights Division plans to launch a pilot of the initiative in two jurisdictions -- Washington, D.C., and western Virginia -- where it is working with legal service providers and local law enforcement to raise awareness about this issue.  The Department hopes to expand the effort to other areas of the country in the near future. 

The announcement comes on the heels of the Department’s successful resolution of two sexual harassment cases in Kansas City, Kansas, and Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Since January of this year, the Civil Rights Division has filed or settled five cases and recovered over $1 million for victims of sexual harassment in housing.  In the Kansas City case, the Justice Department recovered $360,000 for 14 female residents and applicants of a housing authority who were subjected to unwanted sexual conduct.  The Department’s complaint alleged in part that an employee of the housing authority subjected women to unwanted sexual conduct as a condition for favorable hearing decisions, including asking them sexual questions, showing pornographic pictures and videos, making explicit sexual comments, and exposing himself.

“No woman should be made to feel unsafe in her own home,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in announcing the initiative.  “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously enforcing the Fair Housing Act’s ban on sexual harassment and is looking forward to working closely with state and local partners to combat this problem.”

More information about the Civil Rights Division and the civil rights laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt. Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination should call the department at 1-844-380-6178, or send an e-mail to fairhousing@usdoj.gov, or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777.

A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent was charged in an indictment unsealed yesterday with obstruction of justice, perjury, falsifying records in a federal investigation, seeking and receiving an illegal gratuity, conversion of property by an officer or employee of the United States and removing property to prevent seizure and conspiracy.  A former DEA task force officer was also charged.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey S. Sallet of the FBI’s New Orleans Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Monte Cason of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General’s (DOJ-OIG) Dallas Field Office and Chief Inspector Brian M. McKnight of the DEA’s Office of Professional Responsibility (DEA-OPR) made the announcement.

Chad A. Scott, 49, of Covington, Louisiana, the DEA special agent, and Rodney P. Gemar, 41, of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, the former task force officer, were charged in an indictment returned on Sept. 29, in the Eastern District of Louisiana.  Scott is charged with three counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury, one count of falsifying records in a federal investigation, one count of seeking and receiving an illegal gratuity, one count of unlawful conversion of property by a government officer or employee, one count of removing property to prevent seizure and one count of conspiracy to commit conversion to remove property to prevent seizure.  Gemar is charged with two counts of unlawful conversion of property by a government officer or employee, two counts of removing property to prevent seizure and two counts of conspiracy to commit conversion and to remove property to prevent seizure.   According to the indictment, Scott, Gemar and their co-conspirators committed these offenses while serving with the New Orleans Division of the DEA.

Specifically, the indictment alleges that Scott committed obstruction of justice and perjury in connection with a January 2016 trial in the Eastern District of Louisiana, misappropriated the personal property of individuals who were arrested by the New Orleans Division of the DEA and falsified documentation relating to the seizure of a Ford pick-up truck. The indictment further alleges that Gemar also misappropriated personal property from individuals detained by the DEA, as well as money seized from an individual detained by local law enforcement.

Gemar currently serves as a police officer with the Hammond, Louisiana Police Department. 

Former DEA task force officer Karl Emmett Newman, 50, of Kentwood, Louisiana, was also charged with numerous offenses in a separate May 13, 2016 indictment and in an Oct. 7, 2016 superseding indictment.  Newman pleaded guilty on July 20, to unlawfully possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and conspiring to misappropriate money seized by the DEA during the execution of a search.  Former DEA task force officer Johnny Jacob Domingue, 28, of Maurepas, Louisiana, was arrested on a criminal complaint on May 12, 2016, and was also charged in an Oct. 7, 2016 superseding indictment with falsifying records in a federal investigation.  Domingue’s case remains pending. Chad Scott’s detention hearing will take place on Oct. 3 at 2:00 p.m. CDT.

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

This case was initiated by the Louisiana State Police and investigated by the FBI, DOJ-OIG, DEA-OPR and LSP.  Assistant Chief Diidri Robinson and Trial Attorney Antonio Pozos of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

Department of Justice Tribal Access Program Will Continue to Improve the Exchange of Critical Data

The Department of Justice announced 15 additional American Indian tribes selected to participate in the expansion of the Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information (TAP), a program to provide federally recognized tribes the ability to access and exchange data with national crime information databases for both civil and criminal purposes.    

These TAP deployments are part of the Justice Department’s Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety, allowing tribes to more effectively serve and protect their communities by ensuring the exchange of critical data.

“The Tribal Access Program provides tribal governments access to federal crime information databases containing highly useful information, such as criminal background records, outstanding warrants, and domestic violence protection orders,” said Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.   “When federal, state, and tribal governments share information, it makes communities and law enforcement officers safer.  It helps solve crimes and protect people from being victimized.”

The TAP Team is pleased to announce that the following tribes have been selected for the next phase of TAP: The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Colorado River Indian Tribes of the Colorado River Indian Reservation, Arizona and California
Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation (Washington)
Mashantucket Pequot Indian Tribe (Connecticut)
Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico
Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico
Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, Minnesota
Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa
Yavapai-Apache Nation of the Camp Verde Indian Reservation, Arizona
Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico
Kootenai Tribe of Idaho
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (Mississippi)
Nez Perce Tribe (Idaho)
Passamaquoddy Tribe (Maine)
Round Valley Indian Tribes, Round Valley Reservation, California

TAP is primarily funded by the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART) and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).  TAP prioritized selection of tribes that had a tribal sex offender registry pursuant to the Adam Walsh Act and are currently unable to directly submit data to national crime information databases; and/or had a tribal law enforcement agency that will use TAP to access the National Criminal Information Center (NCIC), Next Generation Identification (NGI),  and other national databases to both view and enter information.

TAP is currently deployed to 32 tribes with over 160 tribal criminal justice and civil agencies participating. The service provides software to enable tribes to access national crime information databases and/or a kiosk-workstation that provides the ability to submit and query fingerprint-based transactions via FBI’s Next Generation Identification (NGI) for both criminal and civil purposes.

Success stories from the past two years include:
 

• Recovered safely a vulnerable adult kidnap victim and captured the alleged kidnapper through the use of the National Data Exchange (N-DEx).   
• Identified a previously unknown active warrant issued by another jurisdiction, on a sex offender during the routine process of registering that offender
• Stopped a known drug user with mental problems, who was found incompetent to stand trial, from purchasing a weapon
• Prevented a person convicted of domestic violence from purchasing a firearm after the police department identified an imminent threat to former spouse
• Completed entry of information on all sex offenders on tribal registries into both NGI (with fingerprint, palm prints, mug shots) and NCIC’s National Sex Offender Registration (NSOR) file so sex offender status will be obvious to anyone running a subsequent NCIC check or fingerprint-based background check
   

TAP enhances tribal efforts to register sex offenders pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA); have orders of protection enforced off-reservation; protect children; keep firearms away from persons who are disqualified from receiving them; improve the safety of public housing, and allow tribes to enter their arrests and convictions into national databases.

TAP supports tribes in analyzing their needs for national crime information and includes appropriate solutions, including a-state-of-the-art biometric/biographic kiosk workstation with capabilities to process finger and palm prints, take mugshots and submit records to national databases, as well as the ability to access CJIS systems for criminal and civil purposes through the Department of Justice’s Criminal Justice Information Network. TAP, which is managed by the Department of Justice Chief Information Officer, provides specialized training and assistance for participating tribes, including computer-based training and on-site instruction, as well as a 24x7 Help Desk.

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

For more information about the Justice Department’s work on tribal justice and public safety issues, visit:  www.justice.gov/tribal

The Justice Department today announced that the Kansas City, Kansas, Housing Authority (KCKHA) and three of its former employees have agreed to pay $365,000 to resolve a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the department in 2015.  So far this year, the Justice Department has filed or settled four cases alleging unlawful sexual harassment of women in housing.  

Under the settlement, KCKHA, former Administrative Coordinator Victor Hernandez, former Property Manager Derrick Estelle, Sr., and former Director of Housing Management Ronald Cobb, will pay a total of $360,000 in monetary damages to 14 current and former KCKHA residents and applicants who were subjected to sexual harassment, as well as $5,000 to the United States in civil penalties.  The settlement also requires KCKHA to conduct training, to adopt new policies and procedures to prevent sexual harassment by its employees, and to provide a mechanism by which tenants and applicants can register complaints about sexual harassment with KCKHA management.   

“Sexual harassment of women is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “No one should ever have to endure the type of outrageous conduct that occurred in this case in exchange for obtaining or keeping a place to live.”

“No woman should be subjected to harassment in her own home. This action sends a message to all housing providers that not only is this type of behavior unacceptable and immoral, it is illegal,” said HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Anna Maria Farías. “HUD will continue to work to protect the fair housing rights of victims of harassment.”

This matter began when two female public housing tenants filed complaints about Hernandez with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  After HUD investigated the complaints, it issued a charge of discrimination and the matter was referred to the Justice Department. During its investigation, the department identified additional KCKHA applicants and tenants who had been sexually harassed by Hernandez, Estelle, or Cobb.   Among other things, the department’s complaint alleged that Hernandez subjected women to unwanted sexual conduct as a condition for favorable hearing decisions, including asking them sexual questions, showing pornographic pictures and videos, making explicit sexual comments, and exposing himself.  Hernandez admitted in sworn testimony that he had exposed himself to multiple women during appeals hearings concerning their housing.   

The complaint also alleged that Estelle and Cobb explicitly conditioned housing benefits in return for sexual favors and made repeated unwelcome and offensive sexual advances to women residing in or applying for public housing.  The complaint further alleged that Hernandez, Estelle, and Cobb engaged in this conduct while exercising their authority as employees of KCKHA.

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability.  Sexual harassment is a form of prohibited sex discrimination under this law.  More information about the Civil Rights Division and the civil rights laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt. Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination should call the department at 1-800-896-7743, or send an e-mail to fairhousing@usdoj.gov, or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) today announced more than $47 million in funding to combat human trafficking and provide vital services to trafficking victims throughout the United States.

As part of this announcement, Associate Attorney General Rachel L. Brand visited the national headquarters of the International Association of Chiefs of Police this afternoon, where she met with Executive Director Vincent Talucci, Deputy Executive Director Terrence Cunningham, and Director for Programs Domingo Herraiz. While there, she provided notification that the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) had awarded the organization a $1 million grant to support a National Anti-Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance for Law Enforcement Task Force, which supports criminal justice systems efforts to investigate, and prosecute all forms of human trafficking.

“The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the victims of human trafficking,” said Associate Attorney General Brand.  “DOJ grants provide training and technical assistance to state and local law governments, law enforcement, and victim service organizations.” 

Approximately $31 million of the funds was awarded under nine OJP grant programs. The grants aim to support the criminal justice system’s efforts to investigate and prosecute all forms of human trafficking; offer victims services through experienced providers; and seeks to strengthen communities’ responses to the sexual exploitation and forced labor of victims by raising community awareness and providing training and technical assistance. 

Grants awarded under Fiscal Year 2017 OJP programs include the following:

• Specialized Services for Victims of All Forms of Human Trafficking; About $7.5 million to 13 victim service organizations to enhance the quality and quantity of specialized services available to all victims of human trafficking.

• Legal Access to Victims of Crime: Innovations in Access to Justice Programs; Approximately $5 million to support an award to Equal Justice Works, which will partner with qualified nonprofit organizations to host attorneys who will provide comprehensive and holistic legal services to survivors of human trafficking and enforce victims' rights.

• Improving Outcomes for Child and Youth Victims of Human Trafficking: A Jurisdiction Wide Approach; Nearly $5.2 million to four states to improve jurisdiction-wide coordination and multidisciplinary collaboration to address the trafficking of children and youth.

• Comprehensive Services for Victims of All Forms of Human Trafficking; Over $3.6 million to five community agencies under this program with a demonstrated history of serving victims of human trafficking.

• Specialized Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance for Service Providers; $1.7 million to the Freedom Network USA and Futures Without Violence to help victim service providers develop and implement housing and employment practices that better serve victims of human trafficking.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Office for Victims of Crime awarded four grants totaling nearly $3 million to two multidisciplinary human trafficking task forces under the Enhanced Collaborative Model to Combat Human Trafficking Program.  This initiative supports task forces made up of victim service providers, law enforcement agencies and prosecutors that implement a victim-centered approach and work collaboratively to identify sex and labor trafficking victims of all ages and sexes; investigate and prosecute trafficking cases at the local, state, tribal and federal levels; and provide a comprehensive array of quality services that address the individualized needs of victims.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded $1 million to the International Association of Chiefs of Police to support National Anti-Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance for Law Enforcement Task Forces. The task forces support efforts to investigate, and prosecute all forms of human trafficking. For a list of OVC and BJA awardees, visit https://go.usa.gov/xRhQ7. 

The National Institute of Justice awarded about $2 million to three research organizations under the Research and Evaluation on Trafficking in Persons program, which funds research and evaluation efforts to understand, prevent and respond to trafficking in persons in the United States. For a list of NIJ awardees, visit https://go.usa.gov/xRh8f.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) awarded approximately $1.9 million to three mentoring project sites and one training site under the Mentoring for Child Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Domestic Sex Trafficking Initiative. This program helps organizations develop their capacity to respond to the needs of child victims. For a list of OJJDP awardees, visit https://go.usa.gov/xRhQs.

In addition to the awards, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) transferred more than $16 million to the Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs to help address the housing needs of human trafficking victims.  OVC also dedicated funding of about $100,000 to the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit (HTPU) within the DOJ Civil Rights Division for training and technical assistance. HTPU provides anti-trafficking training and technical assistance to agencies outside of DOJ, and follows several mandates since the passage of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.

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.

Former Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officer Richard Scavone pleaded guilty today in federal court to assaulting a handcuffed woman in his custody.

Acting U.S. Attorney Steven W. Myhre of the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Aaron C. Rouse of the FBI’s Las Vegas Office made the announcement.

According to admissions made in the plea agreement, on January 6, 2015, Scavone, 50, was working as an LVMPD patrol officer, and was accompanied in his patrol car by an LVMPD jail corrections officer on a ride-along. At approximately 5:00 a.m., Scavone and the ride-along encountered A.O., who was talking on the phone and holding a cup of coffee. When Scavone told A.O. to “move along,” A.O responded that she was waiting on someone and threw her cup of coffee to the ground. Scavone, who was wearing a body-worn camera that recorded video and audio, exited his patrol car and approached A.O. with a Taser in hand.

Scavone admitted that during the interaction with A.O., and while A.O. was handcuffed, he: shoved A.O. to the ground; grabbed her around the neck with his hand and threw her to the ground; struck her in the forehead with an open palm; grabbed her by the head and slammed her face onto the hood of his patrol vehicle; grabbed her by the hair and slammed her face onto the hood of his patrol vehicle a second time; and slammed A.O. into the door of his patrol vehicle. 

Scavone admitted that he took those actions without legal justification and that he knew his actions were against the law. 

Scavone faces a maximum sentence of up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.  Sentencing will be held on January 11, 2018.  

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Nevada citizens, regardless of their backgrounds,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Myhre. “The defendant took an oath to serve and protect with honor and integrity. Misconduct such as this will not be tolerated and those who break the law will be held accountable for their actions.”

“As Mr. Scavone realized today, no one is above the law,” said Special Agent in Charge Rouse.  “Law enforcement takes an oath to protect and serve our communities.  We are, and rightfully should be, held to a higher standard.  Every day, the vast majority of police officers in our community uphold that standard under difficult, dangerous conditions.  However, when law enforcement breaks that vow, they will be held accountable.”  

After conducting its own investigation into Scavone’s conduct, LVMPD terminated Scavone’s employment.

This case was investigated by the Las Vegas Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the cooperation of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Phillip N. Smith, Jr. and Nicholas Dickinson of the District of Nevada and Trial Attorney Julia Gegenheimer of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.   

A former executive of a Tenet Healthcare Corporation-owned hospital and the owner and operator of an Atlanta-area chain of pre-natal clinics were charged in a superseding indictment that also added additional charges against another former Tenet executive for their alleged roles in an over $400 million fraud and bribery scheme.  The indictment alleges that the scheme victimized the United States government, the Georgia and South Carolina Medicaid Programs and patients of Tenet hospitals.    

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge David J. LeValley of the FBI’s Atlanta Division and Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Atlanta Field Office made the announcement.

Bill Moore, 61, of John’s Creek, Georgia, and Edmundo Cota, 64, of Dunwoody, Georgia, were charged in an indictment returned on September 26, 2017, in the Northern District of Georgia.  The indictment charges Moore, who formerly served as the chief executive officer of Atlanta Medical Center, Inc., in Atlanta, Georgia, with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive health care bribes, two counts of wire fraud, one count of falsifying corporate books and records, and one count of major fraud against the United States.  The indictment charges Cota, who served as the president and chief executive officer of Hispanic Medical Management, Inc., which did business as Clinica de la Mama, and later Cota Medical Management Group, Inc., with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive health care bribes, three counts of receiving health care bribes and three counts of wire fraud. 

Additional charges were brought against a third defendant, John Holland, 60, of Dallas, Texas, who was originally charged in January 2017.  Holland, who formerly served as a senior vice president of operations for Tenet Healthcare Corporation’s Southern States Region and as chief executive officer of North Fulton Medical Center, Inc., in Roswell, Georgia, is now charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care bribes, three counts of paying health care bribes, five counts of wire fraud, one count of falsifying corporate books and records, and one count of major fraud against the United States. 

The indictment alleges, among other things, that from approximately 2000 to approximately 2013, Holland, Moore and Cota engaged in a scheme to defraud the United States, the Georgia and South Carolina Medicaid Programs, and patients who attended Cota’s pre-natal clinics and were referred to Tenet hospitals.  The indictment also alleges that Holland and Moore caused the payment of bribes in return for the referral of patients to Tenet hospitals in the Southern States Region, including Atlanta Medical Center, Inc., North Fulton Medical Center, Inc., Spalding Regional Medical Center, Inc. and Hilton Head Hospital.  The indictment alleges that Holland and Moore took affirmative steps to conceal the scheme by, among other methods, circumventing internal accounting controls, falsifying Tenet’s books, records and reports, and making, and causing to be made, false representations to the federal government.  According to the indictment, these bribes helped Tenet bill the Georgia and South Carolina Medicaid Programs for over $400 million, and Tenet obtained more than $149 million in Medicaid and Medicare funds based on the resulting patient referrals.  

The indictment further alleges that, to effectuate the scheme, Holland, among other things, personally made false and fraudulent statements to HHS-OIG in connection with Tenet’s 2006 Corporate Integrity Agreement (the CIA), in which he falsely certified to HHS-OIG that Tenet was in compliance with the terms of participation in the Medicare and Medicaid Programs and the terms of the CIA, when in fact he knew that Tenet was paying for illegal patient referrals.  Holland’s certifications were included as part of Tenet’s yearly annual reports that were mailed to the HHS-OIG monitor.  During the duration of the CIA, from 2007 through 2011, Tenet received over $10 billion in payments from federal health care programs – money that Tenet would not have received had the company been excluded from participation in federal health care programs, the indictment alleges.

In October 2016, North Fulton Medical Center, Inc., and Atlanta Medical Center, Inc., pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute.  Tenet subsidiary Tenet HealthSystem Medical Inc. and its subsidiaries (THSM) also entered into a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with the government at that time.  Under the terms of the NPA, THSM and Tenet will avoid prosecution if they, among other requirements, cooperate with the government’s ongoing investigation and enhance their compliance and ethics program and internal controls.  Tenet also agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor to address and reduce the risk of any recurrence of violations of health care bribery by any entity owned in whole, or in part, by Tenet.  Tenet and its subsidiaries also agreed to pay over $513 million to resolve the criminal charges and civil claims arising from the matter. 

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

The FBI’s Atlanta Field Office, HHS-OIG and the FBI Healthcare Fraud Unit Major Provider Response Team are conducting the investigation.  Assistant Chief Sally B. Molloy and Trial Attorneys Angela Adams and Scott Armstrong of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. 

The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine locations across the country, has charged nearly 3,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $11 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

If you believe you are a victim of this offense, please visit this website or call (888) 549-3945.

Michael Hegarty, 40, an Irish national, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court in Miami to fraudulently facilitating the transportation and concealment of a Libation Cup carved from an endangered rhinoceros horn, that was illegally smuggled from the United States to Great Britain.

The guilty plea was announced today by Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice, Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg for the Southern District of Florida, and Ed Grace, Acting Assistant Director of Law Enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The prosecution of Hegarty is part of Operation Crash, a continuing effort by the Special Investigations Unit of the FWS Office of Law Enforcement in coordination with the Department of Justice to detect, deter, and prosecute those engaged in the illegal killing of rhinoceros and the unlawful trafficking of rhinoceros horns.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA), was enacted by Congress to conserve endangered and threatened species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. The ESA makes it unlawful to knowingly deliver, receive, carry, transport, or ship in interstate or foreign commerce, by any means whatsoever and in the course of a commercial activity, endangered species, including rhinoceros; and to sell and offer to sell endangered species of wildlife, including rhinoceros, in interstate and foreign commerce.

According to the Plea Agreement, a Joint Factual Statement filed by the parties, other court records, and statements at the hearing, in mid-April 2012, Hegarty and his co-conspirator joined a Miami resident to attend an auction in Rockingham, North Carolina where the co-conspirator functioned as the bidder on behalf of the three individuals, and made the winning bid for a rhinoceros horn libation cup. Hegarty and his co-conspirator received the rhinoceros horn libation cup in Florida. The co-conspirator then smuggled the libation cup out of the United States in his luggage, and failed to declare the export of the rhino horn libation cup as required by law to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and neither applied for nor obtained the permit required under the Endangered Species Act.

The co-conspirator, along with two other Irish nationals, was arrested by Metropolitan Police in London, while attempting to sell the same rhinoceros horn libation cup to a Hong Kong native. Scientific analysis conducted at the National Fish & Wildlife Service Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon determine that the Libation Cup was in fact fashioned from the horn of an ESA-protected Great Indian Rhinoceros.

Hegarty was arrested on the charges through an INTERPOL Red Notice and extradited to the United States from Belgium. His co-conspirator was convicted on unrelated charges in England, is currently incarcerated there, and is still wanted to face wildlife trafficking charges in the Southern District of Florida.

“Trafficking in endangered and threatened species is illegal,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Greenberg. “Together with our law enforcement partners, we will strictly enforce the laws that protect our environment and our wildlife. The international community strongly supports these enforcement efforts and is capable of finding and holding accountable these criminals wherever they attempt to hide.”

“By trafficking in wildlife products, such as items made from a rhinoceros horn, smugglers are fueling the illegal trade in endangered wildlife, which may ultimately lead to the species extinction,” said Ed Grace, Acting Assistant Director of Law Enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “I am proud of our special agents who exposed this complex, international scheme that spanned many international borders. This case showed the direct link between wildlife trafficking and transnational organized crime and reinforced our commitment to continue working with U.S. and international partners to pursue these criminals who profit from the illegal trade in wildlife.”

Hegarty will be sentenced by the Honorable Donald M. Middlebrooks, United States District Court Judge, who accepted the guilty plea. Sentencing will be held  Nov. 14, 2017 at 2:20 p.m. Hegarty faces a maximum penalty of up to ten years in prison, followed by a term of supervised release of up to three years, and a maximum fine of $250,000, or up to twice the gross gain. 

The investigation is being handled by the FWS Office of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald and Trial Attorney Gary N. Donner of the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Oficiales principales de las agencias del orden público de los Estados Unidos, El Salvador, Guatemala y Honduras anunciaron hoy la radicación de imputaciones de más de 3,800 miembros de las pandillas de la MS-13 y Calle 18 en los Estados Unidos y Centroamérica, en una operación judicial coordinada conocida como Operación Escudo Regional.  Las imputaciones fueron anunciadas por el Fiscal General Adjunto Interino de los Estados Unidos Kenneth A. Blanco, el Fiscal General Douglas Meléndez de El Salvador, la Fiscal General Thelma Aldana de Guatemala, y el Fiscal General Oscar Chinchilla de Honduras.  Este anuncio marca el aniversario de seis meses del compromiso para combatir el crimen organizado transnacional iniciado el pasado marzo por el Fiscal General Jeff Sessions con los Fiscales Generales de los tres países centroamericanos.   

Las 3,800 imputaciones anunciadas hoy, incluyen más de 70 individuos en los estados de California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nueva York, Ohio y Virginia en los Estados Unidos.  Agentes del orden público incautaron seis armas de fuego e imputaron a 284 miembros de pandillas en Guatemala; incautaron 14 establecimientos y 11 vehículos de lujo y arrestaron a 12 miembros de pandillas MS-13 dedicados al lavado de dinero en Honduras; y radicaron 3,477 imputaciones que resultaron en más de 1,400 arrestos en El Salvador.

Casos que son resultado de la Operación Escudo Regional incluyen:

• Una imputación hecha pública ayer en el distrito de Massachusetts donde se acusa a Edwin Manica Flores c/p/ Sugar, Chugar y Shugar, líder de la ganga MS-13 encarcelado en El Salvador, en una conspiración bajo la ley federal contra el crimen organizado (RICO) por alegada actividad criminal que este dirigió en los Estados Unidos como líder del “Programa de la Costa Este” de la MS-13.

• Imputaciones radicadas en Long Island el 19 de julio contra 17 miembros de la pandilla MS-13 por la comisión de 12 asesinatos, incluyendo el asesinato de cuatro hombres en Central Islip cometido el 11 de abril; crimen organizado; tentativa de asesinatos; obstrucción a la justicia; incendios provocados; conspiración para distribuir marihuana y armas de fuego. 

El 9 de febrero de 2017, el Presidente Donald J. Trump emitió la Orden Ejecutiva Para Hacer Cumplir la Ley Federal Sobre las Organizaciones de Crímenes Transnacionales y Prevenir el Tráfico Internacional para desmantelar y eradicar las pandillas transnacionales que amenazan la seguridad de nuestras comunidades.  Conforme a esa orden, el Fiscal General Sessions ha hecho su prioridad el desmantelar las pandillas transnacionales como la MS-13.

En marzo, el Fiscal General Sessions se reunió con sus homólogos de la región y desarrollaron estrategias y planes concretos para responder en forma sólida y coordinada a las crecientes actividades criminales transnacionales de la MS-13.  Por los pasados seis meses, los equipos de enjuiciamiento de la región han estado compartiendo información, evidencia y buenas prácticas para combatir las pandillas.  También se han coordinando operaciones simultáneas que afectan tanto a los Estados Unidos como a Centroamérica.   

“La MS-13 es una de las pandillas más violentas y despiadadas hoy en día en América, que pone en peligro las comunidades en más de 40 estados.  Pero bajo el gran liderazgo del Presidente Trump, el Departamento de Justicia está removiéndolos de nuestras calles,” dijo el Fiscal General Sessions.  “Hoy, estamos declarando que nuestra alianza con agencias del orden público en Centroamérica, ha producido imputaciones en contra de más de 3,800 miembros de pandillas en sólo los últimos seis meses.  Más de 70 de estos imputados estaban viviendo en los Estados Unidos, de California a Boston.  La MS-13 coordina a lo largo de nuestras fronteras para asesinar, violar, traficar en drogas y en la trata de niñas menores de edad; tenemos que coordinar a lo largo de nuestras fronteras para detenerlos.  Eso es exactamente lo que nuestros valientes y profesionales agentes y fiscales del Departamento de Justicia están haciendo.  Vamos a seguir manteniendo esta política firme y desmantelando esta pandilla.”

“Estudiando su modus operandi, nos dimos cuenta que afrontando las pandillas, requeriría trabajar conjuntamente con los Estados Unidos, Guatemala y El Salvador,” dijo el Fiscal General Oscar Chinchilla Banegas.  “Esta estrategia nos ha permitido compartir información y golpear las estructuras financieras de las pandillas.”

“Hemos llevado a cabo operaciones simultáneas coordinadas entre todos nuestros países impactando la estructura de liderazgo de las pandillas y con un énfasis en la hermandad de estas pandillas que están generando los ingresos más grandes y con los lazos transnacionales más fuertes,” dijo el Fiscal General Meléndez Ruiz.

“Nuestros ciudadanos exigen respuestas rápidas y efectivas del sistema de seguridad y justicia,” dijo la Fiscal General Aldana Hernández.  “Por lo tanto, debemos continuar promoviendo e implementando acciones como la de Operación Escudo Regional que efectivamente fortalecen la norma jurídica y erigen sociedades más seguras, comprensivas, prósperas y justas.”

En El Salvador, Guatemala, y Honduras, las investigaciones de la MS-13 se manejan por fiscales regionales anti-pandillas que reciben capacitaciones financiadas por el Departamento de Estado y asesoría por el FBI, HSI, y la Oficina Internacional para el Desarrollo, Asistencia y Capacitación Técnica del Departamento de Justicia (OPDAT).  A través del apoyo de la Oficina de Narcóticos Internacionales y Asuntos de Aplicación de la Ley del Departamento de Estado, los fiscales de OPDAT han ayudado a establecer fuerzas de tarea en la región y trabajan con las Unidades Transnacionales Anti-Pandillas (TAG) del FBI y también las Unidades de Investigaciones Criminales Transnacionales de HSI (TCIU).  Estos esfuerzos han ayudado a nuestros aliados en Centroamérica a condenar a miles de criminales, confiscar más de USD$ 1 billón de activos ilícitos, y coordinar docenas de investigaciones transnacionales con sus homólogos de Estados Unidos.

Senior law enforcement officials from the United States, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras announced here today criminal charges against more than 3,800 MS-13 and 18th Street gang members in the United States and Central America in a coordinated law enforcement action known as Operation Regional Shield. The charges were announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the United States, Attorney General Douglas Meléndez of El Salvador, Attorney General Thelma Aldana of Guatemala, and Attorney General Oscar Chinchilla of Honduras, marking the six-month anniversary of the commitment to combat transnational organized crime initiated in March by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, together with the Attorneys General of the three Central American countries.

The more than 3,800 individuals charged announced today include over 70 individuals in the United States in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio and Virginia. Law enforcement officers seized six firearms and charged 284 gang members in Guatemala; seized 14 businesses and 11 luxury vehicles and arrested 12 MS-13 money launderers in Honduras; and filed 3,477 criminal charges, resulting in more than 1,400 arrests in El Salvador.

Cases resulting from Operation Regional Shield include:

·         One indictment unsealed yesterday in the District of Massachusetts charges Edwin Manica Flores aka Sugar, Chugar and Shugar, an MS-13 leader incarcerated for murder in El Salvador, with a RICO conspiracy for alleged criminal activity he directed in the United States as the leader of MS-13’s “East Coast Program.”

·         Charges filed in Long Island on July 19 against 17 MS-13 members for 12 murders, including the April 11 quadruple murder of four men in Central Islip; racketeering; attempted murders; assaults; obstruction of justice; arson; conspiracy to distribute marijuana; and firearms.

On February 9, President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Order on Enforcing Federal Law with Respect to Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking to dismantle and eradicate transnational gangs threatening the safety of our communities. Pursuant to that order, Attorney General Sessions has made dismantling transnational gangs, including MS-13, a top priority.

In March, Attorney General Sessions met with his counterparts from the region and developed strategies and concrete plans to give a strong and coordinated response to MS-13’s increasingly transnational criminal activities.  Over the last six months, prosecution teams from the region have been sharing information, evidence and best practices to combat the gangs, as well as coordinating simultaneous operations against gangs that affect both the United States and Central America. 

“MS-13 is one of the most violent and ruthless gangs in America today, endangering communities in more than 40 states. But under President Trump’s strong leadership, the Department of Justice is taking them off our streets,” Attorney General Sessions said. “Today, we are announcing that our partnership with law enforcement in Central America, has yielded charges against more than 3,800 gang members just in the last six months. More than 70 of these defendants were living in the United States, from California to Ohio to Boston. MS-13 coordinates across our borders to kill, rape, and traffic drugs and underage girls; we’ve got to coordinate across our borders to stop them. That’s exactly what our courageous and professional DOJ agents and attorneys are doing. We will continue to maintain this steadfast policy and dismantle this gang.” 

“Studying their modus operandi, we realized tackling [the gangs] would require working jointly with the United States, Guatemala, and El Salvador,” said Honduran Attorney General Chinchilla Banegas.  “This approach has allowed us to share information and strike the financial structures of the gangs.”

“We conducted simultaneous operations coordinated among all of our countries impacting the leadership structure of the gangs and with an emphasis on the gang cliques which are generating the most revenues and with the strongest transnational ties,” said El Salvadoran Attorney General Melendez Ruiz.”

“Our citizens demand prompt and effective responses from the security and justice system,” said Guatemalan Attorney General Aldana Hernandez. “We must therefore continue promoting and implementing actions such as Operation Regional Shield that effectively strengthen the rule of law and build safer, more supportive, more prosperous and fairer societies.”

In El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, the investigation into MS-13 is being handled by regional gang prosecutors who receive State Department-funded training and mentoring from the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Justice Department’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training (OPDAT). With support from State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, prosecutors from OPDAT helped establish task forces in the region and work with FBI’s local Transnational Anti-Gang (TAG) units, as well as HSI’s Transnational Criminal Investigative Units (TCIUs). These efforts have helped Central American partners convict thousands of criminals, seize over $1 billion in illicit assets, and coordinate on dozens of transnational investigations with their U.S. counterparts.

Steven Tucker, 31, of New Hampshire, pleaded guilty in the District of New Hampshire today to one count of sex trafficking of a minor.

According to the plea agreement, from 2013 to 2014, the defendant recruited a minor victim to engage in commercial sex acts, provided a location for the commercial sex acts, arranged her transportation to perform commercial sex acts, paid for internet advertisements for the commercial sex acts, and collected a portion of the cash proceeds from the minor’s commercial sex acts.

“Sex trafficking is a heinous crime that often times preys on the youngest and most vulnerable members of our society,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore. “Combatting sex trafficking is one of the highest priorities of the Department of Justice, and we will continue to hold traffickers accountable and to seek justice on behalf of sex trafficking victims.”

“The United States Attorney’s Office in New Hampshire is committed to working closely with our law enforcement partners to combat human trafficking,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John J. Farley.  “I am proud of the work that the members of the New Hampshire Human Trafficking Collaborative Task Force do each day to combat the scourge of human trafficking using a multidisciplinary approach.  This successful prosecution is an example of the Task Force’s ongoing efforts to seek justice for victims of sex trafficking crimes.”

Tucker was charged in a three-count indictment returned on January 25, 2016 with sex trafficking of a minor, operation of a prostitution enterprise, and maintaining a drug-involved premises.  He faces a possible sentence of 10 years to life in prison.  The sentencing is scheduled for January 5, 2018.  As part of the plea agreement, Tucker will also be ordered to pay restitution to the minor victim, in an amount to be determined at the time of sentencing. 

This prosecution is the result of the joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Manchester Police Department, the New Hampshire Human Trafficking Collaborative Task Force, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire and the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.

The Task Force is funded by a grant from the United States Department of Justice. Its goals are to ensure that comprehensive and specialized services are made available to victims of human trafficking through a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach, and that perpetrators of sex trafficking and forced labor are investigated and prosecuted. 

The core team members of the Task Force are the Manchester Police Department, Child and Family Services of New Hampshire, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Arnold Huftalen and District of New Hampshire and Trial Attorney Vasantha Rao of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.

Today a federal magistrate judge unsealed a superseding indictment charging Brexton Redell Lloyd, 54, of Eagle Springs, with one count of conspiracy and thirteen counts of violating the animal fighting prohibitions of the federal Animal Welfare Act, announced Acting United States Attorney Sandra J. Hairston for the Middle District of North Carolina, and Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

The charges returned today pertain to pit bull-type dogs allegedly kept by Lloyd at his residence in Eagle Springs. The Defendant allegedly possessed and trained the dogs for fighting ventures and conspiring to commit these acts throughout the United States. The dogs were seized by federal authorities in a search warrant executed in March 2017.

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

The federal Animal Welfare Act makes it a felony punishable by up to five years in prison to knowingly sell, buy, possess, train, transport, deliver, or receive any animal, including dogs, for purposes of having the animal participate in an animal fighting venture. Under federal law, an animal fighting venture means “any event, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, that involves a fight conducted or to be conducted between at least two animals for purposes of sport, wagering, or entertainment.”

This part of Operation Grand Champion was investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in coordination with the Department of Justice, with assistance from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and the Moore County Sheriff’s Office.

The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorney JoAnna G. McFadden of the Middle District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney Erica Pencak of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division. The Humane Society of the United States assisted with the care of the dogs seized by federal law enforcement.

An indictment is an allegation based upon a finding of probable cause by a grand jury. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted.

If convicted, the defendant faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine per count. The investigation is ongoing.

The U.S. Department of Justice today filed a lawsuit alleging that the Government of Guam, as well as the Chamorro Land Trust Commission and its Administrative Director, have violated the federal Fair Housing Act by discriminating against non-Chamorros in the enforcement and implementation of Guam’s Chamorro Land Trust Act. “Chamorro” is a term often used to refer to descendants of the indigenous people of Guam.

“The Fair Housing Act prohibits states and territories of the United States from discriminating because of race or national origin in the provision of housing and housing-related benefits and services,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “The complaint filed today seeks to ensure that any land program implemented by Guam complies with these principles and does not unlawfully limit the availability of housing opportunities based on a person’s race or national origin.”

Part of the Government of Guam, the Chamorro Land Trust Commission holds and administers approximately 20,000 acres, or 15% of Guam’s total land area. As part of its mission to administer this land, the Commission grants 99-year residential leases for one-acre tracts, at a cost of one dollar per year. Only “native Chamorros,” however, are eligible for these leases. Additionally, the Commission makes numerous housing-related benefits available exclusively to Chamorro lease holders, including below-market-rate loans. Among those harmed by this policy are non-Chamorro spouses of Chamorro beneficiaries. As alleged in the complaint, for example, one African-American man was evicted from the home he and his wife built on land administered by the trust after his wife, who was Chamorro, passed away.

Guam’s approximate demographics, based on Census 2010 data, are: Chamorro 37.3% (plus an additional 6.1% who identify as two or more races/ethnic origins including Chamorro); Filipino 26.3%; Native Hawaiian and non-Chamorro Pacific Islander 12.0%; non-Filipino Asian 5.9%; White 7.1%; and Black or African American 1.0%. 

The complaint seeks a court order that would (1) declare that the Chamorro Land Trust Act and its implementing regulations are invalid to the extent that they require or permit any action that would be a discriminatory housing practice under the Fair Housing Act, (2) prohibit the defendants from discriminating on the basis of race and national origin in providing residential land leases and other real estate-related benefits under the Chamorro Land Trust Act, (3) award monetary damages for any persons harmed by the defendants’ discriminatory conduct, and (4) require the defendants to pay civil penalties. Any individuals who have information relevant to this case are encouraged to contact the Civil Rights Division at 1-800-896-7743, Option 8.

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the civil rights laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt. Individuals who believe that they have been victims of housing discrimination may call the Justice Department at 1-800-896-7743, email the Justice Department at fairhousing@usdoj.gov, or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777 or through its website at www.hud.gov.

The case is being jointly handled by the Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

The complaint is an allegation of unlawful conduct. The allegations must still be proven in federal court.

The Justice Department announced today that it filed a lawsuit against Crop Production Services Inc. (Crop Production), headquartered in Loveland, Colorado, for allegedly discriminating against U.S. workers in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). 

The complaint alleges that in 2016, Crop Production discriminated against at least three United States citizens by refusing to employ them as seasonal technicians in El Campo, Texas, because Crop Production preferred to hire temporary foreign workers under the H-2A visa program.  According to the department’s complaint, Crop Production imposed more burdensome requirements on U.S. citizens than it did on H-2A visa workers to discourage U.S. citizens from working at the facility.  For instance, the complaint alleges that whereas U.S. citizens had to complete a background check and a drug test before being permitted to start work, H-2A workers were allowed to begin working without completing them and, in some cases, never completed them.  The complaint also alleges that Crop Production refused to consider a limited-English proficient U.S. citizen for employment but hired H-2A workers who could not speak English.  Ultimately, all of Crop Production’s 15 available seasonal technician jobs in 2016 went to H-2A workers instead of U.S. workers.

Under the INA, it is unlawful for employers to intentionally discriminate against U.S. workers because of their citizenship status or to otherwise favor the employment of temporary foreign workers over available, qualified U.S. workers.  In addition, the H-2A visa program requires employers to recruit and hire available, qualified U.S. workers before hiring temporary foreign workers. 

“In the spirit of President Trump’s Executive Order on Buy American and Hire American, the Department of Justice will not tolerate employers who discriminate against U.S. workers because of a desire to hire temporary foreign visa holders,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “The Justice Department will enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act in order to protect U.S. workers  as they are the very backbone of our communities and our economy. Where there is a job available, U.S. workers should have a chance at it before we bring in workers from abroad.”

The United States’ complaint seeks back pay on behalf of the workers, civil penalties, and other remedial relief to correct and prevent discrimination.  The workers have also filed their own private suit, and are represented by Texas RioGrande Legal Aid.  Both suits were filed in the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer, a specialized administrative court that Congress created to resolve such claims. 

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.  The statute prohibits, among other things, citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation; and intimidation.   

This case is part of the Division’s 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.

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, should contact IER’s worker hotline for assistance.

WASHINGTON – El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha presentado una denuncia contra Crop Production Services, Inc. (Crop Production), con sede en Loveland, Colorado, por su alegada discriminación contra trabajadores en este país, en contra de la ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA, por sus siglas en inglés).

La denuncia alega que en el 2016, Crop Production discriminó al menos a tres ciudadanos estadounidenses al negarse a contratarlos como técnicos estacionales en El Campo, Tejas porque Crop Production prefirió contratar a trabajadores extranjeros temporales bajo el programa de visas H-2A. Según la denuncia del Departamento, Crop Production impuso requisitos más onerosos y exigentes a los ciudadanos estadounidenses a los que impuso a los trabajadores con visas H-2A para desalentar a ciudadanos estadounidenses a trabajar en sus instalaciones. Por ejemplo, la denuncia alega que mientras que los ciudadanos estadounidenses tenían que someterse a una investigación de antecedentes y un ensayo de drogas antes de recibir autorización para trabajar, los trabajadores con visas H-2A pudieron comenzar a trabajar sin completar estos pasos y en algunos casos nunca los completaron. Asimismo, la denuncia alega que Crop Production se negó a considerar a un ciudadano estadounidense con dominio limitado del inglés para un empleo mientras que contrató a trabajadores con visas H-2A que no podían hablar inglés. Al final, de los 15 puestos disponibles en el 2016 para técnicos estacionales, todos fueron adjudicados a trabajadores con visas H-2A en vez de a trabajadores en este país.

Conforme la INA, es ilegal que los empleadores discriminen de manera intencionada a trabajadores en este país por motivos de su estatus de ciudadanía o de otra forma dar preferencia a la hora de contratar a empleados a trabajadores extranjeros temporales en vez de a trabajadores cualificados en este país que están disponibles para trabajar. Además, el programa de visas H‑2A requiere que los empleadores recluten y contraten a trabajadores cualificados y disponibles en este país antes de contratar a trabajadores extranjeros temporales.

«En el espíritu de la orden ejecutiva del Presidente Trump para Buy American and Hire American, el Departamento de Justicia no tolerará a empleadores que discriminen a trabajadores en este país debido a su deseo de contratar a trabajadores extranjeros temporales», declaró el Fiscal General Jeff Sessions. «El Departamento de Justicia hará cumplir la ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad para proteger a los trabajadores en este país, ya que representan el pilar de nuestras comunidades y economía. Siempre que haya un trabajo disponible, debemos de darles una oportunidad a los trabajadores en este país antes de comenzar a traer trabajadores de otros países».

La denuncia de los Estados Unidos busca pagos retroactivos en nombre de los trabajadores afectados, sanciones civiles y otras formas de indemnización para corregir y prevenir la discriminación. Asimismo, los trabajadores han presentado su propia denuncia privada y están siendo representados por Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. Ambas denuncias se presentaron ante la Oficina del Oficial Principal de Vistas Administrativas, un tribunal administrativo especializado que el Congreso creó para resolver tales casos.

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

Este caso forma parte de la Iniciativa para la Protección de Trabajadores en los EE. UU., de la División. El objetivo de esta iniciativa es identificar, investigar y denunciar a compañías que discriminan a trabajadores en este país a favor de trabajadores extranjeros con visa.

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.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Trustee Program (USTP) today announced a temporary waiver of the federal statutory requirements for credit counseling and personal financial management education for consumer bankruptcy filers in the District of Puerto Rico and the District of the U.S. Virgin Islands, due to the effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Under the Bankruptcy Code, individual bankruptcy filers are required to receive credit counseling from an approved agency within 180 days before they file bankruptcy. In addition, in order to receive a bankruptcy discharge, individual bankruptcy filers must complete a course in personal financial management offered by an approved provider.

The Bankruptcy Code permits U.S. Trustees to waive the credit counseling and financial education requirements within a judicial district where approved agencies and providers are not reasonably able to provide adequate services. Acting U.S. Trustee Guy Gebhardt made this determination with respect to the District of Puerto Rico and the District of the Virgin Islands. The waiver applies to bankruptcy cases filed on or after September 28, 2017.

The U.S. Trustee Program is the component of the Department of Justice that promotes integrity and efficiency in the nation’s bankruptcy system by enforcing bankruptcy laws, providing oversight of private trustees, and maintaining operational excellence. The Program has 21 regions and 92 field offices. The Program is responsible for overseeing bankruptcy cases in all jurisdictions except those in Alabama and North Carolina. The Districts of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are located in the Program’s Region 21, which is based in Atlanta.

Tyson Poultry Inc. (“Tyson”), pleaded guilty today in federal court in Springfield, Missouri, to two criminal charges of violating the Clean Water Act stemming from discharges at its slaughter and processing facility in Monett, Missouri.  

Tyson, the nation’s largest chicken producer, is headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas.  Tyson is a subsidiary of Tyson Foods Inc., which owns and operates multiple companies in the food supply and food service industry.  The charges to which Tyson pleaded guilty arose out of a spill after the company mixed ingredients in its chicken feed at its feed mill in Aurora, Missouri. 

One ingredient in Tyson’s feed was a liquid food supplement called “Alimet,” which has a pH of less than one.  According to the plea agreement filed in federal court, in May 2014, the tank used to store Alimet at the Aurora feed mill sprang a leak, and the acidic substance flowed into a secondary containment area.  Tyson hired a contractor to remove the Alimet and transport it to Tyson’s Monett plant, where the Alimet was unloaded into the in-house treatment system that was not designed to treat waste with Alimet’s characteristics.  Some of the Alimet made it into the City of Monett’s municipal waste water treatment plant, where it killed bacteria used to reduce ammonia in discharges from the treatment plant into Clear Creek, and resulting in the death of approximately 108,000 fish.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Tyson will pay a $2 million criminal fine and serve two years of probation.  In addition, Tyson will pay $500,000 to maintain and restore waters in the Monett area, with a focus on Clear Creek and the adjoining waterways.  Tyson will also implement environmental compliance programs including: hiring an independent, third-party auditor to examine all Tyson poultry facilities throughout the country to assess their compliance with the Clean Water Act and hazardous waste laws; conducting specialized environmental training at its poultry processing plants, hatcheries, feed mills, rendering plants, and waste water treatment plants; and implementing improved policies and procedures to address the circumstances that gave rise to these violations.

“Our Division is hopeful that the outcome of this case will help deter future violations of the Clean Water Act and keep our water supply and marine life free from pollution,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Today’s agreement will remedy environmental harm caused by the defendant’s actions while also helping to ensure that these kinds of problems do not happen again.”

“Tyson’s admitted criminal conduct caused significant environmental damage, including a large-scale fish kill,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Larson of the Western District of Missouri. “Today’s plea agreement not only holds Tyson accountable for its actions in Missouri, but requires the company to take steps to insure compliance with the Clean Water Act at its poultry facilities throughout the United States.”

“Ensuring agricultural operations dispose of their waste in a lawful way is critical to protecting the health of local communities and clean water,” said Larry Starfield, acting Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “The plea agreement in this case will improve Tyson’s compliance with important clean water and hazardous waste laws and help prevent future violations.”

Acting Assistant Attorney General Wood and Acting U.S. Attorney Larson thanked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division for its work in this investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri and the Environmental Crimes Section of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

A Norwegian corporation has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $21 million criminal fine for its involvement in a conspiracy to fix prices, allocate customers, and rig bids, the Department of Justice announced today.
 
According to a one-count felony charge filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Höegh Autoliners AS conspired with competitors to suppress and eliminate competition by allocating customers and routes, rigging bids, and fixing prices for the sale of international ocean shipments of roll-on, roll-off cargo to and from the United States and elsewhere, including the Port of Baltimore.  Höegh participated in this conspiracy from as early as January 2001 until at least September 2012.  

In addition to the fine, Höegh has agreed to be placed on corporate probation for three years to ensure full compliance with the antitrust laws.  Höegh has also agreed to cooperate with the department’s ongoing investigation.  

“With today’s charge, the United States has brought to justice another participant in a long-running global conspiracy to subvert competition for shipping services,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “We expect Höegh to reform its corporate culture and prevent criminal conduct from recurring.”  

“Today’s plea announcement is significant and highlights the FBI’s collaboration with our partner agencies as we hold this company accountable for this elaborate antitrust scheme,” said Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the FBI’s Baltimore Division. “The effort by investigators and prosecutors in this case cannot be overstated and will play a part in restoring confidence in the shipping industry. Our job is to protect victims who don’t see these crimes occurring, but who always end up paying the price.”

Höegh is the fifth company to plead guilty in this investigation—bringing the total criminal fines to over $255 million.  Four executives have already pleaded guilty and been sentenced to prison terms.  An additional seven executives are known to have been indicted, but remain fugitives.

Today’s charge is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging, and other anticompetitive conduct in the international roll-on, roll-off ocean shipping industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal I Section and the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office, along with assistance from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility, Special Agent in Charge Washington/Special Investigations Unit.  Anyone with information in connection with this investigation is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal I Section at 202-307-6694, visit www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations, or call the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office at 410-265-8080.
 

Showa Denko K.K. (SDK) will be required to divest SGL Carbon SE’s (SGL) entire U.S. graphite electrodes business in order for SDK to proceed with its proposed $264.5 million acquisition of SGL’s global graphite electrodes business, the Department of Justice announced today. 

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

“The acquisition, as originally proposed, would have eliminated one of the three major suppliers of large ultra-high power graphite electrodes to U.S. electric arc furnace steel mills, leaving these mills with limited choices for this important product,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “Today’s settlement will ensure that U.S. electric arc furnace mill operators continue to benefit from robust competition for this critical input in the steelmaking process.”   

According to the department’s complaint, SDK and SGL manufacture and sell large ultra-high power graphite electrodes, which are used to generate sufficient heat to melt scrap metal in electric arc furnaces.  The complaint alleges that SDK and SGL are two of the three leading suppliers of large ultra-high power graphite electrodes to U.S. electric arc furnace steel mills, and that the two firms together have a combined market share of approximately 56 percent.  According to the complaint, the loss of competition between SDK and SGL would likely result in higher prices and lower quality of delivery and service to U.S. electric arc furnace customers.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, SDK must divest SGL’s entire U.S. graphite electrodes business, including its manufacturing facilities in Ozark, Arkansas and Hickman, Kentucky, to Tokai Carbon Co., Ltd., or an alternate acquirer approved by the United States.  The department said that the divestiture will remedy the acquisition’s anticompetitive effects by providing the acquirer with the domestic manufacturing presence and robust local service capabilities that U.S. electric arc furnace steel mills prefer.

SDK, a Japanese corporation headquartered in Tokyo, is one of Japan’s leading chemical companies with operations in approximately 14 countries.  In 2016, SDK’s global revenues were $5.8 billion, with approximately $85 million derived from its U.S. graphite electrodes business.

SGL, a German corporation headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany, is a leading manufacturer of carbon-based products with operations in 34 countries.  In 2016, SGL’s global revenues were approximately $885 million, with approximately $58.6 million derived from its U.S. graphite electrodes business.  

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed consent decree, along with the department’s competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register.  Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement within 60 days of its publication to Maribeth Petrizzi, Chief, Litigation II Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 8700, Washington, D.C. 20530.  At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the court may enter the final judgment upon a finding that it serves the public interest.

The Justice Department announced today that Westlake Services LLC and its subsidiary, Wilshire Consumer Capital LLC, have agreed to pay $760,788 to resolve allegations that the companies violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”) by repossessing 70 vehicles owned by SCRA-protected servicemembers without first obtaining the required court orders. 

Westlake, which does business as Westlake Financial Services, is a Los Angeles-based auto financing company that specializes in purchasing and servicing subprime and near-subprime retail installment sales contracts.  Wilshire, which does business as Wilshire Consumer Credit, originates and services vehicle title loans.  Both companies target junior enlisted servicemembers for their loans and products.  During its investigation, the department found that Westlake and Wilshire had failed to adopt policies and procedures necessary to ensure that their motor vehicle repossessions complied with the SCRA. 

“The members of our armed forces should be able to devote their full attention to their duties without having to worry about whether their legal rights will be violated by creditors,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore.  “We honor all servicemembers for their sacrifice and service to our nation, and this settlement signals our ongoing commitment to protecting the rights of our men and women in uniform.”

“The women and men who serve in the armed forces protect our country from danger every day,” said Acting United States Attorney Sandra R. Brown of the Central District of California.  “Given the enormous sacrifice they make for all of us, we have a responsibility to ensure that their rights are protected.  Westlake and Wilshire did not live up to this responsibility.  But the settlement we have reached will fix the lending practices that led to violations, and vindicate the rights of the servicemembers affected.”

The agreement requires Westlake and Wilshire to provide $10,000 in compensation to each of the 70 affected servicemembers, plus any lost equity in the vehicle with interest.  Westlake and Wilshire also must repair the credit of all affected servicemembers, pay a $60,788 civil penalty to the United States and determine, in the future, whether any vehicle it is planning to repossess is owned by an SCRA-protected servicemember.  If so, Westlake and Wilshire will not repossess the vehicle without first obtaining a court order or valid waiver of SCRA rights.  The agreement also contains provisions ensuring that all eligible servicemembers will receive the benefit of the

SCRA’s six percent interest rate cap on their auto loans. 

The agreement resolves the claims and causes of action asserted in the United States’ Complaint against Westlake and Wilshire filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, and the parties will stipulate to the dismissal of the Complaint once Westlake and Wilshire deposit the funds required by the settlement agreement into an escrow account and pay the civil penalty to the United States.  Westlake and Wilshire will contact servicemembers to be compensated through this settlement in the upcoming months.  They will locate victims and distribute payments at no cost to servicemembers.

This matter came to the department’s attention in 2016, when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Servicemember Affairs notified the department that it had received a complaint that Westlake and Wilshire were conducting motor vehicle repossessions in violation of the SCRA. 

The SCRA protects servicemembers against certain civil proceedings that could affect their legal rights while they are in military service.  It requires a court to review and approve any repossession if the servicemember took out the loan and made a payment before entering military service.  The court may delay the repossession or require the lender to refund prior payments before repossessing.  The court may also appoint an attorney to represent the servicemember, require the lender to post a bond with the court and issue any other orders it deems necessary to protect the servicemember.  By failing to obtain court orders before repossessing motor vehicles owned by protected servicemembers, Westlake and Wilshire prevented servicemembers from obtaining a court’s review of whether their repossessions should be delayed or adjusted to account for their military service.

The department’s enforcement of the SCRA is conducted by the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, often in partnership with local United States Attorney’s Offices.  Since 2011, the department has obtained over $450 million in monetary relief for servicemembers through its enforcement of the SCRA.  The SCRA provides protections for servicemembers in areas such as evictions, rental agreements, security deposits, prepaid rent, civil judicial proceedings, installment contracts, credit card interest rates, mortgage interest rates, mortgage foreclosures, automobile leases, life insurance, health insurance and income tax payments.  For more information about the department’s SCRA enforcement, please visit www.servicemembers.gov. 

Servicemembers and their dependents who believe that their rights under SCRA have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program Office.  Office locations may be found at http://legalassistance.law.af.mil/content/locator.php.

Today members of the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will receive one of the most prestigious awards for their achievements in public service.

Senior Trial Attorney Josh Van Eaton of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), Director Phillip Brooks of the EPA’s Air Enforcement Division, and Director Byron Bunker of the EPA’s Compliance Division will be honored with the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal (Sammies) as the Federal Employees of the Year.

“The investigation and trial team in the Volkswagen case, from both the Justice Department and EPA, put forth exemplary efforts and achieved results that are worthy of this prestigious award,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We are particularly proud that ENRD attorney Josh Van Eaton is being recognized at the ceremony with this well deserved honor.”

Van Eaton, Brooks, and Bunker headed an interagency and intergovernmental team made up of scientists, engineers, and attorneys that investigated and built the landmark civil case against German automaker Volkswagen for violations of U.S. environmental laws.  Volkswagen’s violations included the installation of software used to fool federal and state regulators, and selling diesel vehicles that did not meet U.S. pollution standards. 

“Volkswagen’s prolonged deception and subsequent cover-up really offend the moral compass,” Van Eaton said.  “This was an opportunity to do something historic and also achieve a just result for the environment and our country and I am proud to say our team did just that.”

With Van Eaton leading civil litigation, Bunker directing EPA’s office that conducts tests for compliance with clean air regulations, and Brooks leading the EPA office of air quality enforcement, their teams were able to develop comprehensive, long term, and environmentally meaningful terms of settlement. 

Through their coordination and persistent negotiations, Volkswagen agreed to the largest legal settlement ever secured against a car manufacturer.  The settlement includes the largest ever civil penalty under the Clean Air Act and programs to remediate environmental harm, buy back offending cars, and compensate car owners.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions today welcomed the confirmation of Makan Delrahim as the Department of Justice’s Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division. 

“Makan is an outstanding lawyer with a deep devotion to the integrity of our free market system,” said Attorney General Sessions.  “His expertise in antitrust enforcement will enable him to follow legal requirements and effectively promote competition to the benefit of consumers and the American economy.”

Mr. Delrahim’s rich antitrust background covers the full range of industries, issues, and institutions touched upon by the critical work of the Antitrust Division.  He previously served in the Antitrust Division from 2003 to 2005 as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General, overseeing the Appellate, Foreign Commerce, and Legal Policy sections.  During that time, he played an integral role in building the Antitrust Division’s engagement with its international counterparts and was involved in civil and criminal matters.  He has also served on the Attorney General’s Task Force on Intellectual Property and as Chairman of the Merger Working Group of the International Competition Network.  Mr. Delrahim also served as a Commissioner on the Antitrust Modernization Commission from 2004 to 2007.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Delrahim served as antitrust counsel, and later as the Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. 

Prior to his nomination by the President to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, Mr. Delrahim served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy White House Counsel.  He is a former partner in the Los Angeles office of the law firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.  Mr. Delrahim received his J.D., with high honors, from the George Washington University School of Law, his M.S. from Johns Hopkins University, and his B.S. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

A former contracting officer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Far East District (FED) and a former officer in the Korean Ministry of Defense (MOD) were indicted for their roles in a scheme to direct over $400 million in Department of Defense (DOD) construction contracts to a large multinational corporation based in the Republic of Korea in exchange for over $3 million in bribes.   

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Director Frank Robey, Major Procurement Fraud Unit, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID); and Assistant Director Stephen E. Richardson of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division made the announcement.

Former FED contracting officer Duane Nishiie, 58, of Honolulu, and former Korean MOD officer Seung-Ju Lee, 50, of Seoul, Korea, were charged in a nine-count indictment with mail and wire conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  Nishiie was also charged with three counts of making a false statement.

According to the indictment, from 2008 through 2012, Nishiie and Lee solicited bribes from a large Korean engineering and construction company in exchange for Nishiie’s official actions to direct to the company certain contracts relating to the relocation and expansion of Camp Humphreys, a large military installation in Korea.  The indictment further alleges that during this time, Nishiie, Lee and others used foreign bank accounts to hide the bribes accepted by Nishiie.

The indictment alleges that in late 2008, Nishiie took official action to steer a contract, valued at over $400 million, involving land development, utilities and infrastructure for the expansion of Camp Humphreys to the Korean company.  Nishiie is also alleged to have used his official position in 2009 and 2010 to influence the award of a contract for construction of a project management office at Camp Humphreys, valued at over $6 million to the same Korean company. 

In exchange for these actions, the indictment alleges, Nishiie and Lee received over $3 million in cash and other payments.  Nishiie concealed these payments by using bank accounts held in the names of Lee and other Korean nationals.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations.  The defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

U.S. Army CID, FBI and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service conducted the investigation.  Trial Attorneys Richard B. Evans and Peter M. Nothstein of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case.

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today against Parker-Hannifin Corporation, challenging its acquisition of CLARCOR Inc.  The department said that the $4.3 billion transaction substantially lessened competition in markets for aviation fuel filtration products in the United States, which threatens to result in higher prices, less innovation, and less favorable terms of service.

The department’s lawsuit seeks to restore the competition that this transaction eliminated by asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware to order Parker-Hannifin to divest an aviation fuel filtration business sufficient to replace CLARCOR’s competitive significance in the marketplace.

“Parker-Hannifin bought CLARCOR knowing that this transaction raised serious antitrust concerns under Section 7 of the Clayton Act in the development, manufacture and sale of aviation fuel filtration products,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Donald Kempf of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “The Division is committed to vigorous and sound enforcement of the antitrust laws, and will do its job to protect American customers regardless of whether a merger has already been consummated,” he added.
    
“Parker-Hannifin’s acquisition of its only U.S. rival for these types of aviation fuel filtration products has effectively created a monopoly in these critical safety products, depriving their customers of the benefits of competition,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  

Aviation fuel must be filtered properly to remove particulate contaminants and water droplets before such fuel is delivered into commercial or military aircraft.  The failure to filter aviation fuel properly can result in engine failure, with potentially catastrophic consequences.  To protect public safety, the U.S. airline industry mandates the use of aviation fuel filtration systems and filtration elements that have been subjected to rigorous testing and qualification requirements.  Only those aviation fuel filtration products qualified by the Energy Institute (EI) may be used to filter aviation fuel for use in U.S. commercial and military planes.  

According to the department’s complaint, Parker-Hannifin and CLARCOR were the only two manufacturers of EI-qualified aviation fuel filtration systems and filter elements in the United States and were engaged in vigorous head-to-head competition.  That competition enabled customers to negotiate better pricing and to receive more innovative products and better terms of service.  The transaction eliminated this competition.  

During the pendency of the department’s investigation, Parker-Hannifin failed to provide significant document or data productions in response to the department’s requests.  In addition, the company has not agreed to enter into a satisfactory agreement to hold separate the fuel filtration businesses at issue and to maintain their independent viability pending the outcome of the investigation and, now, this litigation.  

Parker-Hannifin Corporation is an Ohio corporation headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.  It is a diversified manufacturer of filtration systems, and motion and control technologies for the mobile, industrial and aerospace markets with operations worldwide.  In 2016, Parker-Hannifin’s sales revenues were approximately $11.4 billion.  Parker-Hannifin sells its aviation fuel filtration products under the Velcon brand.

CLARCOR Inc. was a Delaware corporation headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee.  CLARCOR was a leading provider of filtration systems for diversified industrial markets with net sales of approximately $1.6 billion in 2016.  CLARCOR manufactured and sold aviation fuel filtration products under the PECOFacet brand.
 

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein announced today that the Justice Department has issued a memorandum to all 94 U.S. Attorney’s Offices (USAO) and heads of the department’s law enforcement agencies providing, for the first time, department-wide guidance relating to the coordination, investigation, and prosecution of disaster fraud allegations.

“The Justice Department is committed to pursuing any fraudsters seeking to capitalize on the tragedy and will devote the necessary resources to do so,” said Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein.  “It is imperative that the department is able to properly track and manage its response to claims of disaster fraud and that agencies receive timely and relevant investigative leads and other relevant information. By working together, we can ensure that federal emergency relief funds are properly distributed to those who need them most and that taxpayers are not victimized by fraudsters or other criminals.”

The National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) has already received hundreds of complaints across the country.  The NCDF has remained operational since its inception following Hurricane Katrina and is specifically designed to be ready for situations like Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria.  NCDF has an excellent staff of investigators, analysts, call center operators, and managers prepared to handle the anticipated volume. 

The memo issued establishes a department-wide policy that stresses the importance of establishing a disaster fraud point-of-contact, directing all disaster fraud complaints to the NCDF, notifying the NCDF about any disaster-related enforcement actions, ensuring proper resources are dedicated to the investigation and prosecution of disaster fraud matters, directing U.S. Attorneys in districts impacted by recent hurricanes to establish regional disaster fraud task forces, as well as including the NCDF hotline in all disaster fraud external communications.  The memo can be found here.

U.S. Attorney Offices in the Southern District of Texas, District of Puerto Rico, Southern District of Florida, Middle District of Florida and Northern District of Florida have already established task forces comprised of local, state and federal agencies in their respective areas to combat disaster fraud. 

Members of the public are reminded to apply a critical eye and do their due diligence before trusting anyone purporting to be working on behalf of disaster victims.  Members of the public who suspect fraud involving disaster relief efforts, or believe they have been the victim of fraud from a person or organization soliciting relief funds on behalf of disaster victims, should contact the National Disaster Fraud Hotline toll free at (866) 720-5721. The telephone line is staffed by a live operator 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also fax information to the Center at (225) 334-4707, or email it to disaster@leo.gov.  Learn more about the National Center for Disaster Fraud at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud.

The Department of Justice today filed a Statement of Interest in Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski. 

The lawsuit was filed by students at Georgia Gwinnett College to challenge a school policy that limited student expressive activity to two small “free-speech zones” that totaled 0.0015% of the campus. Additionally, these students were required to obtain prior authorization from campus officials, to limit their expressive activity to a specified date and time, and to comply with the Student Code of Conduct’s prohibition of speech that “disturbs the…comfort of person(s).

The Justice Department primarily argues that the plaintiffs’ allegations have adequately represented violations of their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The Justice Department argues the college’s speech policies were not content-neutral, established an impermissible heckler’s veto, and were not narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling government interest.

In filing the Statement of Interest, Attorney General Jeff Sessions provided the following statement:

“A national recommitment to free speech on campus and to ensuring First Amendment rights is long overdue. Which is why, starting today, the Department of Justice will do its part in this struggle. We will enforce federal law, defend free speech, and protect students’ free expression.”

On Sept. 25, a federal court in Detroit, Michigan has permanently barred Tax Pioneer Co. and its owner Dieasha Davis from operating a tax return preparation business and preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. Tax Pioneer Co. and Davis agreed to the civil injunction order entered against them.

According to the suit filed in January 2017, Davis, a former manager and tax return preparer for a Liberty Tax Service franchisee, prepared fraudulent tax returns both during her time at Liberty Tax Service and, since 2013, at Tax Pioneer. Davis and Tax Pioneer prepared tax returns with false or inflated income and expenses, bogus dependents, improper filing statuses, and false itemized deductions, all with the purpose of fraudulently maximizing customer refunds and refundable credits, according to the complaint. The government also alleges that Davis advised at least one customer audited by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to submit false records to the IRS in an effort to convince auditors that bogus expenses claimed on the customer’s tax returns were, in fact, legitimate.

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

A Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent and two Colombian nationals were charged today by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida with conspiracy, corruption and obstruction of justice charges stemming from their participation in a bribery scheme that resulted in the dismissal of an indictment filed against one of the Colombian nationals in exchange for cash and other things of value, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Moreland of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Southeast Region; and Special Agent in Charge Jay Donly of the Office of Inspector General (OIG), HSI.

According to the indictment, Special Agent Christopher V. Ciccione, II, 52, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, was the case agent for Operation Cornerstone, a large-scale Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force case that resulted in indictments of Colombia-based cocaine traffickers from the Cali Cartel, including Jose Piedrahita Ceballos, a Colombian national.  The indictment alleges that Piedrahita gave benefits to Ciccione in exchange for official acts that resulted in the dismissal of the indictment against Piedrahita.  Juan Carlos Velasco, also a Colombian national, served as the intermediary between Ciccione and Piedrahita.  Ciccione ultimately succeeded in getting the Cornerstone indictment dismissed against Piedrahita in exchange for approximately $20,000 in cash, dinner, drinks and prostitution.  

The indictment further alleges that while maintaining contact with Piedrahita, Ciccione misled the U.S. Attorney’s Office and HSI management and altered DHS records to represent to decision makers that Piedrahita was “unidentified” and that his case should be dismissed because “all investigative efforts” were “exhausted.”  In addition, Ciccone falsified the concurrence of several other federal agents and even attempted to parole Piedrahita into the U.S.         

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

ICE-OPR, Department of Homeland Security’s OIG and the FBI investigated the case.  The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and Office of the Judicial Attaché in Colombia, and the Drug Enforcement Administration provided valuable assistance to the investigation.  Trial Attorneys Luke Cass and Jennifer A. Clarke of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation today released the 2016 edition of its Crime in the United States (CIUS) report, a part of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). The report, which covers January-December 2016, reaffirms that the worrying violent crime increase that began in 2015 after many years of decline was not an isolated incident. The violent crime rate increased by 3.4 percent nationwide in 2016, the largest single-year increase in 25 years. The nationwide homicide rate increased by 7.9 percent, for a total increase of more than 20 percent in the nationwide homicide rate since 2014.

“For the sake of all Americans, we must confront and turn back the rising tide of violent crime. And we must do it together,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “The Department of Justice is committed to working with our state, local, and tribal partners across the country to deter violent crime, dismantle criminal organizations and gangs, stop the scourge of drug trafficking, and send a strong message to criminals that we will not surrender our communities to lawlessness and violence.” 

The report released today also adjusts and corrects numbers for 2015, showing that the violent crime rate actually increased by 3.3 percent (as opposed to 3.1 percent, as previously reported) in 2015. The violent crime rate increases in 2015 and 2016 each represented the largest single-year increases in the violent crime rate since 1991. These increases were nationwide, with the average violent crime rate increasing in cities over 250,000 in population, in cities under 10,000 in population, in suburban areas, and in every size in-between. In addition to the 7.9 percent homicide rate increase in 2016, the corrected numbers show the homicide rate increased by 11.4 percent in 2015, for a total increase of more than 20 percent from 2014-2016. Rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults also each continued to increase nationwide in 2016.

For the full report click here.

INTERPOL Washington – the U.S. National Central Bureau – senior leadership and support staff will attend the INTERPOL 86th General Assembly in Beijing, China, September 26th – 29th, 2017. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and INTERPOL Washington Director Wayne Salzgaber are leading the U.S. delegation.

The General Assembly is composed of delegates appointed by the governments of member countries. As INTERPOL's supreme governing body, it meets once a year and takes all the major decisions affecting general policy, the resources needed for international cooperation, working methods, finances, and programs of activities.

It also elects the Organization's Executive Committee. Generally speaking, the Assembly takes decisions by a simple majority in the form of resolutions. Each member country represented has one vote.

The INTERPOL General Assembly also hosts an exhibition hall, featuring innovative companies which provide technology and services to the international law enforcement community. It is an exceptional opportunity to network, share knowledge and showcase products to high level representatives from INTERPOL’s 190 member countries. It is a unique occasion to develop partnerships with more than 800 senior officials from diverse law enforcement agencies.

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

The Justice Department announced today that SolarCity Corporation (SolarCity) has agreed to pay $29.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting inflated claims on behalf of itself and affiliated investment funds to the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) pursuant to Section 1603 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Section 1603).  As part of the settlement, SolarCity and its affiliates will also release all pending and future claims against the United States for additional Section 1603 payments.  SolarCity was purchased by Tesla Motors Inc. in November of 2016, after the alleged conduct at issue in this case. 

“The Section 1603 Program subsidized the renewable energy industry through cash grants to cover legitimate costs of renewable energy properties,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “This program expired, but this settlement demonstrates that the government will still hold accountable those who sought to take improper advantage of government programs at the expense of American taxpayers.”

Under the Section 1603 Program, the Treasury paid a cash grant equal to 30 percent of the eligible cost basis to construct or acquire qualified renewable solar energy systems placed in service before Dec. 31, 2016.  The Treasury required applicants to certify that each Section 1603 grant application accurately set forth the cost basis of the system, and that all supporting information was true, accurate, and complete.    

Beginning in 2009, SolarCity submitted thousands of Section 1603 claims on behalf of itself and affiliated investment funds.  The government alleged that SolarCity falsely overstated the cost bases of its solar energy properties in its certified Section 1603 claims to the Treasury and, as a result, SolarCity and its affiliated investment funds received inflated grant payments from the Treasury. 

“Treasury’s Office of Inspector General appreciates the hard work of the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Justice in supporting Treasury OIG’s mission to protect the programs and operations of Treasury from fraud, waste and abuse,” said Inspector General Eric Thorson for the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of the Treasury.  “Treasury OIG will continue its work to investigate instances of fraud impacting the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act grant programs, that are operated by the Treasury, and paid for by the American taxpayer to ensure that the money distributed by Treasury follows the law and is used for its intended purpose.”

“Treasury appreciates the substantial efforts of the Department of Justice and Treasury’s Office of Inspector General in pursuing this years-long investigation that was initiated following a referral from the Section 1603 Program staff,” said Treasury Fiscal Assistant Secretary David A. Lebryk.  “This settlement sends a clear message that, working with the Department of Justice and the Office of Inspector General, Treasury will pursue any fraud or abuse in programs that it administers in order to protect the taxpayer.”

As part of the settlement, SolarCity has agreed to dismiss a lawsuit filed in the Court of Federal Claims by two investment funds affiliated with SolarCity arising from allegations that Treasury underpaid certain Section 1603 applications, and to release any other potential claims for additional Section 1603 payments.  The lawsuit is captioned Sequoia Pacific Solar I, LLC v. United States, No. 13-139C (Fed. Cl.).

This settlement was the result of a joint investigation conducted by the Treasury, the Treasury OIG, and the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch.  The claims resolved by the settlement agreement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

A former Kentucky clinical psychologist was sentenced today to 25 years in prison for his role in a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $550 million in federal disability payments from the Social Security Administration (SSA) for thousands of claimants.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Michael McGill of the Social Security Administration-Office of Inspector General’s (SSA-OIG) Philadelphia Field Division, Special Agent in Charge Amy S. Hess of the FBI’s Louisville Field Division, Special Agent in Charge Tracey D. Montaño of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Nashville Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Atlanta Regional Office made the announcement.

Alfred Bradley Adkins, 46, of Pikeville, Kentucky, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky, who also ordered Adkins to pay restitution of over $93 million to the SSA and HHS.  Adkins was found guilty following a six-day trial in June 2017 of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of making false statements.

According to trial evidence, beginning in 2004, David Black Daugherty, an SSA administrative law judge assigned to the SSA Huntington, West Virginia, hearing office, sought out pending disability cases in which Kentucky attorney Eric Christopher Conn represented claimants and often reassigned those cases to himself.  Daugherty then contacted Conn and identified the cases he intended to decide the following month and further solicited Conn to provide either physical or mental medical documentation supporting disability determinations, whether or not the claimants were actually disabled.  When mental medical documentation was requested, Conn solicited Adkins to sign medical evaluation forms that Conn had previously prepared.  Without first reviewing these forms, Adkins signed them; Conn subsequently forwarded the forms to the SSA, primarily to Daugherty, in support of disability determinations.  Conn, in turn, paid Daugherty more than $609,000 for granting benefits in his cases, and almost $200,000 to Adkins for signing the fraudulent forms. For his part, Conn received more than $7 million in related attorney’s fees.

As a result of the scheme, Adkins, Conn, Daugherty and others obligated the SSA to pay more than $550 million in lifetime benefits to claimants based upon cases Daugherty approved for which he received payment from Conn.   

Adkins was indicted last year, along with Conn and Daugherty. The defendants were charged with conspiracy, fraud, false statements, money laundering and other related offenses in connection with the scheme.  Daugherty pleaded guilty in May 2017 to a two-count information charging him with receiving illegal gratuities, and was sentenced on August 25, to 4 years in prison.

Conn pleaded guilty on March 24, to a two-count information charging him with theft of government money and paying illegal gratuities, and was sentenced on July 14 to 12 years in prison.  Conn subsequently absconded from electronic monitoring on June 2, and is considered a fugitive.  Conn remains charged under the original indictment.

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.

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 SSA-OIG, FBI, IRS-CI and HHS-OIG 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, with previous co-counsel including Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford of the Western District of Missouri and Investigative Counsel Kristen M. Warden of the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General.

The Department of Justice today announced $58.8 million to strengthen drug court programs and address the opioid epidemic nationwide.

In 2016, nearly 60,000 Americans lost their lives to drug overdoses, an increase from the 52,000 overdose deaths the year before. The majority of these deaths can be attributed to opioids, including illicit fentanyl and its analogues. The opioid epidemic, a public health crisis, is also a growing public safety crisis. 

“Today, we are facing the deadliest drug crisis in American history,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “These trends are shocking and the numbers tell us a lot– but they aren’t just numbers.  They represent moms and dads, brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends. And make no mistake combatting this poison is a top priority for President Trump and his administration, and you can be sure that we are taking action to address it.  Today, we are announcing that we will be awarding millions in federal grants to help law enforcement and public health agencies address prescription drug and opioid abuse.  This is an urgent problem and we are making it a top priority.”

About $24 million in federal grants will be awarded to 50 cities, counties and public health departments to provide financial and technical assistance to state, local, and tribal governments to create comprehensive diversion and alternatives to incarceration programs for those impacted by the opioid epidemic. These funds, awarded under the Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program, also included funds from the Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. This program helps regulatory, law enforcement, and public health agencies address prescription drug and opioid misuse; reduce crime; and save lives.

An additional $3.1 million will be awarded by the National Institute of Justice for research and evaluation on drugs and crime. The research priorities are heroin and other opioids and synthetic drugs.

 The department is also awarding more than $22.2 million to 53 jurisdictions to support the implementation and enhancement of adult drug courts and Veterans Treatment Courts, which serve as “one-stop-shops” to link veterans with services, benefits and program providers, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Service Organizations and volunteer veteran mentors.

Specific sites and funds awarded can be found online at: https://go.usa.gov/xRJWE.

The department is also awarding more than $9.5 million under several Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention grant programs, including the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Grant Program and the Family Drug Court Statewide System Reform Implementation Program. These programs helps jurisdictions build effective family drug treatment courts and ensure current juvenile drug treatment courts follow established guidelines. 

Specific sites and funds awarded can be found online at: https://go.usa.gov/xRJDf.

Finally, read more about the importance of these programs in a new blog by OJP Acting Assistant Attorney General Alan R. Hanson online at https://go.usa.gov/xRJBp.  

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 (SMART). More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

LAFAYETTE, La. – Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced today that multiple people were sentenced for their roles in distributing illegal drugs in Acadiana.  The sentencing came after convictions following a long term investigation into drug trafficking and violent criminal activity in an area near the dead end of Delord Street in Lafayette.

Carroll Griffin, 34, of Lafayette was sentenced to 72 months in prison and three years of supervised release; Joshua Griffin, 35, of Lafayette, was sentenced and 36 months in prison and five years of supervised release; and Ashton Ventroy, 28, of Carencro, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and four years of supervised release. United States District Judge Donald E. Walter sentenced them on one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. According to documents filed in the case, Joshua Griffin, Ventroy and others conspired to distribute crack cocaine in the area known as the “dead end” at the end of Delord Street in Lafayette. Carroll Griffin conspired to distribute methamphetamine. Law enforcement agents investigated the unlawful narcotics activity as well as violence in the area and firearms offenses.

“The defendants in this case were a blight on the Lafayette community who used extreme violence to further their drug trade,” Van Hook stated. “The charges brought and the sentences imposed show our unwavering commitment to protect the community from violent drug traffickers. We appreciate the hard work of our law enforcement partners who helped bring these criminals to justice.”

“Today’s harsh sentences handed down to these three defendants, as well as the lengthy federal sentences given to their co-conspirators within the last several months, should send a clear message to criminals that law enforcement officials in Lafayette will not tolerate narcotics trafficking in their community,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeff Sallet of the New Orleans Division. “This case is yet another great example of federal, state and local law enforcement collaboration to identify and eradicate this illicit activity in the Lafayette area.” 

As a result of the investigation, multiple defendants were prosecuted and received terms of incarceration including:

Alvontre Griffin, 21, of Lafayette, sentenced on May 5, 2017 to 97 months in prison and four years of supervised release for conspiracy and possession of a stolen firearm.

Jeremy Tyler, 30, of Rayne, La., sentenced on June 17, 2017 to 86 months in prison and four years of supervised release for conspiracy.

Chester Tyler, 20, of Lafayette, sentenced on June 17, 2017 to four years of probation for unlawful use of a communication facility.

Nathan George, 35, of Lafayette, sentenced on June 17, 2017 to 60 months in prison and four years of supervised release for conspiracy.

Ronnie Thomas, 37, of Lafayette, sentenced on June 17, 2017 to 12 months and one day in prison and three years of supervised release for maintaining a premises for the purpose of distribution of controlled substances.

Johnny Huntley, 23, of Duson, sentenced on June 17, 2017 to 24 months in prison and four years of supervised release for possession of a stolen firearm.

These convictions resulted from a multi-agency investigation coordinated by the FBI’s Lafayette Resident Agency Safe Streets Gang Task Force.  The FBI, ATF, Lafayette Metro Narcotics Unit, Lafayette Police Department, Lafayette Sheriff’s Office, St. Landry Sheriff’s Office, St. Mary Sheriff’s Office, Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Louisiana National Guard Counter Drug Unit participated in the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert C. Abendroth and Kelly Uebinger prosecuted the case.

          Each year communities nationwide join together to raise awareness about the dangers of drug abuse by wearing a red ribbon from October 23rd to 31st, which is the National Red Ribbon Week.  However, on Guam, various activities have been scheduled throughout the month of October to celebrate the Red Ribbon Campaign. Guam’s Red Ribbon Committee includes local and federal agencies, and private and non-profit organizations that have partnered to increase awareness of the National Red Ribbon Campaign’s significance and promote a drug-free Guam. This year’s theme is “Your FUTURE is Key, So Stay DRUG FREE.” The campaign provides communities with a forum to bring together parents, schools and businesses to find new and innovative ways to keep kids drug free.

          Red Ribbon Week will kick off with a Proclamation Signing by Lt. Governor Raymond Tenorio at Upi Elementary School in Yigo, on Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 9:00 AM and a Resolution Presentation on Friday, September 29, 2017 at Merizo Elementary School at 9:00 AM., hosted by Senator Frank Aguon, Jr. An elementary school drawing contest and island-wide gate/wall decorating contest and video contest is open to all schools. In addition, Committee members are conducting drug awareness presentations at various schools.

          The following activities have been scheduled for Red Ribbon Week 2017:

• Tuesday, September 26, 2017, Proclamation Signing by Lt. Governor Raymond Tenorio at Upi Elementary School, Yigo, 9:00am
• Friday, September 29, 2017, Resolution Presentation by Senator Frank Blas Aguon, Jr. at Merizo Elementary School, 9:00am
• Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017, Community Outreach at the Micronesia Mall, 10:00am-2:00pm. Photos of Gate/Wall and Drawing contests will be on display and paper votes will be accepted.
• Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, Wear Red Day and Red Ribbon Wave in Hagatna at the Intersection of Route 1 and Route 4, 4:30-5:30pm. Red Ribbon Committee members and schools will wave to demonstrate commitment to the anti-drug campaign.
• Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, Say “Boo!” to Drugs, Agana Shopping Center, 4:00pm-6:00pm, Elementary School Drawing Contest Winners, Gate/Wall Decorating Contest Winners and Video Contest Winners will be announced and awards presented.  Red Ribbon Committee will pass out candies to children who attend.
• Oct. 1-Oct. 31, 2017, Various TV, Radio and Print Media

          The first Red Ribbon Celebration was organized in 1986 by a grassroots organization of parents concerned about the destruction caused by alcohol and drug abuse. The red ribbon was adopted as a symbol of the movement in honor of Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, an agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration who was kidnapped and killed while investigating drug traffickers. The Campaign has reached millions of children and has been recognized by the U.S. Congress. Red Ribbon Week is a chance to be visible and vocal in our desire for a drug-free community. Research shows that children are less likely to use alcohol and other drugs when parents and other role models are clear and consistent in their opposition to substance use and abuse.

          These activities are made possible by the Red Ribbon Campaign Committee, which is comprised of our government agencies, nonprofit and civic organizations, private sector, military counterparts, and our media partners.

          For more information about Red Ribbon Week, please contact Corina Andre at 647-6060.

A Chelan Falls, Washington man was sentenced in absentia to 30 months in prison for filing a fraudulent 2011 federal tax return, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

According to documents filed with the court, from 2009 through 2012, Jose L. Echeverria, 46, owned and operated a produce sales business in Chelan Falls.  Echeverria filed fraudulent individual income tax returns for tax years 2009 through 2012 that underreported the income he received from his business by a total of $564,292, causing a tax loss of approximately $183,191.  During this timeframe, Echeverria wired hundreds of thousands of dollars in unreported income to an account in Mexico to purchase land, vacation homes and vehicles for his personal use. 

In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Court Judge Lonny R. Suko ordered Echeverria to serve one year of supervised release, and to pay $183,191 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  Echeverria pleaded guilty in February.  Echeverria is believed to have fled to Mexico and remains a fugitive. 

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Lisa L. Bellamy and former Trial Attorney Gregory Bernstein of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.  Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg also thanked Joseph H. Harrington, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, and the members of his office for their assistance.

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

The Justice Department today announced that at this time it will not challenge a proposal by The Clearing House Payments Company LLC (“TCH”), a joint venture of 24 U.S. banks, to create and operate a new payment system that will enable the real-time transfer of funds between depository institutions, at any time of the day, on any day of the week.  The department’s position was stated in a business review letter to counsel for TCH from Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division Andrew C. Finch.

According to representations made by TCH, it will create and operate the Real Time Payment system (“RTP”)—a new payment rail that, for the first time in the U.S., will provide for real-time funds transfers between depository institutions—and in turn, RTP will allow depository institutions to enable faster fund transfers for their end-user customers.  According to TCH, RTP will not interfere with the continued use and operation of existing payment rails, including automated clearing house, wire, and check clearing houses.  RTP will also incorporate additional features that existing payment rails do not offer, such as enhanced messaging capabilities.

The department has reviewed TCH’s currently-proposed rules and conduct for RTP.  Based on the information submitted and representations made by TCH, the department has no present intention to challenge the operation of TCH’s proposed new payment rail in light of the possibility that introducing a new, faster payment rail would benefit consumers and competition.  

Under the department’s business review procedure, an organization may submit a proposed action to the Antitrust Division and receive a statement as to whether the division currently intends to challenge the action under the antitrust laws based on the information provided.  The Department reserves the right to challenge the proposed action under the antitrust laws if the actual operation of the proposed conduct proves to be anticompetitive in purpose or effect.

Copies of the business review request and the department’s response are available on the Antitrust Division’s website at https://www.justice.gov/atr/business-review-letters-and-request-letters, as well as in a file maintained by the Antitrust Documents Group of the Antitrust Division.  After a 30-day waiting period, any documents supporting the business review will be added to the file, unless a basis for their exclusion for reasons of confidentiality has been established under the business review procedure.  Supporting documents in the file will be maintained for a period of one year, and copies will be available upon request to the FOIA/Privacy Act Unit, Antitrust Documents Group at atrdocs.grp@usdoj.gov.

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

Joseph J. Giraudo pleaded guilty to two counts of bid rigging, and Kevin B. Cullinane pleaded guilty to one count of bid rigging.  Both were charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on October 22, 2014.

According to court documents, Giraudo and Cullinane participated in conspiracies to rig bids by agreeing to refrain from bidding against other co-conspirators at public real estate foreclosure auctions.  Giraudo participated in conspiracies in San Mateo and San Francisco counties, and Cullinane participated in a conspiracy in San Mateo County.  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 pleas are 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, 62 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 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.

A retired officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge John A. Woodcock for the District of Maine to 62 months in prison for 10 money laundering offenses, announced the Justice Department. Gregory R. Logan, 59, of St. John, New Brunswick, was extradited to the United States from Canada on March 11, 2016.  He was indicted in the District of Maine in November 2012 and charged with conspiracy, smuggling and money laundering, and pled guilty to 10 money laundering offenses on September 28, 2016.

“This defendant illegally imported hundreds of narwhal tusks into the United States, with a value in the millions of dollars.  Unlawful wildlife trade like this undermines efforts by federal, state, and foreign governments to protect and restore populations of species like the narwhal, a majestic creature of the sea with long and spiraled protruding ivory tusks,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Our Division successfully worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, and the Canadian Government to successfully conclude this case.”

“This investigation highlights the best of law enforcement working together.  Our special agents, with counterparts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Environment and Climate Change Canada, investigated a complex scheme where illegal narwhal tusks were trafficked across the U.S.-Canada border,” said acting Chief of Law Enforcement Ed Grace for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Wildlife smuggling is a transnational crime that knows no borders and requires an international response. We will continue to work closely with our international, federal, and state partners to investigate and arrest individuals who smuggle and sell protected wildlife for their own financial gain.”

"Today's sentencing brings to a close a long investigation and prosecutorial process that underscores our global commitment to end wildlife trafficking," said Chris Oliver, Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries. "We are grateful for the international cooperation that has lead to this conclusion."

“This case is the result of a successful joint investigation involving partners across Canada and the United States working to stop the illegal commercialization and exploitation of Canadian wildlife, in this case the smuggling of narwhal tusks,” said Glen Ehler, Regional Director, Wildlife Enforcement Directorate, Enforcement Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada. “Today’s sentence and the previous conviction in Canada send a strong message that this type of offence will not be tolerated.”

Logan was involved in a scheme to smuggle narwhal tusks from Canada to the United States for sale to American customers and transfer the proceeds of those sales back to Canada.  Logan was arrested in Canada, based on a request from the United States, in December 2013.  Logan pleaded guilty to a related wildlife smuggling crime in Canada and the terms of his extradition limited the case against him in the United States to the money laundering offenses.  Also charged in the original indictment was Andrew J. Zarauskas of Union, New Jersey.  Zarauskas was convicted after a jury trial in Bangor and sentenced to 33 months in prison.

Narwhals are medium-sized toothed whales that are native to the Arctic.  They are known for their distinctive ivory tusk, which can grow to more than eight feet in length.  Given the threats to their population, narwhals are protected domestically by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and internationally by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) – an international treaty to which more than 170 countries, including the United States and Canada, are parties.  It is illegal to import narwhals, or their parts, into the United States for commercial purposes.  Further, any importation must be accompanied by a permit and must be declared to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

According to the indictment, Logan smuggled more than 250 narwhal tusks into the United States between 2000 and 2010.  As part of the plea agreement, Logan agreed that the market value of the narwhal tusks in this case was between $1.5 million and $3 million. Knowing that the tusks were illegal to bring into the United States and sell, Logan transported them across the border in false compartments in his vehicle and trailer.  Logan utilized a shipping store in Ellsworth, Maine, to send the tusks to customers throughout the United States, including Zarauskas and others.  Logan knew that his customers would re-sell the tusks for a profit and in an attempt to increase that re-sale price, Logan would occasionally provide fraudulent documentation claiming that the tusks had originally belonged to a private collector in Maine who had acquired them legally.

In addition to shipping the tusks from Maine, Logan maintained a post office box the Ellsworth shipping store as well as an account at a bank in Bangor.  Logan instructed his customers to send payment in the form of checks to the post office box, or wire money directly to his Maine bank account.  Logan then transported the money to Canada by having the shipping store forward his mail to him in Canada, and by using an ATM card to withdraw money from his Maine bank account at Canadian ATM machines.  At times, Logan also directed his customers to send funds directly to him in Canada.

The case was investigated by special agents of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Law Enforcement; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement; and Wildlife Officers from Environment and Climate Change Canada.  The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys James B. Nelson and Lauren D. Steele.  

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued the following statement on the Senate’s confirmation of Noel Francisco to be United States Solicitor General:

“I applaud the Senate for finally confirming Noel Francisco to be the United States Solicitor General.

“Noel is a brilliant and principled lawyer with an excellent record of appellate work. His reputation for skillful analysis and clear, forceful advocacy is indisputable, and he has been a consistent advocate for the rule of law and a steadfast defender of the Constitution.

“I am confident that Noel will continue to be a tireless champion for justice and look forward to him being a central figure in our commitment to the classical understanding of law and jurisprudence.”

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with the State of Rhode Island (the State or Rhode Island) and the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC) to resolve its lawsuit alleging that the defendants engaged in a pattern or practice of employment discrimination against African American and Hispanic applicants for entry-level correctional officer positions in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). Title VII is a federal law that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin or religion.

In a joint motion filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, the Justice Department and Rhode Island asked the court for provisional approval and entry of the settlement agreement. Under the agreement, the State will adopt and use Title VII-compliant selection device(s) to hire entry-level correctional officers. The settlement agreement further provides for the priority hire of eighteen (18) eligible African American claimants and nineteen (19) eligible Hispanic claimants who were screened out of the hiring process by the employment tests challenged by the United States. All eligible claimants for priority hire relief must meet the employer’s otherwise lawful hiring criteria. The settlement further provides for an interim hiring process to address the State’s immediate operational needs as well as a monetary relief fund of $450,000 to compensate eligible claimants who were affected by the practices challenged by the United States. The settlement agreement is subject to court approval and the parties have requested, jointly, that the court schedule a fairness hearing so that those persons affected by the settlement agreement are afforded an opportunity to comment on its terms.

The proposed settlement agreement, if approved by the court, will resolve the Title VII complaint filed by the Justice Department on February 10, 2014. In its complaint, the Justice Department alleged that RIDOC’s use of written and video examinations as part of its multi-step selection process unnecessarily screened out African American and Hispanic applicants from further consideration in the hiring process resulting in a disparate impact against these applicants without the requisite showing that the employment practice is job-related and consistent with business necessity.

“This Settlement Agreement is the product of negotiations between the United States and the State of Rhode Island and has resulted in the expansion of equal employment opportunities,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to enforcing Title VII to remove unlawful discriminatory barriers.”

The case was brought by Trial Attorneys David Reese, Kunti D. Salazar and Emily Given of the Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section. Additional information about Title VII and other federal employment laws is available on the Civil Rights Division’s website at www.justice.gov/crt.

The United States Department of Justice has resolved a claim that the Duval County Sheriff’s Department violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by terminating U.S. Army Reservist Jonathan J. Melendez (Melendez) on two occasions and retaliating against him after he pursed his claims in violation of USERRA, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez and Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas represents U.S. Army Specialist Jonathan J. Melendez in this matter and the parties have reached a settlement resolving all of his claims.

“The legal rights of members of our armed forces, who sacrifice their lives every day defending our nation and its freedoms, must be respected,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore. “This settlement sends a strong message that the Department of Justice is steadfast in its efforts to protect the rights of our servicemembers, their families, and all veterans of the United States.”

“Members of our armed service’s reserve forces make many sacrifices, including spending months or years away from their jobs and families,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. “When they are deployed in the service of our country, their employment rights must be protected. They are entitled to retain their civilian employment and to the protections of federal law that prevent them from being subject to discrimination based upon their military obligations. My office and the Department of Justice are committed to ensuring that individuals do not lose their rights while they are protecting ours.”

Specialist Melendez was hired as a Deputy Sheriff on March 14, 2014, by the Duval County Sheriff’s Department. On October 8, 2015, Melendez enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves. Martinez alleged that Duval County discriminated against him in violation of USERRA on four occasions. These occasions include Melendez’s termination from the Sheriff’s Department on January 1, 2016 while he was on leave for active military duty, his belated rehire upon his return from military duty in April 2016, and his termination again in October 2016 after he continued to pursue a USERRA lost wages claim against his former employer.

Congress enacted USERRA for three stated purposes: (1) to encourage non-career service in the uniformed services by reducing employment disadvantages; (2) to minimize the disruption to the lives of persons performing military service, their employers, and others by providing for the prompt reemployment of such persons upon their completion of such service; and (3) to prohibit discrimination against persons because of their service in the uniformed services or if they pursue a claim under USERRA.

Under the terms of the settlement, Duval County has agreed to compensate Melendez for his lost wages and benefits, and pay him liquidated damages.

This case stems from a referral by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), pursuant to an investigation by the DOL’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas and the Employment Litigation Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division handled this case and continue to work with the DOL to protect the jobs and benefits of all military service members.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Edward Wyatt and Paralegal Specialist Raymond Babauta of the SDTX are handling the investigation along with Assistant Director Andrew Braniff of the Service Members and Veterans Initiative, and Alicia Johnson, Employment Litigation Section, Civil Rights Division, of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Chancler Encalade, 20, pleaded guilty today 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, Encalade admitted that he, Nigel Garrett, and Anthony Shelton 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 Encalade and three other men, which 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 and Cameron Ajiduah subsequently pleaded guilty to hate crime charges from this indictment, and both await sentencing.

“The Justice Department will not tolerate hate crimes against any individual, for any reason, including sexual orientation,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore. “Hate crimes are violent crimes and they attack the fundamental principles of the United States. 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.”

Encalade faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine for his guilty plea to the hate crime charge under federal statutes, the defendant faces up to life in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. 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.

Fengyi Zhou, a resident of Syosset, New York, and the owner of a business specializing in Asian works of art, was sentenced today to two years of imprisonment for one count of information of wildlife trafficking in violation of the Lacey Act for illegally trafficking horns from endangered black rhinoceros, the Justice Department announced.

The sentence was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Greg Sheehan, Acting Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

According to papers filed in federal court, Zhou admitted to purchasing as many as five uncarved rhinoceros horns from another Asian arts dealer in New York. Along with the horns, Zhou was given an “Endangered Species Bill of Sale,” from which Zhou was made aware that four of the horns were purchased in Texas and unlawfully transported to New York. Immediately after purchasing the rhinoceros horns, Zhou offered to sell and later sold the horns, to an associate who was a Chinese national residing in the People’s Republic of China for more than $130,000.

"Illegal trade in rhino horn and ivory undermines vital efforts to protect imperiled species and is a serious violation of U.S. and international laws,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Justice Department will continue to prosecute those guilty of illegal wildlife trafficking.”

"Today's sentencing sends a strong message to those individuals who choose to exploit and illegally traffic black rhinos and other imperiled wildlife," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Deputy Assistant Director for Law Enforcement Ed Grace. "We appreciate the efforts and dedication of all of our partners involved in this case and will continue to work with the Department of Justice and others to punish these criminals to the fullest extent of the law."

Zhou was identified as part of “Operation Crash,” a nationwide crackdown by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against those who engage in illegal trafficking of rhinoceros horns. A “crash” is the term for a herd of rhinoceros. Operation Crash is an ongoing effort to detect, deter and prosecute those engaged in the illegal killing of rhinoceros and the unlawful trafficking of rhinoceros horns. As of November 2015, Operation Crash has resulted in the prosecution and sentencing of nearly 32 subjects and recovery of approximately $5.6 million through forfeiture and restitution.

Since 1976, trade in rhinoceros horns has been regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty signed by over 180 countries around the world to protect fish, wildlife, and plants that are or may become imperiled due to the demands of international markets. All species of rhinoceros are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act are protected under United States and international law.

The investigation was led by the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and the U.S. Fishery and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement. The attorneys prosecuting the case were Lauren D. Steele and Gary N. Donner of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.

The Justice Department announced today that CitiFinancial Credit Company, as successor to CitiFinancial Auto Corporation, has agreed to pay $907,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by repossessing 164 cars owned by SCRA protected servicemembers without first obtaining the required court orders. During the investigation, the Department learned that CitiFinancial conducted repossessions without court orders even when CitiFinancial had evidence in its own records suggesting that a borrower could be a protected servicemember. In several cases, loan servicing notes indicated that CitiFinancial was informed that the borrower was in military service or had received orders to report for military service. CitiFinancial, nevertheless, continued repossession efforts and eventually succeeded in repossessing the servicemembers’ vehicles.

“Members of our armed forces make extraordinary sacrifices in order to protect and defend our nation, and they should be able to serve actively without fear that their legal rights will be violated,” said Associate Attorney General Rachel L. Brand. “This settlement provides financial relief and credit repair assistance to the servicemembers whose vehicles were repossessed by CitiFinancial. The enforcement of federal laws protecting current members of the Armed Services, veterans, and their families continues to be an important priority for this Department of Justice.”

“The men and women who serve in the armed forces deserve to have us protect their backs while they selflessly protect us,” said U.S. Attorney John Parker. “This conduct clearly fell short of that and I'm grateful we were able to repair some of that harm.”

This settlement resolves a suit filed by the department in the Northern District of Texas and covers vehicle repossessions that occurred between 2007 and 2010. CitiFinancial Auto Corporation originated and serviced these auto loans until 2010, when operations and assets were sold to Santander Consumer USA, Inc. In February 2015, the Department entered a settlement with Santander that provides servicemembers with more than $10.5 million in compensation for repossessions that violated the SCRA. As part of the investigation of Santander’s repossession practices, the Department learned that CitiFinancial sold Santander the right to collect debts owed by servicemembers after their cars had been repossessed by CitiFinancial in violation of the SCRA.

The SCRA protects servicemembers against certain civil proceedings, including vehicle repossessions, affecting their legal rights during active military service. The SCRA requires a court to review and approve any repossession if the servicemember took out the loan and made a payment before entering military service. The court may then delay the repossession or require the lender to refund prior payments before repossessing. The court may also appoint an attorney to represent the servicemember, require the lender to post a bond with the court and issue any other orders it deems necessary to protect the servicemember. By failing to obtain court orders before repossessing vehicles owned by protected servicemembers, CitiFinancial prevented servicemembers from obtaining a court review of whether these repossessions should be delayed or adjusted to account for their military service.

This agreement further compensates servicemembers for their losses by requiring CitiFinancial to pay $5,000 to each impacted servicemember, in addition to the Santander settlement. CitiFinancial must also pay $10,000 to one affected servicemember who did not receive partial compensation through the Santander settlement. In addition, CitiFinancial will pay $500 per account to compensate borrowers for any lost equity, with interest, and must take steps to repair the credit of all affected servicemembers. An independent settlement administrator will contact servicemembers in the coming months to finalize individual settlements at no cost to the servicemembers.

The department’s enforcement of the SCRA is conducted by the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section. Since 2011, the division has secured more than $450 million in monetary relief for servicemembers whose SCRA rights have been violated. The SCRA provides protections for active duty servicemembers in areas such as evictions, rental agreements, security deposits, prepaid rent, civil judicial proceedings, installment contracts, credit card interest rates, mortgage interest rates, mortgage foreclosures, automobile leases, life insurance, health insurance and income tax payments. For more information about the Department’s SCRA enforcement, please visit www.servicemembers.gov. Servicemembers and their dependents who believe that their rights under SCRA have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program Office. Office locations may be found at legalassistance.law.af.mil/content/locator.php.

The Justice Department announced today that YOUNG LIVING ESSENTIAL OILS, L.C., (the Company), headquartered in Lehi, Utah, pleaded guilty in federal court to federal misdemeanor charges regarding its illegal trafficking of rosewood oil and spikenard oil in violation of the Lacey Act and the Endangered Species Act. The Company voluntarily disclosed its rosewood oil violations and has been cooperating with government investigators. Pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement, the Company was sentenced to a fine of $500,000, $135,000 in restitution, a community service payment of $125,000 for the conservation of protected species of plants used in essential oils, and a term of five years’ probation with special conditions. The conditions include the implementation of a corporate compliance plan, audits, and the publication of statements regarding its convictions.

“The importation of illegally harvested wood and timber products harms law-abiding American companies and workers and threatens forest resources around the world,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Our Division was proud to work alongside the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Utah, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Department of Homeland Security to bring this case to a positive conclusion.”

“While the natural resource violations by certain employees of Young Living were intentional and substantial, the Company’s decision to conduct an internal investigation, voluntarily disclose the initial violations to government enforcement authorities, and cooperate throughout the ensuing investigation is to be commended,” said U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah. “This sentence reflects both the seriousness of the offenses and the acceptance of responsibility and cooperation by the Company.”

According to the plea agreement, from June 2010 to October 2014, several company employees and contractors harvested, transported, and distilled rosewood (Aniba roseaodora or Brazilian rosewood) in Peru and imported some of the resulting oil into the United States, through Ecuador. Peruvian law prohibits the unauthorized harvest and transport of timber, including rosewood. Neither the Company nor its suppliers, employees, or agents had any valid authorization from the Peruvian government. Peru also prohibits the export of species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), without the required permits. The Company did not obtain any CITES export permits from Peru. Between 2010 and 2014, a few Company employees harvested, transported, and possessed a total of approximately 86 tons of rosewood, all of which was harvested in violation of Peruvian law. The rosewood was intended for distillation and export to the United States and some had already been illegally brought over. The Company lacked an internal compliance program or formal procedures, training, or means to review and resolve problems and identify and stop potential violations. As a result, the Company hired outside counsel to conduct an internal investigation into the violations due to the illegal harvesting and shipping of plants that occurred in Peru and Ecuador. On July 20, 2015, once the internal investigation was complete, the Company made an initial written voluntary disclosure to the Government of various facts indicating their potentially illegal violations.

The investigation revealed that, in addition to the conduct disclosed by the Company, in December 2015, the Company exported spikenard oil harvested in Napal to the United Kingdom, without a CITES permit. The spikenard oil was previously imported from a company in the United Kingdom that had obtained a CITES export permit. The Company found the product to be unsatisfactory and shipped it back to the United Kingdom. On March 23, 2016, a Company employee filed an application for a CITES permit for this shipment after the fact, and without providing the required copy of the permit authorizing its original export from the United Kingdom.

The investigation also revealed that between November 2014 and January 2016, the Company purchased over 1,100 kilograms of rosewood oil from a supplier/importer in the United States without conducting sufficient due diligence to verify lawful sourcing of that oil.

The Government calculates the fair market retail value of the plant products involved in the violations and relevant conduct, including but not limited to product equaling approximately 1,899.75 liters of rosewood oil, to be more than $3.5 million but not more than $9 million.

The investigation was conducted by the Law Enforcement Offices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Inspector General, with assistance of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Homeland Security, Investigations. This case is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section and the District of Utah’s U.S Attorney’s Office.

A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City, Utah returned an indictment charging Mark Porter with violating 42 U.S.C. § 3631 by using force and the threat of force to injure, intimidate, and interfere with an African-American man because of his race after moving in nearby, announced John Gore, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; John W. Huber, United States Attorney for the District of Utah; and Eric Barnhart, Special Agent in Charge for the Salt Lake City Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The indictment alleges that Mark Porter shouted racial slurs at the victim and his seven-year-old son, and then struck the victim with a stun cane. The indictment further alleges that the stun cane is a dangerous weapon, and that the victim suffered bodily injury.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted on the civil rights charge, Porter faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case is being investigated by the Salt Lake City Field Office of the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Drew Yeates of the United States Attorney’s Office and Trial Attorney Rose E. Gibson of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.