District Not Recorded

The Department of Justice today announced significant changes to the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance to better align the program with the principles outlined by the Attorney General in support of local law enforcement and the original intent of the authorizing statute. The changes are effective immediately and will provide targeted assistance directly to local law enforcement based on their identified needs and requests.

“Changes to this program will fulfill my commitment to respect local control and accountability, while still delivering important tailored resources to local law enforcement to fight violent crime,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “This is a course correction to ensure that resources go to agencies that require assistance rather than expensive wide-ranging investigative assessments that go beyond the scope of technical assistance and support.”

Earlier this year, the Attorney General released a memorandum stating that all Department of Justice activities would be reviewed by Department of Justice leadership to ensure that they fully and effectively promote the principles outlined in the memo. Today’s announcement is the conclusion of that review for the Collaborative Reform Initiative. These changes will return control to the public safety personnel sworn to protect their communities and focus on providing real-time technical assistance to best address the identified needs of requesting agencies to reduce violent crime.

The COPS Office is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide: www.cops.usdoj.gov.

Edward N. Levine was convicted yesterday for conspiracy to violate the Lacey and Endangered Species Acts and to a violation of the Lacey Act by knowingly selling black rhinoceros horns to an undercover agent from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), announced the Justice Department. Sentencing has been set for December 15. Levine’s co-defendant, Lumsden Quan, was sentenced in December 2015.

Levine was arrested in March 2014 for his role in a conspiracy to knowingly sell black rhinoceros horns across state lines. Levine worked with Quan to transport two horns from California to Nevada, where the men sold them to an undercover agent from Colorado for a sum of $55,000.

This case is 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.

The investigation was handled by the USFWS’s Office of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada, and the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section. The government is represented by Trial Attorney Ryan Connors, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Newman, Paralegal Christopher Kopf, and Paralegal Amanda Backer.

Remarks of Attorney General Sessions regarding the Department of Justice response to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma

Hello. This is Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

On behalf of President Trump and the entire Department of Justice, I want to offer my prayers and support to those devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Harvey. Having personally lived through hurricanes and their aftermath on the Alabama Gulf Coast, I can understand the challenges you face.

The Justice Department is the lead coordinating agency for federal law enforcement supporting FEMA relief operations in hurricane-impacted areas. More than 600 Department of Justice law enforcement officers from throughout the country are already involved in relief efforts, helping local first responders provide medical assistance, aiding in urban search and rescue operations throughout Florida and the Caribbean, assistance with law enforcement duties and offering support however else they can.

Sadly, I must warn that experience tells us that while thousands come forward to help selflessly, there are a few who use the disaster to enrich themselves or promise expertise but lack competence to do professional work. Be careful. And be sure any contributions you make are only going to reputable aid organizations that have proven to be honest and effective.

In the wake of these disasters, the Justice Department is here with ways to avoid becoming a victim of fraud. Since 2005, the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud has processed over 70,000 complaints. It operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to take disaster fraud complaints. We’ve already received hundreds of complaints in the last month related to Harvey and Irma and they come from all over the country.

We have also worked with the Federal Trade Commission to release antitrust guidance for businesses that want to rebuild their communities. This guidance will ensure that these businesses can work together to rebuild affected communities without violating the antitrust laws.

Finally, I encourage anyone with information about fraud or other illegal behavior to call the Disaster Fraud Hotline at 1-866-720-5721. With your help, we can make sure that the people hurt most by these tragedies are saved from hurting any more.

Stay safe and God bless.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement with the Housing Authority of the City of Anderson, Indiana, which owns and operates 143 public housing units in the city, to resolve allegations that the Housing Authority had discriminated against residents of these units on the basis of sex and disability.

Under the settlement agreement, the Housing Authority will pay $70,000 to compensate the seven victims of discrimination identified by the Justice Department. As part of the agreement, the Housing Authority of the City of Anderson will implement nondiscrimination policies and procedures, provide fair housing training for its employees, refrain from engaging in any prohibited conduct in the future, and make periodic reports to the department confirming compliance.

The lawsuit against the Housing Authority of the City of Anderson alleged that employees of the Housing Authority subjected female tenants to unlawful sexual harassment and discriminated against tenants with disabilities. The disability discrimination included repeatedly denying requests for reasonable accommodations, including requests to be transferred to first floor units and requests for a designated accessible parking space.

“Sexual harassment of women and discrimination against persons with disabilities are unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “We will continue to vigorously combat such discrimination, including in public housing.”

“Enjoying a safe place to live, free of discrimination and sexual harassment is a fundamental right we all are entitled to,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana Josh Minkler. “My office remains committed to aggressively pursuing the enforcement of civil rights and fighting discrimination in Indiana.”

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on disability, race, color, religion, national origin, sex and familial status. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt. Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination can call the Justice Department at 1-800-896-7743, e-mail the Justice Department at fairhousing@usdoj.gov, or contact the Department of Housing and Urban Development at 1-800-669-9777 or through its website at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp.

A federal grand jury in Little Rock, Arkansas, returned a two-count indictment against Eric Scott Kindley, 49, a former prison transport officer, for crimes related to his sexual assault of a woman in his custody, and using his firearm in furtherance of the assault.

Count One of the indictment charges Kindley with committing civil rights offenses that resulted in bodily injury and includes the use of a dangerous weapon, kidnapping, and aggravated sexual abuse. Count Two charges Kindley with knowingly possessing a firearm in furtherance of these crimes of violence.

Kindley was indicted on June 29, 2017, in Phoenix, Arizona, for committing similar offenses related to sexual assaults he committed on a different woman in his custody, and as in this indictment, possessing his firearm in furtherance of those assaults.

These indictments stem from Kindley’s arrest in Stockton, California, on June 1, 2017, in connection with a criminal complaint filed in the District of Arizona. According to arrest paperwork, Kindley operated Group 6, LLC doing business as Special Operations Group, a company that local jails throughout the country hire to transport individuals who have been arrested on out-of-state warrants. The probable cause affidavit associated with the criminal complaint alleged that from January through May of this year, Kindley engaged in sexual misconduct in his Dodge Caravan with three different female prisoners during three different transports. The transports were from California to Arizona, Alabama to Arizona, and Mississippi to New Mexico. In each instance, the victim was handcuffed and restrained, and taken to secluded locations where Kindley sexually assaulted her. All the while, Kindley threatened each victim with his firearm and warned her that he will get away with his conduct because no one will believe her.

Following Kindley’s arrest in the Eastern District of California, the court ordered that Kindley be detained and transported to the District of Arizona, where he remains in custody.

This investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to call the Phoenix Division of the FBI at (623) 466-1999, or can email the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice at Prisoner.Transfer@usdoj.gov.

Kindley faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted of the crimes charged, and a mandatory minimum of five years in prison for possession of the firearm in this indictment. If he is convicted of possession of a firearm in both indictments, he faces a mandatory minimum of twenty-five years in prison.

An indictment is merely a formal accusation of criminal conduct, and Kindley is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the Phoenix Division of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Fara Gold and Trial Attorney Maura White of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have reached an agreement with StarKist Co. and its subsidiary, Starkist Samoa Co., requiring the companies to make a series of upgrades to reduce pollution, improve safety measures, and comply with important federal environmental laws at their tuna processing facility in American Samoa.

Under the agreement, StarKist will pay a $6.3 million penalty and provide emergency response equipment to the American Samoa Department of Public Safety, Fire Services Bureau, for use in responding to chemical releases.

“The settlement is a significant environmental win for the community of American Samoa,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Department will continue to identify violations and enforce federal laws designed to protect the environment and the public. As a result of this action, StarKist has already performed a significant amount of work to correct its violations and we will continue to work together with our partners to bring the facility back into compliance and prevent future violations.”

“Today’s agreement will help prevent hazardous releases at the StarKist facility, protect workers and the local community, and reduce pollution discharged into Pago Pago Harbor by more than 13 million pounds each year,” said Acting Regional Administrator Alexis Strauss with the EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. “Working with our partners at American Samoa EPA, we will monitor the company’s progress toward full compliance with all federal environmental rules.”

In July 2014, the American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency informed EPA of a discharge pipeline break at the facility, which was spilling unpermitted wastewater into the inner Pago Pago Harbor. At that time, EPA began investigating the facility after monitoring reports submitted by StarKist revealed wastewater pollutant levels that consistently exceeded permitted levels. EPA’s investigations revealed that StarKist had changed the composition of the facility’s discharged wastewater such that its existing wastewater treatment system was inadequate.

After full implementation of the wastewater treatment system upgrades, the facility’s annual discharge of pollutants into Pago Pago Harbor, including total nitrogen, phosphorus, oil and grease, and total suspended solids, will be reduced by at least 85 percent – a total reduction of more than 13 million pounds of wastewater pollutants each year.

In addition to wastewater violations, EPA also found StarKist was improperly storing ammonia, butane, and chlorine gas, which the facility used on-site for refrigeration, operation of forklifts, and disinfection. The federal Clean Air Act requires companies to operate safely in order to prevent releases of hazardous chemicals that can harm workers and the surrounding community.

Starkist will also perform a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) requiring it to purchase and donate no less than $88,000 worth of specified emergency response equipment to the American Samoa Fire Department, the entity that would respond to a chemical release from the Facility on Tutuila Island. This SEP is an Emergency Planning and Preparedness project, which is a recognized category under EPA’s SEP Policy.

The agreement requires StarKist to improve the facility’s ammonia refrigeration system and discontinue using chlorine gas and butane, which will greatly reduce the risk of hazardous substance releases. In addition, the companies have submitted emergency planning information to local responders and will implement a new system for notifying the public in real time in the event of a release.

To prevent oil spills, the companies are upgrading four large above-ground oil storage tanks containing diesel oil, used petroleum oil, and food-grade oil—a byproduct of fish processing. The four tanks, located only feet from inner Pago Pago Harbor, were found to have inadequate secondary containment structures as required by the Clean Water Act. In its own audit, StarKist identified additional problems, including violations of hazardous waste management and notification regulations, and disclosed them to EPA.

Starkist Samoa Co. owns and operates the tuna processing facility, located at Route 1 on the northwestern side of Pago Pago Harbor in the village of Atu'u on the Island of Tutuila in American Samoa. Starkist Samoa Co. is a wholly owned subsidiary of StarKist Co. which in turn is owned by the Korean company Dongwon Industries. StarKist Co. is the world’s largest supplier of canned tuna. The American Samoa facility processes and cans tuna for human consumption and processes fish byproducts into fishmeal and fish oil.

For more information, please visit https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/starkist-clean-water-act-clean-air-act-resource-conservation-and-recovery-and-emergency.

The proposed consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is subject to a 30-day comment period and final court approval. A copy of the proposed consent decree is available on the Justice Department Web site at www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.

The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today announced the release of antitrust guidance for businesses taking part in relief efforts and those involved in rebuilding communities affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

The guidance is intended to help businesses understand how they can work together to rebuild affected communities without violating the antitrust laws.  The antitrust laws accommodate procompetitive collaborations among competitors.  At the same time, the agencies intend to hold accountable those who enter into anticompetitive agreements that take advantage of hurricane victims or hurricane relief efforts.  Among other actions, the Department of Justice will criminally prosecute companies that fix prices, rig bids, or allocate customers, and the Federal Trade Commission will investigate and take action against companies and individuals who violate the consumer protection laws.

Anyone with information on price fixing, bid-rigging, market allocation agreements, or other anticompetitive conduct should call the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.  Consumers or businesses with concerns about fraudulent activity can also call the Disaster Fraud Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or visit https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/how-report-disaster-related-fraud.

BOISE – Kenneth Frank Morehouse, 59, formerly CEO of Intermountain Gas, was sentenced yesterday to 21 months in prison by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Edward J. Lodge, Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael Gonzalez announced. Judge Lodge also ordered Morehouse to pay a $5,500 fine and imposed three years of supervised release to follow his period of incarceration.

On June 21, 2017, Morehouse pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing a firearm during a February 2017 incident in which Ada County Sheriff’s deputies were called to Morehouse’s residence by Morehouse’s wife who feared he was suicidal. A deputy encountered Morehouse in his home holding a firearm and shot Morehouse to temporarily disable him out of fear for officer safety and the safety of Morehouse and his wife. Morehouse was prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a 2015 conviction in Ada County District Court for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and the Ada County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. It was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2001 by the Department of Justice to combat gun violence in the United States. Project Safe Neighborhoods marshals federal, state, and local resources to target and prosecute those who commit gun crimes. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, visit https://www.bja.gov

The Justice Department announced today that the independent federal investigation into the death of Freddie Gray, Jr., on April 19, 2015, in Baltimore, Maryland, found insufficient evidence to support federal criminal civil rights charges against six Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officers.

Overview

On May 1, 2015, the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office (SAO) charged BPD Officers Caesar Goodson, William Porter, Garrett Miller, and Edward Nero; Lieutenant Brian Rice; and Sergeant Alicia White with criminal offenses related to Gray’s arrest and death. The charged offenses included reckless endangerment, involuntary manslaughter, and second degree depraved heart murder. Ultimately, four out of the six officers took their cases to trial, and in each instance, the prosecution was unable to secure a conviction. The SAO’s first trial, which was against Porter, resulted in a mistrial after the jury failed to reach a verdict. In the next three trials, Nero, Goodson, and Rice were acquitted on all charges following bench trials. After the fourth trial ended in acquittal on July 18, 2016, the SAO dismissed the remaining counts against Porter, Miller, and White, ending all state prosecutions related to Gray’s death.

The Department conducted a comprehensive independent investigation of the events surrounding Gray’s death and carefully reviewed the materials and evidence generated by BPD and the SAO. Career prosecutors examined evidence from numerous sources, including surveillance videos from closed circuit cameras (CCTV) that captured various sites where Gray was taken while in custody; cell phone videos taken by civilian witnesses at the time of Gray’s arrest; numerous witness interviews (transcripts, audio, and video recordings); photos; maps; medical reports; an autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Maryland; police dispatch recordings; reports concerning DNA and blood stain evidence; BPD documents related to Gray’s arrest and the investigation of his death; personnel files and background materials for the subjects; BPD policies and training materials; phone records; demonstrative evidence; the SAO’s investigative file concerning the incident; trial transcripts; and trial court verdicts and findings of fact. Additionally, the FBI and federal prosecutors conducted witness interviews of BPD personnel in order to clarify procedural questions with respect to police investigative practices.

Applicable Law

The Department examined the facts in this case under all relevant criminal statutes. The principal criminal statute applicable to these facts is Title 18, United States Code, Section 242, Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law. In order to proceed with a prosecution under Section 242, prosecutors must first establish beyond a reasonable doubt that a law enforcement officer deprived an individual of a constitutional right. Prosecutors considered multiple theories of liability, based on multiple constitutional provisions, including theories of false arrest, excessive force, and deliberate indifference to the risk of serious harm to Gray.

Additionally, to prove that any police encounter violated section 242, the government must also prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer acted willfully. This high legal standard – one of the highest standards of intent imposed by law – requires proof that the officer acted with the specific intent to do something the law forbids. It is not enough to show that the officer made a mistake, acted negligently, acted by accident, or even exercised bad judgment.

Although Gray’s death is undeniably tragic, the evidence in this case is insufficient to meet these substantial evidentiary requirements. In light of this, and for the reasons explained below, this matter is not a prosecutable violation of the federal civil rights statutes.

Factual Summary

While this summary is based on, and consistent with, all facts known to the government, it does not include or discuss every fact learned or gathered during the thorough investigation.

At approximately 8:39 am on April 12, 2015, Freddie Gray was standing on a street corner with another male when he made eye contact with Lieutenant Brian Rice, a uniformed police officer who was on bicycle patrol in BPD’s Western District. After making eye contact with Lieutenant Rice, Gray ran. In response, Rice chased Gray and radioed that he was pursuing a suspect. Officers Garrett Miller and Edward Nero, both of whom were also on bicycle patrol, joined Lieutenant Rice in pursuing Gray. After approximately one minute, near Presbury and Mount Street, Gray surrendered to Officer Miller after Miller drew his Taser and threatened its use. The officers handcuffed and frisked Gray, leading to their discovery of what appeared to be an illegal switchblade knife in Gray’s pocket. Miller placed the knife on the ground, and Gray attempted to move toward it. In response, Officer Miller placed Gray, who was sitting on the ground, on his stomach. Gray began to flail his legs, and Miller placed Gray into a leg lace, which is a leg lock technique designed to stop the legs from moving. Officer Caesar Goodson then arrived with an empty police wagon for the purpose of transporting Gray. Video evidence shows that a small crowd of civilians gathered near the wagon and angrily protested Gray’s arrest. As the officers led Gray to the vehicle, he yelled about his wrists. Also, according to statements the officers later made to investigators, Gray would not walk on his own power, causing his feet to drag on the ground. Nonetheless, video shows that he stood by himself on the ledge of the wagon before entering. Officers Miller and Nero were assisted by another officer in placing Gray on a bench on the right side of the rear cabin. Gray faced a hard partition that completely separated the right and left sides of the wagon. The officers did not seat belt Gray. One of the officers later testified that they did not do so for reasons of officer safety, given the gathering angry crowd.

Once Gray was placed inside of the wagon and the doors were shut, witnesses could hear him banging against the wagon and yelling. At the direction of Lieutenant Rice, Goodson drove Gray in the wagon from the location of the arrest (Stop 1) to a location down the street at Mount and Baker Street (Stop 2), so that the officers could place leg shackles on Gray away from the civilians. Officers Miller, Nero, and Lieutenant Rice met Goodson at Stop 2, along with Officer William Porter and others. While at Stop 2, Gray resisted efforts of the officers to remove him from the wagon and place him into shackles. In response, Miller and Rice pulled Gray out of the wagon while he yelled and flailed. While the officers were placing new restraints on Gray, a crowd of up to nine civilians formed near the wagon and began to angrily yell at the officers about Gray’s arrest. Some yelled that the officers had injured Gray. Officer Porter assisted with crowd control. Lieutenant Rice and Officers Miller and Nero attempted to place Gray back into the rear of the wagon. As they did so, Gray went limp, and according to the officers, refused again to walk on his own power. This prompted Lieutenant Rice to enter the wagon and lift Gray inside head-first by pulling Gray’s shoulders while Nero lifted Gray’s legs. Lieutenant Rice left Gray on the floor of the wagon on his stomach with Gray’s head facing toward the front of the wagon and his hands cuffed to the rear. No officer seat-belted Gray. Once the wagon doors were shut, Rice, Miller, Nero, Porter, and multiple civilian witnesses heard Gray yell and bang against the wagon from the inside, causing it to visibly shake. Lieutenant Rice instructed Goodson to drive Gray to central booking, and at approximately 8:53 am, Goodson left Stop 2 and drove in that direction. Medical experts have agreed that sometime during the approximately 25 minutes that followed, while Gray rode in the rear of the police wagon, he sustained a fatal neck and spinal injury in a manner that is largely unknown.

Video indicates at around 8:56 am, while Officer Goodson was transporting Gray in the back of the wagon from Stop 2 to central booking, he made a wide right turn onto Freemont Avenue from Riggs Street, and briefly crossed over the double yellow line in the roadway. He then made an unannounced stop near Freemont Avenue (Stop 3). While there, Goodson got out of the wagon, walked to the rear of the vehicle, and disappeared from camera view for approximately 10 seconds. Goodson then got back in the van and drove away. It is unclear whether Goodson had any interaction with Gray at the back of the wagon at this stop, or what Goodson might have observed or heard. Goodson declined to provide a statement to state investigators about Gray or about that day. There is no other evidence of what occurred at Stop 3.

At approximately 8:59 am, after leaving Stop 3, Officer Goodson radioed to request that a police unit meet him at Druid Hill Avenue and Dolphin Street (Stop 4) for the purpose of checking on Gray. Officer Porter answered Goodson’s call and later provided two statements to investigators. He also testified at trial about his version of events. As Goodson has never given a statement in the criminal case, and could not legally be compelled to do so, Porter’s accounts offer the only evidence of what occurred at Stop 4. According to Porter, when he arrived at Stop 4, he met Goodson at the rear of the wagon, and Goodson opened the doors without discussion. There, Porter observed Gray lying on his stomach on the floor of the wagon with his head toward the front of the wagon, his feet toward the door, and his hands cuffed behind him. Gray asked for “help,” prompting Porter to ask what was wrong with him. According to Porter, Gray did not immediately reply, and then stated, “Help. Help me up.” In one of his statements to investigators, Porter is alleged to have also heard Gray say “I can’t breathe,” although he later denied having heard that.

After Gray asked for help, Officer Porter entered the wagon, pulled Gray up, and placed him on the bench. According to Porter, Gray used his own legs to assist Porter in placing him on the bench. Once there, Gray sat normally and supported his own head. Porter asked Gray if he wanted to go to the hospital, and Gray replied that he did. Gray did not complain of pain or of a specific injury, and Porter did not see any visible injury. Gray spoke in a regular tone of voice and breathed normally. According to Porter, because there were no signs of genuine medical distress, Porter did not believe that Gray was actually injured, despite Gray’s complaints. Porter allegedly believed that Gray was either lethargic from banging against the wagon, or was feigning a medical issue in order to avoid going to jail. However, because of Gray’s complaints, Porter told Goodson, who was standing at the rear of the wagon, that Gray was not going to “pass medical” at central booking. Goodson agreed, and Porter suggested that Goodson take Gray straight to the hospital. However, at that moment, at approximately 9:07 am, Lieutenant Rice radioed a request for available police units and a police wagon to respond to a different location. In response, Porter left the wagon, got back into his car, and responded to Rice’s dispatch. Goodson responded to Lieutenant Rice’s request as well and did not take Gray to the hospital. Again, neither officer seat-belted Gray.

Video surveillance reveals that the wagon arrived at Lieutenant Rice’s location (Stop 5) at approximately 9:11 am. When Goodson arrived, he parked the wagon near Lieutenant Rice and Officers Miller and Nero, who were standing on the sidewalk with a new handcuffed arrestee. It was decided that the new arrestee would be transported in the wagon back to the Western District police station for questioning. The doors to the rear of the wagon were opened, and at some point, another officer who had arrived at Stop 5 observed Gray kneeling in the wagon in a posture that resembled a praying position while facing the bench. In addition, Sergeant Alicia White arrived in order to investigate a complaint that an anonymous caller had made earlier that day about an altercation in the area. According to a statement later made by Sergeant White, she looked into the wagon, and while she could not see Gray’s face, she saw him kneeling on the wagon floor, facing away from her, and leaning over the bench with his head down. White attempted to question Gray, believing that he might know something about the complaint she was investigating. He gave no verbal response, but made an audible noise. White interpreted Gray’s silence as an indication that he did not want to cooperate with the police. Porter also attempted to speak to Gray at Stop 5, and asked Gray again if he wanted to go the hospital. Gray answered, “Yes.” According to Porter, he told Sergeant White that Gray wanted a medic, and in response, Sergeant White told Porter to follow the wagon back to the Western District to drop off the new arrestee, and then escort Gray to the hospital. At 9:16 am, Goodson left for the Western District station with Gray and the new arrestee in tow. The new arrestee later told investigators that the ride to the police station was smooth and lacked rapid accelerations, decelerations, or turns. The arrestee also stated that he heard loud banging from the other side of the wagon, and that he believed, based on the sound alone, that Gray was knocking his head against the wagon’s middle partition.

Upon Gray’s arrival at the Western District station (Stop 6), at approximately 9:18 am, Officer Porter, Sergeant White, and another BPD officer found Gray to be unconscious. Porter noted that Gray’s eyes were shut, his neck was limp, and he appeared not to be breathing. Sergeant White observed that Gray was drooling. Two officers, one of whom was Sergeant White, called for paramedics. Once the paramedics arrived, they observed that Gray was not breathing, had a small amount of blood coming from his nose, and had frothy vomitus discharge around his mouth. Gray also smelled of feces, indicating incontinence.

The paramedics took Gray to the hospital, where he remained comatose for days. During that time, he underwent multiple rounds of surgery. CT and MRI scans revealed that he suffered from a fractured neck and pinched spinal cord. Medical experts who analyzed the injuries later determined that they were akin to those sustained by a person who dives into a shallow pool and hits his head on the bottom, causing the neck to break when his head rotates forward. Those experts largely concluded that sometime in between Stops 2 and 6, Gray’s head forcefully impacted the interior surfaces of the wagon, such as the walls or doors, causing the injury. On April 19, 2015, Gray died as a result of medical complications accompanying those injuries.

Discussion

Lieutenant Brian Rice, Sergeant Alicia White, Officer William Porter, Officer Garrett Miller, and Officer Edward Nero each provided detailed statements to local investigators offering their version of what happened near the time of Gray’s fatal injury. Officers Porter, Miller, and Nero also testified about the matter in state criminal trials. In order to pursue any prosecution in this case, the government would have to disprove these accounts and establish that the officers’ actions or inactions with respect to Gray constituted a willful violation of Gray’s Fourth Amendment or Fourteenth Amendment rights. During a detailed and thorough investigation, the Department reviewed and analyzed numerous interviews of witnesses to the events surrounding Gray’s injury. In determining whether it was possible to disprove the officers’ statements beyond a reasonable doubt, the Department took into account all of the evidence in the case, including, among other things, all witness statements, any video and audio evidence, medical evidence, and other relevant documents. The Department considered all of the evidence in light of the legal standards for proving criminal cases of false arrest, excessive force, and deliberate indifference.

With respect to a false arrest charge, the Department determined that it could not disprove the officers’ statements regarding the events leading to the arrest. According to the officers, Gray was detained after he made eye contact with Lieutenant Rice and then immediately ran from him. At the time, the bicycle officers were conducting proactive enforcement in an area known for drug sales. Once the officers stopped Gray, they admitted to securing him with handcuffs and then performing a cursory search for weapons, which yielded an illegal knife. A test of that knife later revealed that it opened with a spring-assist, which corroborates Officer Miller’s determination that it was a switchblade knife. In light of the Supreme Court’s decisions regarding the thresholds for reasonable suspicion and probable cause, prosecutors concluded that a false arrest under the Fourth Amendment was not supported by the facts. Gray’s unprovoked flight from Lieutenant Rice, which occurred in an area known for drug sales, gave the officers reasonable suspicion to briefly detain him. Miller’s discovery of a knife that appeared to be an illegal switchblade supplied probable cause to arrest Gray.

In order to fully assess whether the officers used unreasonable force when arresting Gray, the Department closely examined medical evidence, video recordings, and witness accounts. The legal standard for such a prosecution would require the government to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an officer’s use of force during Gray’s arrest was objectively unreasonable based on all of the surrounding circumstances, and thereby violated the Fourth Amendment. The law requires that the reasonableness of an officer’s use of force on an arrestee be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the added perspective of hindsight.

The evidence in this matter overwhelmingly contradicted reports from some civilian witnesses that Gray was either tased or beaten by the officers. The doctor who performed Gray’s autopsy and testified for the state concluded that there was no medical evidence indicating that Gray’s injuries were caused by excessive force during the arrest, and no medical evidence showing that Gray had been tased. In fact, all medical professionals who testified at the state trials agreed that Gray was injured sometime after Stop 2 while he was being transported in the wagon. BPD investigators analyzed all of the subjects’ Tasers after Gray’s arrest and confirmed that none of the subjects had deployed their Tasers that day. One witness who claimed to have seen Gray tased later recanted that assertion at trial. Additionally, at least two civilian witnesses reported that they did not see any officer strike, punch, or kick Gray, and at least one such witness denied that officers placed Gray into the wagon forcefully. None of the video evidence established that Gray was struck, tased, or otherwise subjected to unreasonable force. Finally, all officers who were present for Gray’s arrest, and gave formal statements, denied ever seeing anyone use excessive force against Gray. To be sure, Officer Miller admitted to using a leg lace on Gray in order to temporarily immobilize Gray’s legs, but Miller’s assertion that he did so in response to Gray’s flailing is unrebutted by the evidence. Based on this assertion, his use of a leg lace cannot be proven unreasonable, and the medical evidence does not establish that the leg lace resulted in injury to Gray.

The Justice Department also considered whether the evidence established that Officer Goodson intentionally gave Freddie Gray a “rough ride” in the back of the wagon, thereby using excessive force in violation of the Due Process Clause. Pursuing this charge would require the government to prove that Officer Goodson gave Gray a ride that objectively harmed him, and that Goodson did so “maliciously and sadistically” in order to cause Gray harm. The evidence could not bear this burden. In spite of the fact that video evidence shows Goodson making a wide right turn and briefly crossing the double yellow line prior to arriving at Stop 3, neither that video, nor the other evidence, conclusively established that Goodson drove recklessly. An expert on retaliatory prisoner transport practices who testified at trial for the state acknowledged that he had seen no evidence that Goodson made abrupt starts, stops, or turns, and that he was not sure whether Goodson had given Gray a “rough ride.” Goodson provided no statement to investigators that would illuminate how he operated the wagon, and an arrestee who was placed in the wagon at Stop 5 described the drive to Stop 6 as a “smooth ride.” In addition, the medical evidence does not conclusively establish that Gray’s injuries were caused by reckless driving, or even by poor driving. There is no evidence that Officer Goodson harbored any animus toward Gray or desired to harm him. Goodson’s failure to seatbelt Gray, without more, does not prove intent to harm. The evidence cannot disprove exculpatory explanations for failing to seatbelt Gray, explanations having nothing to do with intent to harm.

In order to determine whether the officers’ failure to seatbelt Gray constituted deliberate indifference to a serious risk of harm to Gray in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, federal investigators paid particular attention to the law enforcement witness statements, training records, and BPD policies. Under the law, it would not be enough to show that an officer merely had an awareness of some risk of serious harm or that an officer should have had such an awareness. The law would require the government to prove that the officers actually knew that transporting Gray without a seatbelt created a substantial risk of serious harm, and that they actually knew that their actions were inappropriate. The officers made no admissions that would allow us to prove that any of the officers were actually aware that transporting Gray without a seatbelt in back of a police wagon would create a substantial risk of serious harm. The Department also cannot prove that the officers received training regarding substantial risks or harms associated with the transportation of un-seat-belted detainees. The Department reviewed longstanding BPD polices for seat-belting that were in effect until just days before Gray’s arrest, and those polices afforded officers the discretion to refrain from seat-belting detainees if the officers believed there were security risks involved. Given the angry crowds at Stops 1 and 2, and in light of Gray’s combative behavior once inside the wagon, the Department cannot prove that the officers believed that their failure to seatbelt Gray was an inappropriate balancing of the safety risks involved. Accordingly, to the extent that the officers violated department policy in failing to seatbelt Gray, those failures suggest civil negligence rather than the high standard of deliberate indifference.

The Justice Department also considered whether the officers were deliberately indifferent to Gray’s serious need for medical care. The relevant medical evidence does not conclusively establish that Gray had already sustained his fatal neck injury by the time Officers Porter, Goodson, and White observed him at Stops 4 and 5. Medical experts who examined Gray’s death were sharply split during the state trials as to whether Gray suffered this injury sometime between Stops 2 and 4, or sometime between Stops 5 and 6. Experts who testified for the officers maintained that the neck injury Gray suffered would have caused near instantaneous (rather than progressive) paralysis, loss of breathing, and loss of speech. Given that testimony, and Porter’s unrebutted statement that Gray was speaking at Stops 4 and 5, the Department cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Gray had already suffered his neck injury by the time officers saw him at those stops. Even if Gray had already been injured, the evidence does not prove that the officers were aware of the serious nature of that injury. At Stop 4, Gray was talking, able to maintain a seated position, and supported his own neck. At Stops 4 and 5, he was breathing and conscious. There is no evidence that he was bleeding or had any other visible injury. He was not drooling, had no liquid discharge around his mouth, and was not incontinent at that point. At Stop 6, Gray exhibited symptoms of medical distress that he did not exhibit earlier. There appears to have been a consensus among the medical experts who testified at the state trials that Gray’s injuries manifested themselves internally and would not have necessarily had visible signs. The Department is mindful of the fact that Gray asked for medical assistance and appeared lethargic at Stops 4 and 5, however, the evidence does not disprove Porter’s statement that he delayed Gray’s requests for a medic because he believed Gray was fatigued after banging himself against the wagon and might have been feigning injury. Regardless of whether Sergeant White or Officer Porter acted negligently by not calling a medic prior to Stop 6, it would be impossible to prove that either deliberately ignored Gray’s needs.

In light of the above analysis, the evidence gathered during this investigation is insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers violated Gray’s Fourth Amendment rights against false arrest and unreasonable force, or his Fourteenth Amendment right to be free from excessive force and deliberate indifference.

In analyzing a potential charge under section 242, the Department also considered whether the evidence was sufficient to prove the statutory element of willfulness. To establish that the officers acted willfully, the government would be required both to disprove the officers’ account of their interaction with Gray and to affirmatively establish that the officers instead acted, or failed to act, with the specific intent to violate Gray’s rights. At a minimum, this would require proof that the officers knew that they were treating Gray in a wrongful manner, yet chose to do so anyway. For many of the same reasons described above, the evidence is insufficient to prove willfulness and cannot bear this heavy burden.

Conclusion

After an extensive review of this tragic event, conducted by career prosecutors and investigators, the Justice Department concluded that the evidence is insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Caesar Goodson, Officer William Porter, Officer Garrett Miller, Officer Edward Nero, Lieutenant Brian Rice, or Sergeant Alicia White willfully violated Gray’s civil rights. Accordingly, the investigation into this incident has been closed without prosecution.

In this case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Maryland, the Civil Rights Division, and the FBI each devoted significant time and resources to investigating the circumstances surrounding Gray’s death and to completing a thorough analysis of the evidence gathered. The Justice Department remains committed to investigating allegations of excessive force by law enforcement officers and will continue to devote the resources required to ensure that all serious allegations of civil rights violations are thoroughly examined. The Department aggressively prosecutes criminal civil rights violations whenever there is sufficient evidence to do so.

Please see the attached letter signed by Attorney General Sessions and Director of National Intelligence Coats urging Congress to promptly reauthorize, in clean and permanent form, Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is set to sunset at the end of this year.

View the letter attached or below:

The Honorable Paul Ryan Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Mitch McConnell Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Charles E. Schumer Minority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510


Dear Speaker Ryan and Leaders McConnell, Pelosi and Schumer: We are writing to urge that the Congress promptly reauthorize, in clean and permanent form, Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), enacted by the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA), which is set to sunset at the end of this year.

Title VII of FISA allows the Intelligence Community, under a robust regime of oversight by all three branches of Government, to collect vital information about international terrorists, cyber actors, individuals and entities engaged in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and other important foreign intelligence targets located outside the United States. Reauthorizing this critical authority is the top legislative priority of the Department of Justice and the Intelligence Community. As publicly reported by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, information collected under one particular section of FAA, Section 702, produces significant foreign intelligence that is vital to protect the nation against international terrorism and other threats.

Section 702 permits the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence, under procedures approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, to authorize the acquisition of foreign intelligence information by targeting non-U.S. persons located outside the United States when such persons possess or are likely to communicate foreign intelligence information. At the same time, Section 702 provides a comprehensive regime of oversight by all three branches of Government to protect the privacy and civil liberties of U.S. persons. Section 702 may not be used to intentionally target a U.S. person located anywhere in the world, nor may the law be used to intentionally target any person, regardless of nationality, who is known to be located in the United States. The law requires the Intelligence Community to follow court approved targeting and minimization procedures designed to ensure compliance with the law's targeting restrictions and the requirements of the Fourth Amendment. The procedures are designed to protect the privacy of U.S. persons whose nonpublic information may be incidentally acquired.

The Department of Justice and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence conduct extensive oversight reviews of Section 702 activities and Title VII requires us to report to Congress on implementation and compliance twice a year. In addition, as demonstrated in numerous declassified court opinions and other materials, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court exercises rigorous independent oversight of activities conducted pursuant to Section 702 to ensure that incidents of non-compliance are addressed through appropriate remedial action.

As you are aware, we have conducted briefings outlining the utility and implementation of Section 702 for both Members and staff this year, and will continue to do so over the course of the next few months. We look forward to working with you to ensure the speedy enactment of legislation reauthorizing Title VII, without amendment beyond removing the sunset provision, to avoid any interruption in our use of these authorities to protect the American people.


Sincerely, Jefferson B. Sessions III
Attorney General

Daniel R. Coats
Director of National Intelligence

cc: The Honorable Devin Nunes, Chairman, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable Adam B. Schiff, Ranking Member, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable Richard Burr, Chairman, Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable Mark Warner, Vice Chairman, Select Committee on Intelligence The Honorable Bob Goodlatte, Chairman, Judiciary Committee
The Honorable John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member, Judiciary Committee
The Honorable Chuck Grassley, Chairman , Committee on the Judiciary
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein, Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary

Today, in Nashville, Tennessee, Chief District Court Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr. granted the parties’ motion to dismiss a civil rights case after the State of Tennessee reshaped services for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. People with intellectual or developmental disabilities are now eligible to receive services in community-integrated housing throughout the state. This case was filed under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act.

“We applaud the State’s efforts—and the efforts of families, caregivers, and advocates throughout this case—to develop services that help assure safety and appropriate care for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities who were in the State’s care,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “We also recognize and appreciate the continued collaboration of important stakeholders in resolving this case, including People First of Tennessee and the Parent Guardian Associations of Clover Bottom and Greene Valley Developmental Centers. Together, we have pursued this case to enforce the important rights of people with disabilities and to treat these individuals with dignity.”

“This case demonstrates the United States Attorney’s Office’s commitment to safeguard the civil rights of all Tennesseans, especially those of its most vulnerable citizens,” said United States Attorney Mark H. Wildasin. “Because of the concerted efforts of many, the State has fulfilled its obligation to train physicians and other professionals who care for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities, provided access to healthcare through the State’s Medicaid program, and moved its residents to community-based care facilities.”

United States originally brought this case, United States v. Tennessee, No. 3:95-1227 (E.D. Tenn.), to address conditions of care for residents of Clover Bottom Developmental Center, Greene Valley Developmental Center, and Nat. T. Winston Center and the right to receive care in integrated settings. The State and the United States, along with two intervenors, settled the case through an agreement that called for both improved conditions within the centers and the integration of residents into community settings. Shortly after the initiation of the suit, the State closed Nat T. Winston Center. The State closed Clover Bottom Center in November 2015 and Greene Valley Developmental Centers in May 2017. In 2015, the Court approved an Exit Plan designed to resolve this litigation by bringing to fruition planned community improvements in respite care, individual support planning, and other areas. The State has now completed that Exit Plan and thereby met its requirements to dismiss the case.

For more information on the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt.

An indictment charging the owners of several Austin, Texas area restaurants with federal tax crimes was unsealed today, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

The indictment charges Michael Herman and his wife, Cynthia Herman, with conspiring to defraud the United States by impairing the legitimate functions of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and filing false individual income tax returns for tax years 2010 through 2012. Michael Herman is also charged with filing false corporate tax returns for 2010 through 2012.

According to the indictment, the Hermans owned Cindy’s Gone Hog Wild, a restaurant and bar in Travis County, Texas, which filed corporate tax returns, and two restaurants in Bastrop County, Texas, Cindy’s Downtown and Hasler Brothers Steakhouse, which reported their income and expenses on the Hermans’ personal tax returns. The indictment alleges that the Hermans deposited only a portion of the restaurants’ cash receipts into their business bank accounts and reported only those deposits to their tax return preparer. The Hermans also allegedly paid for personal expenses out of the business accounts, including repair of their swimming pool, utilities for their home and the salary of a household employee. The indictment charges that the Hermans filed false tax returns that underreported their income and falsely deducted personal expenses paid out of the corporate account as business expenses.

If convicted, the Hermans face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge and three years in prison on each of the false return charges. They also face a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

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

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg thanked agents of the IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Robert A. Kemins and David Zisserson, who are prosecuting the case. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas for their substantial assistance.

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

The Justice Department will not pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against the Mobile Police Department officer (the Officer) involved in the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Michael Moore, the Department announced today.

Officials from the Civil Rights Division, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) spoke today with representatives of the Moore family to inform them of this determination. The Department makes this decision because the evidence obtained through the course of a rigorous investigation is insufficient to prove that the Officer willfully used excessive force resulting in Moore’s death.

The Department devoted significant time and resources to investigating the events surrounding Moore’s death on June 13, 2016, in Mobile, Alabama. A team of experienced career federal prosecutors from the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney’s Office reviewed evidence obtained by the FBI and state investigators to determine whether the Officer violated any federal laws, focusing on the application of 18 U.S.C. § 242, a federal criminal civil rights statute that prohibits certain types of official misconduct. They conducted a detailed and lengthy analysis of numerous materials, including police reports, law enforcement accounts, witness statements, affidavits of witnesses, dispatch logs, physical evidence reports, the autopsy report, photographs, videos of some portions of the incident, and conducted additional witness interviews.

The evidence developed during the investigation indicated that on June 13, 2016, the Officer conducted a traffic stop after Moore made an erratic turn. Moore had two passengers in the vehicle at the time of the traffic stop. Moore was unable to produce a driver’s license and instead provided the Officer with a license number. After running the information, the Officer learned that Moore provided him with a false driver’s license number and that the vehicle Moore was driving was reported stolen. The Officer asked Moore to step out of the car and Moore complied.

There are conflicting eyewitness accounts as to what happened once Moore exited the vehicle and these critical events were not captured on any video. The eyewitnesses to the shooting included residents and motorists traveling through the area in their vehicles. Both passengers inside Moore’s vehicle acknowledged that they saw Moore with a firearm prior to the shooting. One passenger observed a firearm in Moore’s car seat before encountering the Officer, and the other saw a firearm in Moore’s waistband once he stepped outside the vehicle. Some eyewitnesses describe Moore pulling up his pants or having his hands by his waist immediately prior to the shooting. Others describe Moore “snatching” his hand downward or “flinching” at the time of the shooting. Still others only saw Moore’s hands for a portion of the encounter or could not see them at all.

According to the Officer, Moore exited the vehicle with a cell phone in his right hand. The Officer asked Moore to put the cell phone down and when Moore bent down to place the phone on the ground, the Officer saw a gun in Moore’s waistband. The Officer commanded Moore not to reach for the gun, but Moore did so, at which time the Officer shot Moore causing Moore to fall to the ground. While on the ground, the Officer again commanded Moore not to reach for the gun. However, Moore reached for the gun, and the Officer shot him again.

Moore was transported to the University of South Alabama Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. At the hospital, emergency personnel recovered a firearm under Moore’s right hip in the waistband of his clothing. The serial number of the firearm recovered from Moore’s body matched the serial number of a firearm reported stolen earlier that day. An autopsy was conducted and determined that Moore died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds.

Under the applicable federal criminal civil rights laws, prosecutors must establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, that an officer “willfully” deprived an individual of a Constitutional right, meaning that the officer acted with the deliberate and specific intent to do something the law forbids. This is the highest standard of intent imposed by the law. Neither accident, mistake, fear, negligence, nor bad judgment is sufficient to establish a willful federal criminal civil rights violation.

Given the totality of the circumstances, and conflicting eye-witness testimony, the government cannot disprove the Officer’s claim that he believed that Moore was reaching for a firearm, that he feared for his life, and that he made the split-second decision to defend it. Therefore, after a careful and thorough review, a team of experienced career federal prosecutors determined that insufficient evidence exists to prove the Officer willfully violated any federal criminal civil rights statutes. Accordingly, the investigation into this incident has been closed.

The Department of Justice today announced additional priority consideration criteria for FY 2017 Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) grants. Jurisdictions for FY 2017 were notified that their applications would receive additional points in the application scoring process if their agencies cooperate with federal law enforcement to address illegal immigration, ensuring that federal immigration authorities have the full ability to enforce immigration laws and keep our communities safe.

“Cities and states that cooperate with federal law enforcement make all of us safer by helping remove dangerous criminals from our communities,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “This cooperation is supported by the vast majority of the American people, and jurisdictions with these policies in place should be acknowledged for their commitment to ending violent crime, including violent crime stemming from illegal immigration. Today, the Justice Department announced it will recognize jurisdictions that commit to the rule of law by awarding additional points in the application scoring process for COPS Office grants. My hope is that this recognition will further incentivize every jurisdiction in America to collaborate with federal law enforcement and help us make this country safer.”

Each year, as the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks approaches, the country is reminded of the unprecedented losses suffered. The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) acknowledges the important milestones reached in providing support to victims and families and is especially aware of the lives that continue to be affected. The anniversary is a time for the VCF to reaffirm its commitment to the important work that still lies ahead, and to maintain strong and steady progress as the VCF seeks to award compensation to those who continue to suffer. Today, the VCF releases its statistics report and informs the community on its outreach efforts.

The VCF’s statistics report details the enormous strides the VCF has made since its reopening in 2011 and its reauthorization in 2015. As of Aug. 31, the VCF has rendered over 14,000 compensation determinations, including initial awards on new claims, and revised awards on claims with amendments or appeals. These determinations total over $3 billion awarded to VCF claimants, which exceeds the original $2.775 billion authorized by Congress when the VCF reopened in 2011. In all, the VCF has compensated claims from more than 11,500 responders to the attacks in New York City, at the Pentagon, and at the Shanksville site, as well as more than 2,400 others who lived, worked, or traveled through areas of lower Manhattan and suffered physical health conditions as a result of their exposure to debris and toxins generated by the attacks and their aftermath.

“I am keenly aware that each and every one of these claims represents a life forever-changed,” said VCF Special Master Rupa Bhattacharyya. “I am also aware of the tremendous need for compensation that exists in the 9/11 community. We are committed to making improvements wherever possible in order to process claims as quickly and efficiently as possible, without compromising accuracy, thoroughness, or fairness. I am pleased to report that we continue to make progress in rendering decisions on the oldest claims, and are now issuing awards on claims filed in the later part of 2015. Our efforts to accelerate the speed of claims processing are ongoing and an absolute priority.”

The VCF is also increasing its efforts to identify those who may be eligible for compensation because they suffer physical health effects as a result of their exposure but are not aware of the VCF, and is working with partners in the community to extend its reach. Information regarding the VCF was recently mailed to the enrolled membership of the World Trade Center Health Program. The VCF is participating in several events this week to increase awareness of and answer questions regarding the VCF. These include a Facebook Live Event hosted by 9/11 Health Watch, meetings of the WTC Health Program Responder and Survivor Steering Committees, a town hall hosted by United We Stand of New York and the Voices of 9/11 16th Annual Day of Remembrance Information Forum.

VCF Special Master Bhattacharyya added, “The anniversary is always a time to look back and commemorate the lives lost or forever changed by 9/11. It is also a time to look forward and assure the members of the 9/11 community that they are not forgotten, and that as a nation, we are committed to providing help to those who need it. I’m honored to be in a position to so directly serve this community, and, along with my dedicated and talented team, remain deeply committed to ongoing progress.”

The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund was created to provide compensation for any individual (or a personal representative of a deceased individual) who suffered physical harm or was killed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of Sept. 11, 2001 or the debris removal efforts that took place in the immediate aftermath of those crashes. The original VCF operated from 2001 to 2004. On Jan. 2, 2011, President Obama signed into law the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 (Zadroga Act). Title II of the Zadroga Act reactivated the Sept. 11th Victim Compensation Fund. The reactivated VCF opened in October 2011 and was authorized to operate for a period of five years, ending in October 2016. On Dec. 18, 2015, President Obama signed into law a bill reauthorizing the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010. This included the reauthorization of the VCF. The new law extends the VCF for five years, allowing individuals to submit their claims until Dec. 18, 2020. The law also includes some important changes to the VCF’s policies and procedures for evaluating claims and calculating each claimant’s loss.

For additional information about how to file a claim, please visit the “How to File a Claim” page on the VCF’s website at www.vcf.gov and information on policies and procedures can be obtained at https://www.vcf.gov/pdf/VCFPolicy.pdf. If you have any questions about the claim form, the website, or the VCF process, please contact the VCF’s toll-free Helpline at 1-855-885-1555.

Saturday is the 60th anniversary of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. On September 9, 1957, President Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957, creating the Civil Rights Division. The 1957 Act was the first civil rights law passed since Reconstruction, and was a first step leading to the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act the following year, and numerous other civil rights laws enacted in the years since that are enforced by the Civil Rights Division.

“Since its founding, the Civil Rights Division’s efforts have helped transform the social landscape of our country and touched the lives of millions of Americans,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “Today, the Division remains at the center of the effort to achieve equal justice and opportunity for all and to protect the most vulnerable members of our society.”

At its inception, the Division focused on protecting the voting rights of African-American voters and prosecuting cases of criminal interference with civil rights. Division attorneys prosecuted the defendants accused of murdering three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964, and were involved in the investigations of the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Medgar Evers.

The Division today enforces dozens of federal statutes that prohibit discrimination in employment, education, housing, credit, voting, access to public accommodations and public facilities, and access to government-funded services. While racial discrimination was the motivating purpose and central focus of the first civil rights laws enacted by Congress, Congress has included in statutes enforced by the Division protections against many types of discrimination, including not only race and color but national origin, sex, disability, religion, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and military status.

The Division has a leading role in combatting hate crimes, human trafficking, and excessive use of force by law enforcement or prison officers. The Division’s role also encompasses preserving the right to vote; protecting students and employees against discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; protecting the rights of persons with disabilities to equal access to public accommodations and services; upholding the rights of persons in institutions to constitutional and humane treatment; protecting the rights of religious communities to construct places of worship; and enforcing other important civil rights protections.

“Several generations of dedicated attorneys and employees of the Civil Rights Division have built an institution that all Americans can be proud of,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “But this work is far from finished. We will continue to work tirelessly towards a country that fulfills its promise of equal justice, equal opportunity, and human dignity for every single American.”

More information about the Civil Rights Division, including its history, how it is organized, and its recent cases and activities, are available at https://www.justice.gov/crt/about-division-overview.

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

Glenn Guillory was charged on Dec. 3, 2014, in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of California.  Guillory was convicted on April 17, 2017, of conspiring to rig bids at real estate foreclosure auctions in Contra Costa County.  Today, Guillory was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison and to serve three years of supervised release.  In addition to his term of imprisonment, Guillory was ordered to pay a criminal fine of $20,000.

Between June 2008 and January 2011, Guillory conspired with others not to bid against one another for selected properties, instead designating a winning bidder to win the property at the auction.  The members of the conspiracy then held second, private auctions to award the properties to members of the conspiracy and determine payoffs for those who had agreed not to bid against one another at the public auctions.  The private auctions often took place at or near the courthouse steps where the public auctions were held. 

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

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

The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement with the owners and manager of three Edmonds, Washington, apartment buildings to resolve a lawsuit filed earlier this year alleging that those landlords refused to rent their apartments to families with children, in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

“The Fair Housing Act prohibits apartment owners and managers from denying housing to families because they have children,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We will continue to vigorously enforce the Fair Housing Act’s prohibition of discrimination against families with children.”

“Equal access to housing is essential for all Americans, including families with young children,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes of the Western District of Washington. “Particularly in our tight housing market, landlords must follow the law and make units available without discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or familial status.”
 

“No family should be denied a place to live simply because they have a child,” said Anna Maria Farias, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “HUD will continue to work with the Justice Department to ensure that property owners comply with their obligations under the nation’s fair housing laws.”

The three apartment buildings that are the subject of the settlement are located at 201 5th Ave. N., 621 5th Ave. S., and 401 Pine Street in Edmonds, Washington. They are owned and managed by defendants Debbie A. Appleby, Apple One, LLC, Apple Two, LLC, and Apple Three, LLC, of Stanwood, Washington. Under the settlement, the defendants will:

• Pay a total monetary settlement of $95,000, comprised of:

$35,000 in damages to a family that they turned away because the family had a small child;

$35,000 that will be used to compensate other families that were harmed by defendants’ practices; and

$25,000 as a civil penalty to the United States;

• Adopt non-discriminatory policies and practices that ensure compliance with Fair Housing Act; and

• Submit to record keeping and monitoring requirements for the three-year period of the settlement agreement.

Today’s settlement resolves a complaint filed by the department in March 2017 which alleged that in March 2014 defendant Appleby told a woman seeking an apartment for herself, her husband and their one-year-old child that the apartment buildings were “adult only.” The complaint also alleged that defendants advertised their apartments as being in “adult buildings.” The family filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), which conducted an investigation, issued a charge of discrimination against the defendants, and referred the case to the Justice Department

Any individuals who believe they were discriminated against by the defendants because they have children should contact the Civil Rights Division at 1-800-896-7743, Option 96.

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.usdoj.gov/crt and https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/civil-rights. 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.

A federal district court in Shreveport, Louisiana has permanently barred defendants Angelina Adams aka Angelina Morris and Angie’s Tax Service LLC from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The defendants consented to the permanent injunction after the government filed a complaint.

The complaint alleged that Adams of Princeton, Louisiana and her tax preparation business, Angie’s Tax Service LLC, located in Ringgold, Louisiana, repeatedly and continually prepared tax returns that understated liabilities and overstated refunds. Their alleged schemes included fabricating Schedule Cs, Profit or Loss from Business, to secure bogus earned income tax credits; deducting false employee business expenses and moving expenses on Schedule As, Itemized Deductions; and claiming unsupported education credits.

In one example cited in the complaint, Angie’s Tax Service prepared a customer’s returns to report over $25,000 and $20,000 in Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business, losses for an electrician business in the 2013 and 2014 tax years, respectively. The complaint alleged that the customer had no such business. In another example, the complaint alleged that Adams prepared a customer’s return to report $24,484 in unreimbursed employee business expenses although the customer incurred no out-of-pocket expenses for her job. As alleged in the complaint, the use of fraudulent unreimbursed business expenses by the defendants may have generated more than $10 million in fraudulent deductions.

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

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

Officer Conspired to Cover Up Beating By Falsifying Records and Lying to Investigators

Acting United States Attorney Corey Amundson and Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced that a former supervisory correctional officer at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana, pleaded guilty today to participating in the beating of a handcuffed and shackled inmate, conspiring to cover up his misconduct by falsifying official records and lying to internal investigators about what happened.

John Sanders, 30, of Marksville, Louisiana, admitted during his plea hearing that he punched the inmate repeatedly in the head in retaliation for an earlier incident; that he witnessed other officers use excessive force against the inmate and failed to intervene; that he conspired with other officers to cover up the beating by engaging in a variety of obstructive acts; and that he personally falsified official prison records in order to cover up the beating.

Scotty Kennedy, 48, of Beebe, Arkansas, pled guilty in November 2016 for his role in the beating and cover up. Two co-defendants, Daniel Davis and James Savoy, remain scheduled for trial in January of 2018.

“A former correctional supervisor has admitted abusing a person in state custody and then lying to cover up his on-duty misconduct,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute correctional officers who use their official position to commit and to cover up violations of federal criminal law.”

Acting U.S. Attorney Corey Amundson stated, “Our office remains committed to prosecuting violations of the federal criminal civil rights laws whenever sufficient evidence exists to do so. No one is above the law.”

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

Pharmaceutical Manufacturer Novo Nordisk Inc. will pay $58.65 million to resolve allegations that the company failed to comply with the FDA-mandated Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) for its Type II diabetes medication Victoza, the Justice Department announced today. The resolution includes disgorgement of $12.15 million for alleged violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) from 2010 to 2012 and a payment of $46.5 million for alleged violations of the False Claims Act (FCA) from 2010 to 2014. Novo Nordisk is a subsidiary of Novo Nordisk U.S. Holdings Inc., which is a subsidiary of Novo Nordisk A/S of Denmark. Novo Nordisk’s U.S. headquarters is in Plainsboro, New Jersey.

“Today’s resolution demonstrates the Department of Justice’s continued commitment to ensuring that drug manufacturers comply with the law,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “When a drug manufacturer fails to share accurate risk information with doctors and patients, it deprives physicians of information vital to medical decision-making.”

In a civil complaint filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia asserting claims under the FDCA, the government alleged that, at the time of Victoza’s approval in 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required a REMS to mitigate the potential risk in humans of a rare form of cancer called Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma (MTC) associated with the drug. The REMS required Novo Nordisk to provide information regarding Victoza’s potential risk of MTC to physicians. A manufacturer that fails to comply with the requirements of the REMS, including requirements to communicate accurate risk information, renders the drug misbranded under the law.

As alleged in the complaint, some Novo Nordisk sales representatives gave information to physicians that created the false or misleading impression that the Victoza REMS-required message was erroneous, irrelevant, or unimportant. The complaint further alleges that Novo Nordisk failed to comply with the REMS by creating the false or misleading impression about the Victoza REMS-required risk message that violated provisions of the FDCA and led some physicians to be unaware of the potential risks when prescribing Victoza.

As alleged in the government’s complaint, after a survey in 2011 showed that half of primary care doctors polled were unaware of the potential risk of MTC associated with the drug, the FDA required a modification to the REMS to increase awareness of the potential risk. Rather than appropriately implementing the modification, the complaint alleges that Novo Nordisk instructed its sales force to provide statements to doctors that obscured the risk information and failed to comply with the REMS modification. Novo Nordisk has agreed to disgorge $12.15 million in profits derived from its unlawful conduct in violation of the FDCA.

“Novo Nordisk’s actions unnecessarily put vulnerable patients at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips for the District of Columbia. “We are committed to holding companies accountable for violating the integrity of the FDA’s efforts to ensure that doctors and patients have accurate information that allows them to make appropriate decisions about which drugs to use in their care. Working with the FDA and other law enforcement partners, we have sent a strong signal to the drug industry today.”

“Novo Nordisk Inc. sales representatives misled physicians by failing to accurately disclose a potential life threatening side effect of a prescription drug, and needlessly increased risks to patients being treated with this drug,” said Assistant Director in Charge Andrew W. Vale of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “The FBI is committed to ensuring that the private industry provides honest and accurate risk information to the public and will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to investigate companies who do not comply with FDA-mandated policies.”

“We need to trust that pharmaceutical companies truthfully represent their products’ potential risks,” said Special Agent in Charge Nick DiGiulio for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “We will continue to work with our partners to ensure federal health care dollars are spent only on drugs that are marketed honestly.”

Novo Nordisk will pay an additional $46.5 million to the federal government and the states to resolve claims under the FCA and state false claims acts. This portion of the settlement resolves allegations that Novo Nordisk caused the submission of false claims from 2010 to 2014 to federal health care programs for Victoza by arming its sales force with messages that could create a false or misleading impression with physicians that the Victoza REMS-required message about the potential risk of MTC associated with Victoza was erroneous, irrelevant, or unimportant and by encouraging the sale to and use of Victoza by adult patients who did not have Type II diabetes. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved Victoza as safe and effective for use by adult patients who do not have Type II diabetes.

As a result of today’s FCA settlement, the federal government will receive $43,129,026 and state Medicaid programs will receive $3,320,963. The Medicaid program is funded jointly by the state and federal governments.

The FCA settlement resolves seven lawsuits filed under the whistleblower provision of the federal FCA, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The civil lawsuits are captioned as follows: United States, et al. ex rel. Kennedy, v. Novo A/S, et al., No. 13-cv-01529 (D.D.C.), United States, et al. ex rel. Dastous, et al. v. Novo Nordisk, No. 11-cv-01662 (D.D.C), United States, et al., ex rel. Ferrara and Kelling v Novo Nordisk, Inc., et al., No. 1:11-cv-00074 (D.D.C.), United States, et al., ex rel. Myers v. Novo Nordisk, Inc., No. 11-cv-1596 (D.D.C.), United States, et al. ex rel Stepe v. Novo Nordisk, Inc., No. 13-cv-221 (D.D.C.), United States et al. ex rel Doe, et al. v. Novo Nordisk, Inc., et al., No. 1:17-00791 (D.D.C.), and United States ex rel. Smith, et al. v. Novo Nordisk, Inc., Civ. Action No. 16-1605 (D.D.C.). The amount to be recovered by the private parties has not been determined.

The settlements were the result of a coordinated effort among the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Commercial Litigation Branch, with assistance from the FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel. The investigation was conducted by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the FBI, HHS-OIG, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Office of Personnel Management, Office of the Inspector General.

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information on the Commercial Litigation Branch’s Fraud Section, visit https://www.justice.gov/civil/fraud-section. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, to resolve allegations that the Township violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) when the Township denied zoning approval to allow the Bensalem Masjid to build a mosque on three adjoining parcels of land in the Township.

“Federal law protects the rights of all religious communities to build places of worship free from discrimination,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This agreement ensures that all citizens of Bensalem Township may freely exercise this important civil right.”

The agreement resolves a lawsuit that the Department filed in July 2016. A separate agreement resolving a similar lawsuit brought by the Bensalem Masjid against Bensalem Township has also been reached.

The United States’ complaint alleged that the Bensalem Township’s denial of a variance imposed a substantial burden on the Bensalem Masjid’s religious exercise, treated the Bensalem Masjid less favorably than the township treated nonreligious assemblies and discriminated against the Bensalem Masjid on the basis of religion. The complaint also alleged that the township placed unreasonable limitations on religious assemblies generally through its land use regulations.

As part of the agreement, the Bensalem Masjid will be permitted to use the three adjoining properties for the purpose of building a mosque. The Township has also agreed to review and amend its zoning ordinance to comply with the requirements of RLUIPA. Additionally, the Township has agreed that it will advise its officials and employees about the requirements of RLUIPA, among other remedial measures.

RLUIPA contains multiple provisions prohibiting religious discrimination and protecting against unjustified burdens on religious exercise. Persons who believe they have been subjected to discrimination in land use or zoning decisions may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Hotline at (855) 281-3339 or the Civil Rights Division Housing and Civil Enforcement Section at (800) 896-7743.

More information about RLUIPA, including questions and answers about the law and other documents, may be found at http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/hce/rluipaexplain.php.

Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations LLC (BEE), a privately held limited liability company headquartered in Houston, Texas, was sentenced today on eight felony violations of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) and one misdemeanor count of violating the Clean Water Act before the Honorable U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The charges stemmed from events causing an explosion in November 2012 on an offshore oil production platform that resulted in the deaths of three workers and injuries to several others. This case is also related to the recent conviction of Wood Group PSN in the Western District of Louisiana for their role in operations on the platform.

In accordance with a plea agreement, the Court ordered BEE to pay a $4.2 million monetary penalty. However, due to BEE’s bankruptcy, the $4.2 million agreed monetary penalty will be a general unsecured claim against BEE’s bankruptcy estate entitled to a pro rata distribution from the trust with other allowed unsecured claims against BEE. On Aug. 11, 2015, four of BEE’s creditors filed an involuntary chapter 7 bankruptcy case against BEE in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The case converted to a voluntary chapter 11 case shortly thereafter. Under a Chapter 11 plan of liquidation confirmed on July 13, 2016, BEE’s assets were transferred into two trusts, and a trustee will administer distributions to creditors from funds in one of the trusts.

According to the court documents, beginning on Nov. 3, 2012, after pipeline repairs, BEE undertook platform repairs to include replacing equipment and installing a divert valve on the platform’s Lease Automatic Custody Transfer (LACT) unit and tying it into the sump line piping. The LACT system was the last point in the production process prior to the oil leaving West Delta 32 and entering the sales transmission pipeline.

Some of the construction projects on West Delta 32 required “hot work,” or welding, grinding, and/or any other activity that may produce a spark. Hot work on an oil production facility is a hazardous activity capable of causing injury or death. Title 30 of the Code of Federal Regulations requires that written permission, commonly referred to as a “hot work permit,” be issued by the welding supervisor or designated person in charge (PIC) before any hot work on a production platform begin. At a maximum, a hot work permit is valid for 12 hours. Once a hot work permit expires, all the precautionary steps should be complete before a new hot work permit is issued.

Starting on or about Nov. 8, 2012, Christopher Srubar, a co-defendant and Wood Group PSN employee and West Delta 32 PIC, issued hot work permits for the construction work related to the West Delta 32 projects. However, Srubar stopped issuing hot work permits and conducting all-hands safety meetings and instead delegated the permitting to the Wood Group PSN “C” operator. Neither Srubar nor the “C” operator conducted a daily pre-work inspection with the construction crew, staffed by Grand Isle Shipyards (GIS), nor did they designate a fire watch for the hot work areas.

On or about Nov. 15, 2012, hot work commenced on the LACT unit with the knowledge of co-defendants Don Moss and Curtis Dantin. Moss and Dantin did not ask Srubar if he completed a safety check of the area. In addition, they did not complete a pre-work inspection or issue a warning to the GIS crews to step welding on the sump line piping. Instead, Dantin instructed some of the crew to begin the welding of the sump line piping for the LACT unit upgrade. The single hot work permit the “C” operator issued for Nov. 16 did not state that the LACT unit or sump line piping as areas that were safe for hot work.

Workers started to make cuts to the sump line piping leading to the Wet Oil Tank, causing liquid to spill from the piping. At approximately 9:00 a.m., hydrocarbon vapors that escaped from the Wet Oil Tank ignited, causing a series of explosions in the three oil tanks on the platform. The fire and explosions resulted in the deaths of GIS employees Avelino Tajonera, Elroy Corporal, and Jerome Malagapo. Other workers were seriously burned and physically injured.

BEE admitted that its employees and agents were negligent in the manner in which they planned and executed the hot work on West Delta 32 platform, and that the acts of their agents and employees violated the regulations in 30 C.F.R. § 250.113 promulgated under the OCSLA.

Co-defendant GIS faces manslaughter charges, and Dantin, Srubar, and Moss face criminal violations of the Clean Water Act in the Eastern District of Louisiana. The OCSLA charges against GIS, Moss, Srubar, and Dantin, were dismissed by the district court and are pending an interlocutory appeal by the government to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, argued on May 1, 2017.

The U.S. Department of the Interior-Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-CID conducted the investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Greenfield and Nicholas Moses, and Senior Trial Attorney Kenneth Nelson of the Environment and Natural Resources Division prosecuted the case.

The National Center for Disaster Fraud reminds the public to be aware of and report any instances of alleged fraudulent activity related to relief operations and funding for victims. Unfortunately, criminals can exploit disasters, such as Hurricane Harvey, for their own gain by sending fraudulent communications through email or social media and by creating phony websites designed to solicit contributions.

Tips should be reported to the National Center for Disaster Fraud at (866) 720-5721. The line is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Additionally, e-mails can be sent to disaster@leo.gov, and information can be faxed to (225) 334-4707.

The U.S. Department of Justice established the National Center for Disaster Fraud to investigate, prosecute, and deter fraud in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when billions of dollars in federal disaster relief poured into the Gulf Coast region. Its mission has expanded to include suspected fraud from any natural or manmade disaster. More than 30 federal, state, and local agencies participate in the National Center for Disaster Fraud, which allows the center to act as a centralized clearinghouse of information related to disaster relief fraud.

The public should remember to perform due diligence before giving contributions to anyone soliciting donations or individuals offering to provide assistance to those affected by the hurricane and tornadoes. Solicitations can originate from social media, e-mails, websites, door-to-door collections, flyers, mailings, telephone calls, and other similar methods.

Before making a donation of any kind, consumers should adhere to certain guidelines, including:

• Do not respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages, because they may contain computer viruses.
• Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as members of charitable organizations or officials asking for donations via e-mail or social networking sites.
• Beware of organizations with copy-cat names similar to but not exactly the same as those of reputable charities.
• Rather than follow a purported link to a website, verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by utilizing various Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the group’s existence and its nonprofit status.
• Be cautious of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
• To ensure contributions are received and used for intended purposes, make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf.
• Do not be pressured into making contributions; reputable charities do not use such tactics.
• Be aware of whom you are dealing with when providing your personal and financial information. Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.
• Avoid cash donations if possible. Pay by credit card or write a check directly to the charity. Do not make checks payable to individuals.
• Legitimate charities do not normally solicit donations via money transfer services. Most legitimate charities’ websites end in .org rather than .com.

A fishing vessel company that operated in and around American Samoa was convicted and sentenced today for maintaining false and incomplete records relating to the discharge of oil and garbage, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Environment and Natural Resources Division and United States Attorney Channing D. Phillips. The company, Yuh Fa Fishery (Vanuatu) Co. Ltd., owned the Fishing Vessel (“F/V”) Yuh Fa No. 201, the vessel that was responsible for the pollution.

Yuh Fa Fishery (Vanuatu) Co. Ltd., admitted that its engineers failed to document the illegal dumping of oily bilge water into the waters of the South Pacific Ocean without the use of required pollution prevention equipment. The Chief Engineer onboard the F/V Yuh Fa No. 201 acknowledged that there had been discharge of oil to the sea that caused a visible sheen upon the water and that he did not log this discharge in the vessel’s Oil Record Book, as required by law. The company also admitted that its engineers made several modifications using flexible hoses to the vessel’s piping system, which allowed oily bilge water and oil sludge to be discharged directly overboard.

The company further admitted that between June 2013 and June 2016, senior engineers regularly failed to accurately record the transfer and disposal of oil waste in the vessel’s Oil Record Book. The vessel’s captains also failed to properly maintain a Garbage Record Book, and Yuh Fa Fishery (Vanuatu) Co. Ltd., was unable to accurately account for the storing, sorting, and disposal of garbage during the vessel’s extended fishing trips. The Coast Guard relies on such records to determine whether vessels are illegally dumping oil and garbage at sea. As a result, tons of oil sludge, waste oil, oily bilge water, and garbage produced by the vessel remain unaccounted for.

The company pleaded guilty to two felony violations of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, 33 U.S.C. § 1908(a), for failing to accurately maintain an Oil Record Book and a Garbage Record Book. Under the terms of the plea agreement, the company will pay a total fine of $2.5 million, which includes a community service payment of $625,000 for use in the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa. Yuh Fa Fishery (Vanuatu) Co. Ltd., will also serve a 5-year period of probation.

The case against Yuh Fa Fishery (Vanuatu) Co. Ltd., was investigated by U.S. Coast Guard personnel in American Samoa and Honolulu, Hawaii. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Stephen Da Ponte of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Frederick W. Yette of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.

An Eastern Iowa businessman who failed to pay over employment taxes and violated the Clean Water Act by causing ethanol to be discharged into a tributary of the Maquoketa River, was sentenced today in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to 15 months in federal prison, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Sean R. Berry of the Northern District of Iowa.

According to documents filed with the court, Randy Less was the majority owner, general partner, and general manager of Permeate Refining Inc., an ethanol production business in Hopkinton. Less had the responsibility to collect, truthfully account for, and pay over to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) federal employment, social security, and Medicare taxes withheld from his employees’ wages. At the sentencing hearing, the district court found Less was responsible for $654,921 in tax loss to the government because he did not account for and pay over employment taxes for Permeate during 2009 through 2012. Less also knowingly discharged or caused to be discharged ethanol, a pollutant, from a point source into a water of the United States without a permit to do so.

“Those who violate their legal obligation to pay over employee withholdings are stealing from the U.S. Treasury and taking advantage of law-abiding businesses,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg. “Employment tax enforcement will continue to be a top priority for the Tax Division.”

“Mr. Less’s failure to pay over employment taxes for years was an attempt to dodge his obligations to his employees and to the United States. Our system and our citizens depend upon employers like Mr. Less to be honest and pay what they owe in employment taxes,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Berry. “Additionally, his pollution of an Iowa waterway is a serious matter and this prosecution demonstrates our commitment to protecting our state’s environment.”

“Illegal discharges of unpermitted wastewater into rivers and streams threaten public health, wildlife and water quality,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Justin Oesterreich of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Iowa. “Enforcing the laws that protect our waters from pollution is an important way EPA safeguards the health of communities nationwide and ensures a level playing field for businesses that follow the rules.”

“There are often multiple victims associated with employment tax fraud to include the government and the employees,” said Special Agent in Charge Karl Stiften of IRS Criminal Investigation. “Employers have a responsibility to withhold the proper amount of taxes and pay those taxes over to the IRS.”

In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand ordered Less to serve two years of supervised release, fined Less $10,000 and ordered him to pay $8,673.30 in costs of prosecution.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and Acting U.S. Attorney Berry commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Vavricek of the Northern District of Iowa and Trial Attorney Matthew Hoffman of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

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

Nationally representative studies conclude that nearly 10 percent of older Americans have experienced some form of financial exploitation or fraud in the past year, with some experts asserting that financial exploitation is the most common form of elder abuse. With 10,000 Americans turning 65 each day, the population of Americans who likely will be exposed to elder fraud and abuse is growing significantly.

The financial loss to older Americans is estimated in the billions of dollars, without accounting for costs to family members and society. Many older victims of fraud or financial exploitation also experience a diminished quality of life and increased mortality.

The Department of Justice is making assertive efforts to interrupt the scourge of financial exploitation and fraud against older Americans. As part of these efforts, the Department is funding the National White Collar Crime Center (https://www.nw3c.org/) to enhance the ability of state and local law enforcement to respond effectively to complex elder fraud cases.

In announcing those efforts, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said:

“The Department of Justice is committed to protecting all Americans from fraud and exploitation. Few things are more despicable than defrauding vulnerable persons. We have to do a better job of addressing this problem. This training will equip our partners in state and local law enforcement to ensure that our seniors receive justice and the criminals who defraud them receive consequences. I applaud the communities chosen for this training and look forward to seeing their results.”

Through carefully crafted programs, the National White Collar Crime Center will provide training in eight selected communities, with up to 100 law enforcement officers per community, on Financial Crimes against Seniors. This training, developed by the National White Collar Crime Center, will reach up to 800 law enforcement officers, who in turn will share what they have learned with their fellow officers.

The eight communities selected for this highly sought after training are:

1. Wilmington, Delaware (Delaware Department of Justice)
2. Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota (Minnesota Chiefs Association & Minnesota Sheriff’s Association)
3. Denmark, Tennessee (Madison County Sheriff’s Office)
4. Topeka, Kansas (State of Kansas Office of Attorney General)
5. Hidalgo County, Texas (Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office)
6. Columbia, South Carolina (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED))
7. Ada, Oklahoma (Council of Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET))
8. King County, Washington (King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office)

In addition, the Department of Justice, through its Elder Justice Initiative, is working on multiple other fronts to protect older Americans from financial exploitation and fraud, as well as other forms of elder abuse.

The Department continues to prosecute aggressively mass mailing fraud schemes, such as lottery and sweepstakes scams, many of which are international in nature and target seniors. The Department also launched 10 regional Elder Justice Task Forces across the country to enhance the ability of federal, state, and local authorities to work together to combat elder financial fraud and to pursue those nursing homes that provide grossly substandard care to their Medicare and Medicaid residents (https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/task-forces).

The Department also actively supports state and local efforts to prevent and combat elder abuse by:

• Helping older victims and their families by connecting them to available resources, assistance, and information on its Elder Justice Website (https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/victims-families-caregivers);
• Advancing understanding of elder abuse through projects like the Elder Abuse Prevention Demonstration Project (www.justice.gov/elderjustice/pr/national-institute-justice-awards-funding-study-elder-abuse);
• Raising public awareness of elder abuse and financial exploitation through the Elder Justice website, webinars, and public meetings (https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/outreach); and
• Enhancing state and local efforts to combat and prevent elder abuse through the development and dissemination of training materials and resources for prosecutors, law enforcement, civil legal aid workers, victim specialists, and clinicians.

Check the Law Enforcement Webpage (https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/law-enforcement-1) periodically for these and other materials as they become available. More information about the Department of Justice’s elder justice efforts can be found on its Elder Justice Website at https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice.

NEW YORK, USA – Law enforcement officials, security and industry experts are meeting in New York to strengthen global partnerships against intellectual property (IP) crime.

Through a review of operational case studies, best practices and industry perspectives, the 11th annual International Law Enforcement IP Crime Conference also aims to shape effective enforcement strategies.

The two-day (28 and 29 August) event is co-hosted by INTERPOL, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), in partnership with UL (Underwriters Laboratories) and the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC).

“The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center is committed to targeting the illegal importation of counterfeit goods that threaten health and safety, wreak havoc on the U.S. economy and fund other types of criminality,” said Acting ICE Deputy Director Peter T. Edge.

“We are attacking transnational criminal organizations at all points in the global supply chain by working with our international partners to identify foreign manufacturers engaged in piracy and dismantle their production capabilities,” added Mr Edge.

Nearly 600 participants from more than 60 countries will focus on evolving crime trends in areas such as illicit trafficking on the Internet, as well as on protecting the public from potentially harmful products.

In this respect, more than 420 tonnes of illicit pharmaceutical and medical products worth approximately USD 21.8 million were recently seized during Operation Heera in West Africa. INTERPOL coordinated the operation which saw law enforcement forces collaborate with multi-agency stakeholders in the region.

“Combining our efforts on a global scale by involving all stakeholders from the public and the private sectors is the only way to get ahead of the ever-advancing criminals who make significant profits distributing products that are potentially harmful to public health,” said INTERPOL's Executive Director of Police Services, Tim Morris.

“With illicit markets expanding globally, INTERPOL’s role is fundamental in facilitating international efforts aimed at dismantling the transnational organized crime groups involved in illicit trafficking,” added Mr Morris.

INTERPOL’s Illicit Goods and Global Health programme encompasses all industry sectors and products affected by this serious organized crime area. It works with stakeholders to address a range of IP crimes which include illicit medicines, electronics, food and drink.

IACC President Bob Barchiesi said: “Counterfeiters do not operate within the confines of country borders and neither should we. The IACC believes that real, practical, effective and impactful solutions can only be produced through international cooperation by all parties.”

“Transnational IP crime groups continue to produce dangerous products at an alarming rate and on an industrialized scale, adapting quickly to changing circumstances,” said Keith Williams, UL President and CEO.

“The IP Crime Conference is a perfect example of one of the many tools that have been developed to stem the flow of illegal counterfeit products. This year’s conference will drive discussion about technologies and other solutions that diminish product counterfeiting,” added Mr Williams.

The last decade has seen the successful development of the International IP Crime Investigators College (IIPCIC), an INTERPOL initiative undertaken jointly with UL to further strengthen existing capacity building activities.

The online training platform is available in various languages and has evolved into a highly recognized learning tool for law enforcement globally, accessed by over 13,500 users from more than 150 countries.

Today, United States District Judge Mary S. Scriven of the Middle District of Florida sentenced Thomas Herris Sigler, III, 46, and William A. Dennis, 56, to serve 33 and 21 months incarceration, respectively. Sigler and Dennis both pled guilty to civil rights violations for their roles in attacking and intimidating an interracial couple in Port Richey, Florida. A third co-defendant, Pascual Carlos Pietri also pled guilty to the same charge and was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment on March 23, 2016. All three of the co-defendant’s sentences are to be followed by three years of supervised release. A fourth co-conspirator is now deceased.

According to the evidence presented in court proceedings and documents, in September 2012 an interracial couple moved in next door to Sigler and Dennis. Sigler and Dennis began regularly harassing the African-American male neighbor shortly after the couple moved in with racial slurs and derogatory statements. Then in mid-October 2012, Sigler physically attacked the African-American neighbor, while Dennis looked on and prevented another neighbor from intervening.

On Halloween night, Sigler and Dennis attended a party at the home of the fourth co-conspirator. The men made a plan to intimidate the couple into moving from their residence by burning a cross in their front yard. Using wood and tools from the fourth co-conspirator, Sigler and Dennis constructed a wooden cross, and Dennis poured gasoline on the cross. Dennis and Pietri carried the cross to the victims’ front yard, leaned it against their mailbox, and Dennis instructed Pietri set the cross on fire, which he did.

“The victims were attacked and threatened in their own neighborhood and home because of their race,” said John M. Gore, Acting Assistant Attorney for Civil Rights. “Such violence and intimidation has no place in our society, the Justice Department is committed to protecting the rights of all citizens, and will continue to vigorously prosecute individuals who commit such atrocious acts of hate.”

“Acts of intimidation and violence perpetrated against people because of their race, ethnicity, color, or creed are reprehensible,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Muldrow. “Individuals and families should have the right to live wherever they choose, without fear. Acts of hatred such as this simply cannot be tolerated and we will investigate and prosecute those who commit these crimes.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Josephine W. Thomas and Simon A. Gaugush of the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney William E. Nolan of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.

A jury has convicted a Social Security Administration (SSA) employee  of bank fraud and making false statements, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director in Charge Andrew Vale of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Regional Special Agent in Charge Floyd Sherman of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Inspector General (OIG), and Special Agent in Charge Margaret Moore-Jackson of the SSA’s OIG Atlanta Field Division.

Darryl Williams, 52, of Tallahassee, Fla., was convicted on August 25, of one count of bank fraud and nine counts of making false statements to a federally insured financial institution for the purpose of obtaining loans and credit.  Sentencing has been set for November 17, before Judge Mark E. Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.  

The evidence at trial revealed that from approximately November 2010 to October 2016, Williams submitted a series of applications for loans and credit to Envision Credit Union (“Envision”), a financial institution with branches in Tallahassee, in which he repeatedly lied about his employment with the federal government, his pay grade, his salary and his job title.  For example, evidence at trial demonstrated that Williams falsely claimed he was making over $115,000 annually, when, in fact, the highest federal government salary that he ever received was less than $60,000 and he was not employed by the federal government when he submitted several of the applications.  In addition to these false statements, Williams submitted false bank statements and earnings and leave statements to Envision in support of some of his applications.  The trial evidence demonstrated that Williams applied for more than $140,000 worth of loans between late 2010 and late 2016, and Envision relied upon Williams’ false representations and fake documents in granting these applications.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the DOT-OIG, the SSA’s OIG Atlanta Field Division and Trial Attorney Peter Halpern of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Heidi Boutros Gesch and Todd Gee of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.

A Detroit, Michigan resident, who owned a janitorial service company, pleaded guilty to obstructing the internal revenue laws and failing to file an individual tax return, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

According to the plea agreement and documents filed with the court, from approximately 2001, Braint N. Hall, 52, owned Braint N Hall Inc., which also did business as Sunrise Janitorial Service, Sunrise Janitorial and Maintenance Inc. and Detroit Industrial Cleaners Inc. In approximately 2009, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) began auditing Hall for his failure to file individual income tax returns and to determine his income tax liability. Hall admitted that he lied during the audit in 2011 –providing false information about the ownership of his janitorial business, the business’ bank accounts and its client relationships. In an effort to conceal his ownership of the janitorial business, Hall admitted that he caused two relatives to establish nominee entities, which he controlled, to assume the business operations, employees, equipment and client contracts. Despite earning income from these businesses, Hall has not filed individual or corporate income tax returns since 2010.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 12 before U.S. District Court Judge David M. Lawson. Hall faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison on the obstruction count and one year in prison on the failure to file count. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Kenneth Vert and Jeffrey McLellan of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan for its substantial assistance.

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

A former social security administrative law judge (ALJ) was sentenced today to four 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 the IRS 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.

David Black Daugherty, 81, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky, who also ordered Daugherty to pay restitution of over $93 million to the SSA and HHS. Daugherty pleaded guilty in May 2017 to two counts of receiving illegal gratuities.

According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, beginning in 2004, Daugherty, as an ALJ assigned to the SSA’s Huntington, W. Va., hearing office, sought out pending disability cases in which Kentucky attorney Eric Christopher Conn represented claimants and 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 medical documentation supporting either physical or mental disability determinations. Without exception, Daugherty awarded disability benefits to individuals represented by Conn – in some instances, without first holding a hearing. As a result of Daugherty’s awarding disability benefits to claimants represented by Conn, Conn paid Daugherty an average of approximately $8,000 per month in cash, until approximately April 2011. All told, Daugherty received more than $609,000 in cash from Conn for deciding approximately 3,149 cases.

As a result of the scheme, Conn, Daugherty, and their co-conspirators 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.

Daugherty was indicted last year, along with Conn and Alfred Bradley Adkins, a clinical psychologist. The defendants were charged with conspiracy, fraud, false statements, money laundering and other related offenses in connection with the scheme.

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 in absentia on July 14 to 12 years in prison. Conn absconded from court ordered-electronic monitoring on June 2, and is considered a fugitive. He remains under indictment. On June 12, Adkins was convicted after a jury trial 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. Adkins is scheduled to be sentenced on September 22.

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 11th International Law Enforcement Intellectual Property (IP) Crime Conference will take place August 28th-29th, 2017, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The Deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein, will deliver a keynote speech on the second day of the conference. INTERPOL Washington Director, Wayne Salzgaber, and senior leadership will also attend.  

This year’s event is co-hosted by INTERPOL, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (NIPRCC) in partnership with Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC).

The event will assemble senior police leaders, government officials, security and industry experts, and private-sector organizations from around the globe. Themed “Uniting Nations for the Next Decade,” the conference enables participants to share best practices and foster stronger relationships in the fight against transnational organized IP crime.

Two former Cincinnati, Ohio residents pleaded guilty today to tax and structuring charges, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

According to documents filed with the court, Vito Stramaglia, 49, owner of Vito Contracting Companies Inc., pleaded guilty to tax evasion and structuring cash transactions to avoid currency transactions reports. His associate, Hugo Oliver Morales-Santamaria, 31, pleaded guilty to structuring cash transactions to avoid currency transactions reports and conspiring to defraud the United States.

Since at least 2006, Stramaglia owned approximately 20 demolition businesses and other businesses, including the Ice Box, an ice cream dairy bar located in Cleves, Ohio, a car wash and an adult toy store and nightclub in Florida. Stramaglia had not filed an individual or corporate income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) since 1992, until he learned of the IRS’s criminal investigation. Between 2008 and 2013, his demolition businesses earned over $12 million. Stramaglia admitted his failure to file returns and pay taxes during this period caused a loss to the U.S. Treasury of between $1 million and $2.5 million.

To hide his income from detection, Stramaglia placed his businesses in the names of nominees, to include Santamaria. Santamaria opened bank accounts in his name, while Stramaglia controlled the funds in the accounts. Both Stramaglia and Santamaria wrote, signed, and cashed numerous checks and made cash withdrawals in amounts less than $10,000 on consecutive days to evade bank-reporting requirements. In 2011 and 2012 alone, they engaged in cash transactions that exceeded $1.4 million. To further conceal his use of funds, Stramaglia also provided false social security numbers to banks and car dealers when forms were prepared and filed with the IRS reporting cash transactions in excess of $10,000 and provided false employer identification numbers to contractors with whom he did business. In all, Stramaglia used more than $3.4 million from his businesses to purchase in others’ names over 20 luxury vehicles and at least four residences.

Stramaglia and Santamaria also paid day laborers in cash and failed to withhold or report payroll taxes. Santamaria also admitted to paying himself a weekly salary from the demolition company bank accounts, and paying personal expenses including food, lodging, clothing, gym memberships, and tuition for private school out of the business bank accounts, all in an effort to avoid paying personal income taxes.

District Judge Timothy Black stated that sentencing would be scheduled in 70 days. Both Stramaglia and Santamaria face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison on each count, as well as a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Richard M. Rolwing of the Tax Division, who is prosecuting the case.

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

The Acting Superintendent of Animal Control and Parks for the city of Whiting, Indiana, pleaded guilty today to diverting prescription veterinary antibiotics that were the property of the city’s animal shelter, to a resident of Chicago whom he knew to be involved in dog fighting activities, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana Clifford D. Johnson, and USDA, OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Anthony V. Mohatt.

Martin Jakubowski, 48, of Whiting, Indiana, pleaded guilty today before Judge John E. Martin of the Northern District of Indiana to one count of violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by introducing a prescription veterinary drug into interstate commerce without the lawful written or oral order of a licensed veterinarian. Sentencing is set for November 17.

“This prosecution further demonstrates our commitment to end unlawful animal fighting and to bring to justice those who unlawfully participate in this criminality,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

“In partnership with the Department of Justice, animal fighting is an investigative priority for the USDA-OIG,” said OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Anthony V. Mohatt. “We will aggressively pursue and dedicate resources to assist in the criminal prosecution of those who participate in illegal fighting ventures, which often entail other forms of criminal activity involving drugs, firearms, and gambling.”

According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, Jakubowski oversaw the operation of the city of Whiting’s animal control program and animal shelter. While acting in that role, he gave prescription veterinary antibiotics to Pedro Cuellar to drug his dogs. Cuellar recently pleaded guilty to a federal dog fighting conspiracy charge in the District of New Jersey. The drugs had been purchased by the city animal shelter and were intended to treat two sick shelter cats.

Jakubowski also admitted that at various times between approximately 2011 and 2016, he housed dogs for Cuellar in buildings used by the animal shelter for periods of time extending from three days to more than a year. One of the dogs had scarring consistent with scars on dogs used in fights. Jakubowski also gave two pit bull-type dogs from the city’s animal shelter to Cuellar without standard adoption paperwork, knowing that Cuellar intended to transfer the dogs to other people. Jakubowski also admitted to his own prior involvement in a “roll” dog fight in 2004. A “roll” is a dog fight staged for the purpose of assessing the fighting characteristics of a dog or dogs, rather than for wagering purposes, and is generally stopped by the handlers before serious injuries result.

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, 98 dogs have been rescued as part of Operation Grand Champion, and either surrendered or forfeited to the government.

This part of Operation Grand Champion was investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Anthony Mohatt. The government is represented by Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Toi Denise Houston.

Aristides Sanchez, a resident of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty today to two felony violations of the federal Lacey Act for collecting, purchasing, falsely labeling, and shipping protected marine invertebrate species as part of an effort to subvert Puerto Rican law designed to protect corals and other reef species, the Department of Justice announced.

Sanchez was the owner of the Arecibo-based saltwater aquarium business, Wonders of the Reef Aquarium. A large part of the business was devoted to the sale of native Puerto Rican marine species that are popular in the saltwater aquarium trade. Sanchez sent live specimens to customers in the mainland United States and foreign countries by commercial courier services. One of the most popular items that Sanchez sent off-island was an organism from the genus Ricordea. These animals are known as “rics,” “polyps,” or “mushrooms” in the aquarium industry. Members of the genus form part of the reef structure and spend their adult lives fastened in place to the reef. These animals are colorful in natural light, but what makes them particularly interesting to aquarium owners is that they “glow” under the UV lights that are typically used in high-end saltwater aquariums.

“Coral reefs surrounding the island of Puerto Rico are some of the most valued and fragile natural resources in the region,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Division will continue to work with its enforcement partners to prosecute those who illegally harm the marine environment for commercial gain.”

“We will continue to prosecute those who exploit our protected marine life for financial gain,” said U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez for the District of Puerto Rico. “We appreciate the support of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration agents in this investigation.”

“This investigation, serves as a fine example of ongoing joint investigative efforts related to the entire span of the marine life trade,” said Resident Agent in Charge David Pharo of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Whether responsibility lies as the initial harvester, wholesaler, retailer or a public aquarium, the USFWS and partner agencies stand ready to investigate the matter and bring those responsible for poaching our nations sensitive marine life resources to justice.”

“Our partnerships are vital to helping ensure the protection and sustainability of living marine resources. This investigation is another great example of how successful partnerships lead to effective results,” said Deputy Director Logan Gregory of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement. “Investigating and bringing to justice those who exploit protected marine life is vital in helping to ensure a healthy ocean.”

It is illegal to harvest Ricordea, zoanthids, and anemones in Puerto Rico if the specimens are going to be sent off-island or otherwise sold commercially, nor is there a permit available to do so. Sanchez personally collected some of the Ricordea and other reef creatures that he sold off-island. On multiple occasions, he would accompany another person and they would snorkel from the shoreline in search of Ricordea. Because Ricordea are attached to the reef substrate, Sanchez would utilize a chisel to break off the animals, and in doing so, take chunks of the reef with him. At other times, Sanchez would purchase the Ricordea from other sources, knowing or suspecting that the specimens had been harvested illegally.

In order to cover up the nature of his shipments and to avoid detection from governmental inspection authorities, Sanchez would falsely label each shipment. The false labeling was one of identification whereby Sanchez would refer to living marine organisms as “pet supplies,” “aquarium supplies,” “LED lights,” or similar inanimate objects on shipping labels and invoices. At times, he used a fake name to cover his actions.

From January 2013 to March 2016, Sanchez sent or caused to be sent at least 130 shipments of falsely labeled marine species that were illegally harvested in the waters of Puerto Rico. While there is some variation in the price of Ricordea depending on coloration, size, and other factors, the retail value of Ricordea shipped by Sanchez typically ranges from $25 to $50 per item. From on or about January 7, 2013, through on or about March 16, 2016, the retail value of the falsely labeled and/or unlawfully harvested marine invertebrates shipped personally by Sanchez, or on his behalf with his knowledge, was between $800,000 and $1,200,000.

Sanchez is scheduled to be sentenced on December 20, 2017.

This case was investigated as part of Operation Rock Bottom and Operation Borinquen Chisel by Special Agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with support from the USFWS Inspectors. The case is being prosecuted by Christopher L. Hale of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Marquez of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico.

Nigel Garrett, 21, and Cameron Ajiduah, 18, pleaded guilty today to assaulting men 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 the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Dallas Division announced.

According to the plea agreement signed by Garrett on January 19, 2017, defendants Garrett, Anthony Shelton and Chancler Encalade 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 stole the victim’s property, including his motor vehicle.

Included in a separate plea agreement signed by Ajiduah on February 7, 2017, defendants Ajiduah, Garrett, and Shelton used the same scheme on a different victim, including restraining the victim and covering his eyes with tape, verbally berating him for his sexual orientaion, and physically assaulting him.

A federal grand jury previously returned an eighteen-count indictment against Ajiduah, Shelton, Garrett, and Chancler Encalade including charges of 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 victim’s sexual orientation during four home invasions in Plano, Frisco, and Aubrey, Texas, between January 17 and February 7, 2017.

“The Justice Department will not tolerate hate crimes against any individual based on sexual orientation,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore. “Hate crimes are violent crimes, but also attack the fundamental principles of the United States. The Justice Department will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute hate crimes.”

"Garrett and Ajiduah invaded homes, robbed and assaulted their victims, and particularly horrendous, targeted their victims based on the victim’s sexual orientation,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. “In response to such a hate crime, let it be known that law enforcement will leave no stone unturned to catch and prosecute the likes of these criminals to the fullest extent of the law."

Garrett and Ajiduah face a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine for their guilty plea for the hate crime charge.

The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, 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.

The Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that Travis Leger and Rickey Simon, both of Sulphur, Louisiana, and Jason Leckelt of Wilburton, Oklahoma, have all pled guilty to conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act by illegally trafficking alligator snapping turtles.

Alligator snapping turtles are the largest freshwater turtles in the world and can grow to weigh more than 200 pounds with a lifespan of more than 100 years. The turtles are designated as threatened with statewide extinction under Texas State Law, which strictly prohibits anyone from taking, capturing, transporting, or selling these turtles, or attempting to do so. The turtles are also protected under Louisiana State Law, which makes it illegal to sell or barter for the turtles. The Lacey Act makes it a federal crime to engage in the interstate trafficking of wildlife taken in violation of state wildlife protection laws.

“Those who choose to exploit our precious wildlife resources threaten the existence of these rare reptiles,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. “Protection of the turtles and the prevention of diseases that may spread by these actions make these prosecutions vital to the health of our natural wildlife.”

In April 2017, Leger, Leckelt, and Simon were charged in a six-count indictment. The conspiracy charged all defendants with illegally taking more than 60 large alligator snapping turtles during their multiple fishing trips to Texas in the spring and summer of 2016, and also with transporting the turtles back to a property in Sulphur, Louisiana, where they intended to sell the turtles. In July 2016, Federal agents seized about 30 large alligator snapping turtles from ponds located at a defendant’s property in Sulphur, Louisiana, pursuant to a federal search warrant.

As part of his guilty plea, Travis Leger admitted to selling a live, illegally taken, 171-pound turtle for $1,000 and another live, illegally taken, 168-pound turtle for $500 in May and June of 2016. The turtles were later seized by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agents from the buyer and are currently being cared for at a private facility. In sum, Leger admitted that the market value of all the turtles that he caught illegally in Texas and then sold in Louisiana during the course of the conspiracy was between $40,000 and $95,000. Leger also agreed to forfeit all of the turtles seized from his property in Sulphur, Louisiana, and will permit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to return to the property, drain the ponds, and seize all remaining alligator snapping turtles. Similarly, Jason Leckelt, who is Leger’s half-brother, admitted that the market value of the turtles that he illegally personally caught in Texas and sold in Louisiana during the course of the conspiracy was between $15,000 and $40,000.

Finally, Rickey Simon admitted that his role in the conspiracy included selling a 120-pound alligator snapping turtle, illegally caught in Texas, to an undercover U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agent in May of 2016. In addition, Mr. Simon admitted that he obstructed justice by deleting text messages from his cell phone prior to being interviewed by a Special Agent from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during the execution of the search warrant at the Sulphur property in July 2016. Simon deleted the text messages from his cell phone after Travis Leger called and warned him that game wardens were coming to the Sulphur property to take the turtles out of the ponds. Simon also admitted that he subsequently made false statements to the Special Agent during the execution of the search warrant at the Sulphur property by denying that he had ever fished for alligator snapping turtles in Texas.

The defendants all face up to a maximum five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy convictions.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph R. Batte of the Eastern District of Texas and Senior Trial Attorney David P. Kehoe of the Department of Justice, Environmental Crimes Section, prosecuted the case. The case is being investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

A federal grand jury in Portland, Maine, returned a nine-count indictment today charging MST Mineralien Schiffarht Spedition Und Transport GmbH (MST) and Reederei MS “Marguerita” GmbH & Co. Geschlossene Investment KG (Reederei) with failing to keep accurate pollution control records and falsifying records, the Justice Department announced.

The charges stem from the falsification of records in 2016 and 2017 designed to cover up overboard discharges of oily mixtures and machinery space bilge water from the Liberian-flagged cargo vessel, M/V Marguerita. On at least eight occasions between September 2016 and June 2016, the M/V Marguerita entered United States waters and ports with a false and misleading Oil Record Book available for inspection by the U.S. Coast Guard. The Oil Record Book failed to accurately record transfers and discharges of oily wastewater on the vessel.

The vessel’s management company, MST Mineralien Schiffarht Spedition Und Transport, and the vessel’s owner, Reederei MS “Marguerita,” both of Germany, are charged with failing to maintain an accurate oil record book as required by the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, a U.S. law which implements the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, commonly known as MARPOL. The companies were also charged with falsification of records with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence inspections and examinations of the M/V Marguerita by the U.S. Coast Guard.

An indictment is merely an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

The case was investigated by the Coast Guard Investigative Service. The case is being prosecuted by John Cashman and Shane Waller of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section.

WASHINGTON – INTERPOL Washington, the U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are urging the public to help identify an unknown suspect wanted for questioning in an unsolved case of child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Investigators have been unable to identify the suspect using traditional investigative means and request the public’s assistance. All tips will remain confidential. Members of the public should not attempt to apprehend the suspect personally.

In addition to public appeals, investigators have been distributing the suspect’s photo to fellow law enforcement agencies, and to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, in a unified effort to identify the suspect and rescue the child.

At the request of ICE-HSI, INTERPOL Washington caused the issuance of an INTERPOL Blue Notice for the unidentified subject. Blue Notices are published by INTERPOL, the International Criminal Police Organization, for the purpose of tracing, locating, and seeking information on persons of interest in criminal investigations. They are disseminated to law enforcement officials in all 190 member countries of INTERPOL.

The suspect is being added to ICE's Operation Predator App, which allows users to receive alerts about wanted predators, to share the information with friends via email and social media tools, and to provide information to ICE by calling or submitting an online tip.

Anyone with information about this suspect is urged to contact the agency though the app; or by calling the HSI Tip Line, which is staffed 24-hours a day at 1-866-347-2423 from the U.S. &
Canada, or 1-802-872-6199 from anywhere in the world, or by submitting an online tip form.
Individuals should not attempt to apprehend the suspect personally.

The smartphone app is part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download ICE’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

A Fort Lauderdale, Florida, resident was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for tax evasion, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

According to documents filed with the court, Thomas Daly, 53, evaded paying taxes on more than $1.5 million in income that he earned from 2002 to 2015. Except for the 2007 tax year, Daly has not filed an income tax return since 2002. He worked for a Fort Lauderdale company selling hurricane-resistant windows to residential homeowners in South Florida. In August 2009, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) notified Daly of its intent to levy his wages because of his failure to pay taxes. To obstruct the IRS’s collection efforts, Daly established his own business, South Florida Home Marketing Inc. (SFHM), and changed his employment status from an employee to an independent contractor. Daly listed himself as the director of SFHM and opened a business bank account in its name. Due to Daly’s change in employment status, his employer paid SFHM directly and the IRS’s attempts to levy Daly’s wages were thwarted.

From approximately August 2009 through April 2017, Daly used SFHM’s bank account to pay for personal expenses, including rent, cigars, international travel, entertainment, his girlfriend’s cosmetic surgery, jewelry, and a boat. He also falsely classified numerous personal expenses as business expenses on the memo line of the checks drawn on the SFHM bank account. Daly admitted that he made these false entries with the intent to claim false business expense deductions and evade the assessment of his income taxes. Daly admitted that his actions caused a tax loss of more than $351,241.

In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra ordered Daly has been ordered to serve two years of supervised release and to pay $459,481.03 in restitution to the IRS.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Charles M. Edgar, Jr. and Michael C. Boteler of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

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

The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) acknowledges the work done by the Department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG), as described in its report released today, entitled “Audit of the Department of Justice’s Administration of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.”

Today’s VCF has undergone many positive changes since OIG concluded its substantive review, including new leadership and updated regulations that implement changes as a result of the Dec. 18, 2015, reauthorization of the program by Congress and the President for an additional five years. That reauthorization, which extended the application period until Dec. 18, 2020, and appropriated $4.6 billion in additional funding, was a demonstration of Congress’s faith in the program and a recognition both of its success and of the enormity of the work that remains to be done. The OIG’s report similarly recognizes the substantial work done by the VCF, finding that each of its recommendations has already been met by the VCF and deeming each one closed and requiring no further follow-up.

“While no amount of money can alleviate the losses suffered as a result of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the VCF plays a critical role in providing some measure of relief to those who continue to suffer,” said VCF Special Master Rupa Bhattacharyya. “The VCF today is reauthorized and reinvigorated in its efforts to serve the 9/11 community, and has taken substantial steps to realign the program to promptly, accurately, consistently, and fairly decide the claims already pending and the claims still anticipated to be filed. The VCF is grateful for OIG’s collaborative approach to the audit, and for the time and effort that OIG expended in reviewing the Fund’s operations through February of 2016, when it completed its substantive review.”

Since 2011, the VCF has awarded over $2.8 billion in compensation to responders to the attacks in New York City, at the Pentagon, and at the Shanksville site, as well as to those who lived, worked, or traveled through areas of lower Manhattan that were exposed to debris and toxins generated by the attacks and their aftermath. The VCF continues to receive and review claims from those who have suffered, and has over $4 billion in funds remaining.

To date, the VCF has made more than 21,000 eligibility decisions, finding more than 16,900 claimants eligible for compensation. The VCF had also made award determinations on more than 13,000 of those claims, including over 11,000 responders. More than 4,000 of these claimants suffer from one or more cancers related to their 9/11 exposure, while the remainder suffer from other, often times disabling, physical injuries.

The VCF was created to provide compensation for any individual (or a personal representative of a deceased individual) who suffered physical harm or was killed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of Sept. 11, 2001 or the debris removal efforts that took place in the immediate aftermath of those crashes. The original VCF operated from 2001-2004. On Jan. 2, 2011, President Obama signed into law the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 (Zadroga Act). Title II of the Zadroga Act reactivated the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. The reactivated VCF opened in October 2011 and was authorized to operate for a period of five years, ending in October 2016. On Dec. 18, 2015, President Obama signed into law a bill reauthorizing the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, which included the reauthorization of the VCF.

For additional information about how to file a claim, please visit the “How to File a Claim” page on the VCF’s website at www.vcf.gov; information on VCF policies and procedures can be obtained at https://www.vcf.gov/pdf/VCFPolicy.pdf. If you have any questions about the claim form, the website, or the VCF process, please contact the VCF’s toll-free Helpline at 1-855-885-1555.

Pharmaceutical companies Mylan Inc. and Mylan Specialty L.P. have agreed to pay $465 million to resolve claims that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly misclassifying EpiPen as a generic drug to avoid paying rebates owed primarily to Medicaid, the Justice Department announced today. Mylan Inc. and Mylan Specialty L.P. are both wholly owned subsidiaries of Mylan N.V., which is headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

“This settlement demonstrates the Department of Justice’s unwavering commitment to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for schemes to overbill Medicaid, a taxpayer-funded program whose purpose is to help the poor and disabled,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Drug manufacturers must abide by their legal obligations to pay appropriate rebates to state Medicaid programs.”

“Mylan misclassified its brand name drug, EpiPen, to profit at the expense of the Medicaid program,” said Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb. “Taxpayers rightly expect companies like Mylan that receive payments from taxpayer-funded programs to scrupulously follow the rules. We will continue to protect the integrity of Medicaid and ensure a level playing field for pharmaceutical companies. ”

Congress enacted the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program to ensure that state Medicaid programs were not susceptible to price gouging by manufacturers of drugs that were available from only a single source. It therefore subjected such single-source, or brand name drugs, to a higher rebate that is payable to Medicaid and that increases to the extent the price of the drug outpaces the rate of inflation. In contrast, generic drugs originating from multiple manufacturers are subject to lower rebates that, at least until recently, were not subject to inflationary adjustments.

The settlement resolves the government’s allegations that Mylan, by erroneously reporting EpiPen as a generic drug to Medicaid despite the absence of any therapeutically equivalent drugs, was able to demand massive price increases in the private market while avoiding its corresponding rebate obligations to Medicaid. Between 2010 and 2016, Mylan increased the price of EpiPen by approximately 400 percent yet paid only a fixed 13 percent rebate to Medicaid during the same period. The government further alleged that although Mylan was well-aware that its drug was not a generic, it nevertheless claimed generic status for EpiPen in the Medicaid program to avoid paying a higher rebate.

The settlement resolves allegations brought in a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to sue on behalf of the government for false claims for government funds and to receive a share of any recovery. The whistleblower in this case was the pharmaceutical manufacturer, Sanofi-Aventis US LLC. It will receive approximately $38.7 million as its share of the federal recovery.

Mylan has also entered into a corporate integrity agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) that requires, among other things, an independent review organization to annually review multiple aspects of Mylan’s practices relating to the Medicaid drug rebate program.

“Our five-year corporate integrity agreement requires intensive outside scrutiny to assess whether Mylan is complying with the rules of the Medicaid drug rebate program,” said Gregory E. Demske, Chief Counsel to the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “In addition, the CIA requires individual accountability by Mylan board members and executives.”

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

The investigation was conducted by the Justice Department’s Civil Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, in conjunction with various state attorneys general, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Medicaid Fraud Control Units.

The case is captioned United States ex rel. Sanofi-Aventis US LLC v. Mylan Inc., et al., No. 16-CV-11572 (D. Mass.). The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

The Justice Department today announced recent developments under the Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety to strengthen law enforcement and public safety in Indian country, including the continued expansion of a program that gives tribes access to federal crime data, addressing the opioid crisis, serving victims of sex trafficking, and strengthening investigations into crimes against children.

“We have listened to the concerns of tribal law enforcement, who are dealing with public safety challenges including rising violent crime, the opioid crisis, and human trafficking, often with limited resources and manpower,” said Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand. “The Justice Department is committed to a strong government-to-government partnership with tribal nations, including sharing valuable crime data and supporting Native American victims of crime.”

Listening sessions with tribal law enforcement in May and June clarified some of the most pressing public safety issues in Indian country. The following actions will strengthen efforts to address these challenges.

The Department of Justice is expanding the Tribal Access Program (TAP) for National Crime Information in Fiscal Year 2018. TAP provides federally-recognized tribes access to national crime information databases for both civil and criminal purposes. TAP supports the selected tribes in analyzing their needs for national crime information and provides access, technology and training.

In its first two years, the department has worked collaboratively with tribal governments on the TAP program to help resolve long-standing public safety issues in Indian country, such as the inability to access national crime information databases.

Any federally-recognized tribe interested in joining TAP is invited to submit an expression of interest between Aug.16, 2017 and Sept. 15, 2017. For more information about TAP and instructions on submitting a statement of interest, please visit www.justice.gov/tribal/tribal-access-program-tap.

The Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior are hosting two upcoming Opioid Awareness Outreach meetings in August. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Executive office for the U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA), and the United States Attorney’s Offices (USAOs) in Alaska and Eastern California, in conjunction with the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services (OJS), are sponsoring and co-hosting these important events. The outreach meetings will commence immediately after tribal consultations on Aug.16 in Anchorage, Alaska and on Aug. 29 in Sacramento, California. The opioid awareness outreach will include presentations from DEA on the signs of opioid abuse, especially heroin and fentanyl awareness; from BIA’s OJS on Narcan deployment initiatives in Indian country; and from the USAOs on federal drug laws. These discussions are part of an inter-departmental initiative to address the opioid crisis in Indian country.

“The developments announced today by Attorney General Sessions are vitally important to aiding tribal governments in dealing with and seeking solutions to serious drug, sex trafficking, and crimes against children issues afflicting their communities,” said acting Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior for Indian Affairs Michael S. Black. “I urge tribal leaders and their police departments to take advantage of upcoming opportunities to provide their input on and learn more about ways of addressing these critical areas of public safety in Indian country. I also want to thank Attorney General Sessions and DOJ for their work in supporting BIA and tribal law enforcement efforts to strengthen public safety in these vulnerable communities.”

The Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs Diagnostic Center, a training and technical assistance resource, is expanding its presence in Indian country. At the request of interested tribes, the Diagnostic Center provides customized assistance on a wide range of public safety issues. Among the issues being addressed in current tribal engagements include information sharing in tribal justice systems and jurisdictional coordination among tribal and local police departments. For more information about the Diagnostic Center, please see www.ojpdiagnosticcenter.org.

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is developing programs in partnership with Native organizations in Seattle, Chicago, and Albuquerque to provide urban American Indian and Alaska Native victims of sex trafficking with access to culturally appropriate, comprehensive victim services. Funded under OVC’s Project Beacon grant award program, these organizations will work collaboratively with state and local human trafficking task forces, as well as tribal communities, to ensure that American Indian and Alaska Native victims have an opportunity to receive a full complement of services designed to aid them in their recovery and healing from the experience of being trafficked.

Associate Attorney General Brand added: “We are committed to partnering with tribal nations, Native American organizations and others to meet the particular needs of Native American victims of sex trafficking, and to end the scourge of human trafficking more broadly.”

The Department of Justice’s National Indian Country Training Initiative, together with the FBI’s Indian Country Crimes Unit, recently co-sponsored an Indian Country Homicide and Child Abuse Training Seminar. The seminar was attended by FBI Special Agents, Assistant United States Attorneys, Bureau of Indian Affairs Agents and tribal law enforcement from across the country. The training covered a variety of topics meant to strengthen investigations into crimes against children, such as crime scene management, evidence collection, forensics, interviews, and dealing with victims of violent crime and sexual abuse.

The Attorney General remains committed to combatting violent crime and maintaining public safety in tribal lands, and will continue to pursue partnerships in support of American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

James Gonzalo Medina pleaded guilty today to a federal hate crime for attempting to attack an Aventura, Florida synagogue, and to a charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, announced Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg for the Southern District of Florida.

During the plea proceedings, Medina admitted that in March and April 2016, he planned to conduct a firearms or explosives attack on the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center. Medina took steps to prepare for this attack including conducting surveillance of the Jewish Center. On April 29, 2016, Medina took possession of what he believed to be an explosive device, obtained from a Southern Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force agent, and approached the Jewish Center on foot with the device in hand, intending to commit the attack.

"Acts of bigotry and hatred are evil and have no place in our society," Attorney General Sessions said. "One of the top priorities of this Department of Justice is reducing violent crime, and you can be sure that this includes hate crime. We will not tolerate this repugnant lawlessness, and we will be vigilant in prosecuting hate crime offenders to the fullest extent of the law. I want to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Southern Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force, and all of the Department of Justice attorneys and staff who worked to bring this criminal to justice, and I assure every American that the Department of Justice is committed to protecting their rights."

“Today’s guilty plea demonstrates how hate often motivates acts of domestic terror,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Greenberg for the Southern District of Florida. “Prosecuting terrorism and violent crimes inspired by a victim’s race, religion, ethnicity, sexual preference, or gender identity remains a top priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and our dedicated partners at the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

A sentencing hearing has not yet been set.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Southern Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marc Anton and Michael Thakur of the Southern District of Florida, with the assistance of the Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Counsel Steve Curran and National Security Division’s Trial Attorney Taryn Meeks.

A construction company was sentenced today to a fine of $1.5 million dollars and three years of probation for violating the federal Clean Air Act, announced the Justice Department.

AIREKO Construction Company failed to comply with the asbestos National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants during the illegal removal of asbestos containing materials from the Minillas North Tower in May 2012, according to court documents. As part of a plea agreement with the government, AIREKO was also ordered to pay $172,020 to cover a baseline medical examination and follow up medical examination for victims exposed to asbestos fibers in the aftermath of the illegal activity.

“This prosecution reflects the commitment of the Department of Justice to enforce federal clean air laws,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We will continue to hold companies such as AIREKO Construction accountable in order to protect the lives and safety of the public.”

“The Clean Air Act requires that construction companies follow specific protocols designed to safely remove asbestos prior to any renovation or demolition activity, so as not to expose anyone to the risk of deadly respiratory diseases; and AIREKO Construction Company failed to do so by exposing those who worked at Minillas to asbestos materials,” said Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, US Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “The US Attorney’s Office will continue to work with all victims who were exposed to the asbestos.”

“Asbestos exposure can cause cancer, lung disease and other serious respiratory diseases,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Tyler Amon for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division in New York. “In this case, AIREKO Construction avoided hiring trained and certified asbestos abatement professionals. AIREKO did the work 'on the cheap', willfully putting workers and others at risk. We will not allow businesses to cut corners on environmental protection at the expense of people’s health.”

Over the weekend of Saturday, May 11, 2012, to Sunday, May 13, 2012, a sub-contractor of AIREKO removed asbestos containing material from the ceiling of the 9th floor of Minillas North Tower. The asbestos containing material was removed without following any of the Asbestos Work Practice Standards required by federal regulation. A significant portion of the asbestos containing material was taken from the 9th floor and was placed in the trash area behind the building. Approximately 550 square feet of asbestos-containing stucco ceiling material was removed from the 9th floor. The sub-contractor was hired to do general demolition and on Saturday, May 12, 2012, and Sunday, May 13, 2012, were working within the scope of their employment and at least, in part, for the benefit of Defendant AIREKO.

The asbestos containing material was discovered by AIREKO employees on Monday May 14, 2012, and AIREKO failed to immediately report the release of the asbestos to the National Response Center (NRC) as required by law. The EPA initiated an investigation into the release and received sampling results later that week showing asbestos throughout the building and the agency issued a notice to the Puerto Rico Building Authority that then closed the building. Clean-up of the Minillas North Tower took approximately one year.

Congress has found that medical science has determined that there is no minimal level of exposure to asbestos which is safe for unprotected persons. The government identified approximately 450 persons who were exposed to asbestos fibers between the illegal removal and the order by the Public Building Authority to close the building.

AIREKO Vice President Edgardo Albino previously pleaded guilty to failing to notify immediately the NRC of the release of asbestos. Mr. Albino was sentenced to pay a fine and serve a six month term of probation.

The investigation was conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division in New York. The cases were prosecuted by Howard P. Stewart, Senior Litigation Counsel Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice and Assistant United States Attorney Carmen M. Marquez.

Thirteen individuals alleged to be members and associates of MS-13 were arrested in Central Ohio and Indiana this morning.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions, U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman of the Southern District of Ohio, Special Agent in Charge Angela L. Byers of the FBI, Detroit Field Office Director Rebecca Adducci of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations, Sheriff Dallas Baldwin of Franklin County and Chief Kim Jacobs of Columbus Police announced the indictment that was unsealed following the arrests today.

  Federal charges were filed against a total of 15 alleged MS-13 members.  Ten were charged by a federal grand jury with conspiracy to commit extortion, conspiracy to commit money laundering and use of a firearm during a crime of violence in an indictment returned on July 27.  Five others were charged in criminal complaints with reentering the U.S. after deportation.  Two of the 15 remain fugitives.  

“With more than 10,000 members across 40 states, MS-13 is one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in the United States today," said Attorney General Sessions. "MS-13 members have killed children and pregnant women, extorted immigrant-owned businesses, and trafficked underage girls to sell them for sex. President Trump has ordered the Department of Justice to reduce crime and take down transnational criminal organizations, and we will be relentless in our pursuit of these objectives. Today's charges are our next step toward making this country safer by taking MS-13 off of our streets for good.”

MS-13, formally La Mara Salvatrucha, is a multi-national criminal organization composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.  The organization’s leadership is based in El Salvador, where many of the gang’s high-ranking members are imprisoned. 

In 2012, the U.S. government designated MS-13 as a “transnational criminal organization.”  It is the first and only street gang to receive that designation. MS-13 has become one of the largest and most violent criminal organizations in the U.S., with more than 10,000 members and associates operating in at least 40 states, including Ohio. In Ohio and elsewhere in the U.S., MS-13 is organized into “cliques,” which are smaller groups of MS-13 members and associates acting under the larger mantle of the organization and operating in a specific region, city or part of a city.

The indictment alleges that 10 defendants – members and associates of the Columbus clique of MS-13 – conspired to commit extortion through the use of threatened or actual force, violence or fear to intimidate their victims into paying money to the defendants and their co-conspirators. Many of the proceeds were sent, usually by wire transfer and often through intermediaries, to MS-13 members and associates in El Salvador and elsewhere. The money was then used to promote and facilitate the criminal activities of MS-13 in El Salvador and the U.S.

As part of the alleged conspiracy, the defendants and their co-conspirators unlawfully obtained extortion proceeds to be used to, among other things, buy items that MS-13 uses to engage in criminal activity, such as cellular phones, narcotics and weapons; provide financial support and information to MS-13 members, including those incarcerated in El Salvador and the U.S., as well as those who have been deported; and aid families of deceased MS-13 members. 

The 10 defendants charged in the indictment are: 

Name

Also Known As

Age

City

Jose Martin Neftali Aguilar-Rivera

Momia, Pelon

32

Columbus, Ohio/ Indianapolis, Ind.

Pedro Alfonso Osorio-Flores

Smokey

38

Columbus, Ohio

Juan Jose Jiminez-Montufar

Chele Trece

33

Columbus, Ohio

Isaias Alvarado

Cabo

44

Columbus, Ohio

Cruz Alberto-Arbarngas

Cruzito

30

Columbus, Ohio

*Jose Manuel Romero-Parada

Russo

22

Fugitive – Indianapolis, Ind.

Jose Salinas-Enriquez

Martillo

32

Dayton, Ohio

Jorge Cazares

Veneno

37

Columbus, Ohio

Jose Ramiro Aparicio-Olivares

Flaco

42

Columbus, Ohio

*Nelson Alexander Flores

Mula

46

Fugitive – whereabouts unknown

Conspiracy to commit extortion and conspiracy to commit money laundering are each crimes punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence carries a sentence of at least seven years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence imposed in the case.

The five defendants charged with immigration offenses in criminal complaints are:

Name

Also Known As

Age

City

Antonio Galdamez-Figueroa

Pinochio

29

Columbus, Ohio

Juan Pablo Flores-Castro

Duende

29

Columbus, Ohio

Jorge Alberto Landaverde

Grenas

33

Columbus, Ohio

Juan Jose Alvarenga-Alberto

Sailen

27

Columbus, Ohio

Marvin Otero-Serrano

Vaca

31

Columbus, Ohio

Illegally re-entering the U.S. after having been previously deported is a crime punishable by up to two years in prison.

Attorney General Sessions and U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the FBI, ICE, Columbus, Police and Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, and the assistance of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian J. Martinez and Jessica H. Kim, who are prosecuting the case.

An indictment or criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

If you are a victim of the alleged crimes, or have additional information about MS-13, please call the FBI hotline at 614-849-1765. Callers can remain anonymous.

Bringing to a close several years of litigation, John Duarte and Duarte Nursery Inc. have agreed to pay a large civil penalty and preserve and restore creeks, streams, and wetlands to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act on property located in Tehama County, California, the Justice Department announced today.

Duarte has agreed to pay $1.1 million in civil penalties and mitigation for 22 acres of disturbed streams and wetlands and to permanently protect creeks on the property that are connected to the Sacramento River. The agreement follows a federal court determination in 2016 finding Duarte liable for violating the Clean Water Act and will redress illegal "ripping" of federally-protected streams and wetlands. The agreement allows Duarte to return the vast majority of the site to productive use and allows him to seek future determinations concerning jurisdictional waters at the site.

“Today's agreement affirms the Department of Justice's commitment to the rule of law, results in meaningful environmental restoration, and brings to an end protracted litigation,” said Jeffrey H. Wood, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resource Division. “We are pleased to reach this agreement that serves the public interest in enforcement of the Clean Water Act and deterrence of future violations.”

“The Corps is pleased that this long-standing enforcement action has finally been resolved,” said Michael Jewell, the Chief of the Regulatory Division for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Sacramento District. “We encourage members of the public to contact the Corps prior to engaging in activities that are regulated under the Clean Water Act. The Corps is always willing to talk to the public about the Regulatory Program and to provide information on permit requirements, jurisdictional determinations, wetland delineations, and any other aspects of the Program.”

This case stems from activities Duarte conducted after he recently purchased property that had laid fallow and unfarmed for more than 20 years. Duarte bought the property in 2012 for $5 million and shortly thereafter sold most of it for approximately $8 million, retaining 450 acres for his own use. Even before the purchase, Duarte received detailed maps showing the location of federally-protected streams and wetlands which took up less than 10 percent of his remaining property.

Despite the small portion of property that was subject to the Clean Water Act, Duarte hired a contractor to conduct "ripping" throughout the entire 450 acres, including in streams and wetlands, even though Duarte's own environmental consultant had warned him that he would be subject to significant penalties for ripping without a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. This resulted in the ripping of flowing streams, running creeks, and in protected wetlands. In 2016, a federal court rejected Duarte's "plowing" defense based on the facts of this case, finding that no plowing had occurred anywhere on the site for at least 24 years and that (as intended) the ripping activity converted areas of water to dry land. The settlement agreement reached today secures a significant penalty for these violations, while providing fairness for farmers and other landowners who comply with the applicable laws.

In a recent pre-trial brief, the United States gave assurances that this case is not (and will not be used as) a pretext for federal prosecution of farmers who engage in normal plowing on their farms. No federal dredge-or-fill permit is required for plowing as defined in the regulations, and no such permit is required for discharges from "normal farming ... activities" (including plowing) if they are part of an established (i.e., ongoing) farming operation and not for the purpose of converting federally protected waters to new uses. Those protections for farmers remain in the law today and will continue to be recognized.

The proposed consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, is subject to a 30-day comment period and final court approval. A copy of the proposed consent decree is available on the Justice Department Web site at www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.

A former Department of Defense contractor pleaded guilty today to piloting a cargo flight from Osan Air Base, South Korea to Yakota Air Base, Japan, while under the influence of alcohol.  

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Chief Master Sergeant Christopher J. VanBurger of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) made the announcement.

Daniel R. Criss, 61, of Mims, Fla., pleaded guilty to one count of operating a common carrier (aircraft) under the influence of alcohol while employed by the Armed Forces outside of the U.S., within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the U.S.  The plea was entered before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel C. Irick of the Middle District of Florida.

According to admissions made in connection with his plea, on July 14, 2015, Criss was employed by a private company that contracted with the Department of Defense’s  U.S. Transportation Command to deliver cargo.  On that date, Criss was the pilot-in-command of a Boeing 747 aircraft transporting cargo and a flight crew from Osan Air Base, South Korea to Anchorage, Alaska, with a stopover in Yokota Air Base, Japan.  Criss admitted that when he arrived at Osan Air Base that morning at about 10:00 a.m., he was already under the influence of alcohol.  Before take-off, Criss’ co-pilots observed that he was having difficulty writing down the air traffic control clearance and discussed their concerns with Criss, who responded that he was tired and had not slept well.  Throughout the flight, Criss remained in command of the aircraft despite his level of intoxication.  Criss admitted that as the aircraft neared Yokota air space and began its descent, he missed numerous radio calls, lost situational awareness and ran an incorrect landing checklist.  Criss also admitted that, upon landing, he took control of the aircraft and taxied it to the runway at a higher than normal rate of speed, and, once the aircraft arrived at the ramp, he fell asleep, woke up and fell asleep again. 

According to admissions made in connection with his plea, Criss’ co-pilots, who believed that Criss was experiencing a medical emergency, called for assistance at about 2:00 p.m.  Medical personnel that attended to Criss noticed that Criss was slurring his speech and had an odor of alcohol on his breath.  At about 3:20 p.m., blood drawn from Criss and tested for alcohol revealed an estimated blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .144%.  Medical personnel who examimed this and a second blood test estimated that Criss’ BAC was between 0.152% and 0.146% at the time he last operated the aircraft.   

AFOSI investigated this case.  Trial Attorneys Sasha N. Rutizer and Mona Sahaf of the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

A federal grand jury in the Western District of Virginia returned an indictment charging two business owners with tax evasion and conspiring to structure currency transactions, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

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

The indictment also charges Jeffery and Karen Dalton with conspiring to withdraw cash from the BRS business bank account, in increments less than $10,000, to evade federal bank-reporting requirements. According to the indictment, they withdrew more than $250,000 in this piecemeal fashion.

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

If convicted, Jeffery and Karen Dalton each face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison on both the tax evasion and conspiracy charge. They also face a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Daniel McGraw and Sean Beaty of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.

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