District Not Recorded

A federal grand jury in Victoria, Texas, has returned a three-count superseding indictment against Marq Vincent Perez, 25, for allegedly burning the Victoria Islamic Center on January 28, 2017.

Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez made the announcement along with Acting Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Wheeler II of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, Special Agent in Charge Fred Milanowski of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI and various state and local law enforcement agencies.

Perez was previously indicted for possession of an unregistered destructive device for an incident that occurred on January 15, 2017. The superseding indictment returned today now charges him with a hate crime – damage to a religious property as well as use of a fire to commit a federal felony in relation to the arson at the mosque.

Perez was initially arrested and charged March 3, 2017, in connection with an attempt to blow up a car with a destructive device. At a detention hearing held the following week, court heard evidence linking Perez to a January 22, 2017, burglary of the Victoria Islamic Center as well as a January 28, 2017, burglary and arson of the same mosque. Perez is in custody pending further criminal proceedings. 

If convicted, Perez faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the hate crime. He also faces up to 10 years for possessing an unregistered destructive device. If convicted of use of a fire to commit a felony, the penalty is a consecutive and mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison. All of the counts also carry a potential $250,000 penalty.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

ATF and FBI conducted the investigation along with the City of Victoria Fire Marshal’s Office, Victoria Fire Department, Victoria Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety - Criminal Investigations Division and Texas Rangers with assistance of Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office and sheriff’s offices in Victoria and Nueces Counties.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sharad S. Khandelwal and Kate Suh are prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorney Saeed Mody of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

FALLS CHURCH, VA – As applications for relief or protection from removal rise in immigration proceedings, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) reminds the public of the role of EOIR’s Fraud and Abuse Prevention Program in safeguarding the validity of those proceedings and of the need for vigilance in combating immigration fraud.

"Application and benefit fraud in immigration proceedings undermines the overall integrity of the immigration law system, places unwarranted burdens on taxpayers, and puts public safety and national security at risk,” said Acting Director James McHenry. “Every fraudulent application further burdens a system already facing a critical backlog, and EOIR is committed, through its Fraud and Abuse Prevention Program, to identifying and addressing fraud in the immigration system."

EOIR's Fraud and Abuse Prevention Program was created as a result of a directive in 2006 by then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. By regulation, EOIR’s General Counsel has designated an anti-fraud officer to:

(i) Serve as a point of contact relating to concerns about possible fraud upon EOIR, particularly with respect to matters relating to fraudulent applications or documents affecting multiple removal proceedings, applications for relief from removal, appeals, or other proceedings before EOIR;

(ii) Coordinate with investigative authorities of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and other appropriate agencies with respect to the identification of and response to such fraud; and

(iii) Notify the EOIR disciplinary counsel and other appropriate authorities with respect to instances of fraud, misrepresentation, or abuse pertaining to an attorney or accredited representative.

Since 2006, EOIR’s Fraud and Abuse Prevention Program has handled more than 700 cases. It works closely with other agencies to investigate fraud in all forms and to refer cases for criminal prosecution if warranted. It also coordinates with EOIR’s Attorney Discipline Program to seek discipline of attorneys or accredited representatives who commit, enable, or induce fraud.

It provides extensive training to EOIR personnel on identifying and reporting fraud. For the public, it operates a dedicated fraud hotline at 877-388-3840 and accepts email referrals at EOIR.Fraud.Program@usdoj.gov. More information about this program may be found in the Program’s factsheet.

https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/eoirfraudprogramfactsheetjune2017/download

A federal grand jury in Madison, Wisconsin indicted a Johnson Creek, Wisconsin produce vendor corporate officer today for tax evasion, failure to file a corporate tax return, and structuring currency transactions, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Jeffrey M. Anderson for the Western District of Wisconsin.

According to the indictment, during the relevant timeframe, Thomas G. Paine was the Vice President and Treasurer of G.W. Paine Inc., which sold fresh fruit and other produce under the business name Tree Ripe Citrus Company. Paine was allegedly responsible for the finance and tax aspects of the company. The indictment alleges that Paine failed to file corporate tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for 2010 through 2012 and attempted to evade the taxes due and owing by G.W. Paine Inc. According to the indictment, Paine concealed the company’s income by structuring cash deposits so they were made in amounts less than $10,000 in order to evade the bank’s reporting requirements. Banks are required to file reports with the U.S. Treasury for cash deposits exceeding $10,000. These reports include the identity of the person who conducted the transaction. The indictment alleges that from 2012 through 2013, Paine structured more than $400,000.

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

If convicted, Paine faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for each of the tax evasion counts, one year in prison for each of the failure to file counts and 10 years in prison for each of the structuring counts.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and Acting U.S. Attorney Anderson commended special agents of the IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman and Trial Attorney Eric C. Schmale 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.

Senior Judge Sue L. Robinson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware today ruled in favor of the Justice Department’s civil antitrust lawsuit to block radioactive waste disposal provider EnergySolutions’ $367 million acquisition of rival Waste Control Specialists.  Judge Robinson entered an order ruling in favor of the United States and enjoining the merger.

“Substantial evidence showed that head-to-head competition between EnergySolutions and Waste Control Specialists led to better disposal services at lower prices,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “Today’s decision protects competition in an industry that is incredibly difficult to enter.  While EnergySolutions’ preference was to buy its main rival rather than continue to compete to win business, today’s decision ensures that customers will benefit from the competitive process.”

The Court’s decision follows a 10-day trial that concluded in May.  The Justice Department filed suit in November 2016, alleging that the proposed acquisition would combine the two most significant competitors for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste available to commercial customers in 36 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, Acting United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant STEVEN WANG, aka SHUI CHENG WANG, age 53, from Tamuning, was sentenced today in District Court to a 57-month term of imprisonment for Mail Fraud, Visa Fraud, Money Laundering, and Willful Failure to Pay Over Tax. WANG was also sentenced in a separate case to 57 months of imprisonment for Conspiracy to Commit Visa Fraud. The District Court ordered the terms to run consecutive. WANG will serve 114 months in federal prison for both cases. The Court also ordered three years of supervised release following imprisonment, in addition to a mandatory $500 assessment fee for both cases. WANG was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,622,352.98 to former Hua Sheng workers, $186,312.59 to the Internal Revenue Service, and $96,781 to an individual identified as J.P.W.

          On January 30, 2012, WANG entered a guilty plea to an Indictment that charged Mail Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341; Visa Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a); Money Laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957; and Willful Failure to Pay Over Tax, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7202. WANG, as general manager of Hua Sheng International Group Corporation Limited (Hua Sheng), fraudulently petitioned over 173 H-2B workers. He represented that the workers would earn the Guam prevailing hourly wage for their occupations. WANG, among other things, further caused his office workers to print checks in the name of each Hua Sheng H-2B worker. The checks reflected the amount of legal wages owed and the appropriate deductions for Guam income tax, and Social Security and Medicare withholding. However, WANG never gave these checks to his workers. The investigation revealed that WANG actually paid the workers below prevailing wages, loaned them as labor to other companies, and housed them in deplorable conditions. WANG also falsely represented to Guam Department of Labor that Hua Sheng H-2B workers had departed Guam, when in fact they still remained on island.

          While pending sentencing for the Hua Sheng matter, WANG also entered a guilty plea to a charge of Conspiracy to Commit Visa Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1546(a) and 2. WANG worked for Dalian Hongda Baiye Group (USA), Inc., which was used by WANG to facilitate the fraud. WANG attempted to secure an L1 nonimmigrant visa for J.P.W. WANG further accepted approximately $96,781 knowing that J.P.W. had never worked for Dalian Hongda Baiye Group Co. Ltd., in China, all in violation of the L1 nonimmigrant visa requirements.

          Acting U.S. Attorney Anderson stated, “This case demonstrates the importance of combined federal and local enforcement efforts to uphold the integrity of the H-2B visa program. The Hua Sheng workers suffered substantial financial losses as a result of Wang’s conduct. The Court’s sentencing order sends a strong message of accountability that these workers deserve.

          The Guam business community continues to face difficulties in hiring qualified United States workers. The ability of employers to seek temporary relief though the H-2B visa program is diminished by those who engage in dishonest business practices that poison the foreign labor pools on which the program relies. This case further demonstrates the ongoing commitment by the Department of Justice to promote lawfulness in our immigration system.”

          The investigation was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation; Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Division working together with Guam Department of Labor. The case was prosecuted by Stephen F. Leon Guerrero, an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Guam.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions today issued the following statement on the attack at Bishop International Airport in Flint, Michigan:

“I’ve just spoken with officials at the FBI about the attack on a police officer in Flint, Michigan that is being investigated as an act of terrorism. President Trump has prioritized the safety of all law enforcement officers, and this Department of Justice is committed to that goal. I want to assure all our law enforcement across the nation, any attack on someone who serves and protects our citizens will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I am proud of the swift response from the FBI and our federal prosecutors and their partnership with local police and the Canadian authorities. Our prayers are with the officer and his family for a full recovery.”

Two shipping companies based in Egypt and Singapore pleaded guilty today in federal court in Beaumont, Texas, to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and obstruction of justice for covering up the illegal dumping of oil-contaminated bilge water and garbage from one of their ships into the sea.

 

Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood for the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston for the Eastern District of Texas, announced the plea agreement. The agreement includes a $1.9 million dollar penalty and requires marine and coastal restoration efforts at three National Wildlife Refuges located on the Gulf of Mexico in East Texas, where the offending vessel transited and made port stops.

 

“This case involved egregious violations of U.S. and international laws that are key to protecting the oceans from pollution, and deliberate efforts to mislead U.S. Coast Guard officials about these criminal acts,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Wood. “The Department of Justice will continue to aggressively prosecute criminal acts that pollute the oceans.”

 

“Intentional acts of pollution in the Gulf of Mexico and Texas wetlands will not be tolerated, and violators such as defendants, Egyptian Tanker Company and Thome Ship Management, will be held responsible for their conduct,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston for the Eastern District of Texas. “Our citizens depend on clean water for their recreation and their livelihood. This kind of irresponsible conduct threatens both.”

 

Defendants Egyptian Tanker Company and Thome Ship Management are the owner and operator of the 57,920 gross ton, 809-foot long, ocean-going, oil tank ship called the M/T ETC MENA. Large ships like the M/T ETC MENA generate oil-contaminated bilge waste when water mixes in the bottom or bilges of the ship with oil that has leaked from the ship’s engines and other areas. This waste must be processed to separate the water from the oil and other wastes by using pollution prevention equipment, including an Oily Water Separator (OWS), before being discharged into the sea. These large ships also generate garbage, including ash from the incinerators, steel, and other non-organic wastes, which are collected in plastic bags and stored onboard until they can be disposed of properly at shore-side facilities. APPS requires that the disposal of the ship’s bilge waste and garbage be fully recorded in the ship’s Oil Record Book and Garbage Record Book.

 

The investigation began on April 26, 2016, when the U.S. Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Unit in Port Arthur, Texas, received information from a crew member on the M/T ETC MENA that the ship had illegally dumped bilge waste overboard into the ocean. The crewmember provided a written statement, photographs, and video of the alleged conduct. During the inspection of the ship that same day, the Coast Guard found a pump covered in oil submerged in the ship’s bilge primary tank that looked similar to the pump that the crew member said was used to pump the bilge waste overboard.

 

“Environmental crimes put the marine environment and our natural resources at risk,” said Rear Admiral Dave Callahan, Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District. “This case serves as another example that the United States will not tolerate these actions and violators will be held accountable. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Port Arthur, the Coast Guard Investigative Service, and the Department of Justice should be commended for their tireless efforts and cooperation in investigating and prosecuting this case.”

 

In pleading guilty, the companies admitted that its crew members bypassed the ships OWS and discharged bilge water into the ocean in March 2016 without it first passing through this pollution prevention equipment. The government’s investigation also revealed that crew members were instructed to throw plastic garbage bags filled with metal and incinerator ash into the sea in March 2016. The discharge of bilge water without using the OWS and of plastic garbage into the ocean was not entered into the ship’s Oil Record Book and Garbage Record Book in violation of APPS. The companies also pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for presenting these false documents to the Coast Guard during the inspection in Port Arthur, Texas.

 

The companies will be placed on a four-year term of probation that includes a comprehensive environmental compliance plan to ensure, among other things, that all of ships operated by Thome Ship Management that come to the United States fully comply with all applicable marine environmental protection requirements established by national and international laws. The compliance plan will be implemented by an independent auditing company and supervised by a court-appointed monitor.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph R. Batte of the Eastern District of Texas, Senior Trial Attorney David P. Kehoe, and Trial Attorney John D. Cashman at the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice prosecuted the case. The case was investigated by the Coast Guard’s Investigative Service.

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, Acting United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant PETER MENDIOLA DIEGO, age 48, from Tamuning, was sentenced yesterday in District Court to a 63-month term of imprisonment for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine. The Court also ordered 3 years of supervised release, 50 hours of community service, and a mandatory $100 assessment fee. In addition, defendants convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits.

          On February 24, 2016, DIEGO entered a guilty plea to an Information that charged Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1). The investigation revealed that DIEGO and others arranged to have over 831.6 grams of methamphetamine mailed from California to his place of employment in Guam. Forensic analysis determined the drugs were 97.3% pure. Federal agents also seized U.S. currency, including $237,230.00 from defendant’s residence. The money was owed to DIEGO’s source of supply for ice. Defendant agreed to the forfeiture of the seized funds.

          U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. case was prosecuted by Belinda Alcantara, an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Guam.

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, Acting United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant PETER MENDIOLA DIEGO, age 48, from Tamuning, was sentenced yesterday in District Court to a 63-month term of imprisonment for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine. The Court also ordered 3 years of supervised release, 50 hours of community service, and a mandatory $100 assessment fee. In addition, defendants convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits.

          On February 24, 2016, DIEGO entered a guilty plea to an Information that charged Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1). The investigation revealed that DIEGO and others arranged to have over 831.6 grams of methamphetamine mailed from California to his place of employment in Guam. Forensic analysis determined the drugs were 97.3% pure. Federal agents also seized U.S. currency, including $237,230.00 from defendant’s residence. The money was owed to DIEGO’s source of supply for ice. Defendant agreed to the forfeiture of the seized funds.

          The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Belinda Alcantara, an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Guam.

In recognition of June 20, 2017, as American Eagle Day, Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) issued the following statement:

 

“Our Division is proud to play a central role in the protection of the bald eagle, our national symbol and a distinctive emblem of freedom and the sovereignty of the United States. Over the course of many years, the lawyers in our Division have worked to promote conservation of lands and resources across the United States and to enforce federal laws protecting our natural treasures, including wildlife like bald eagles, golden eagles, and other raptors. As we celebrate American Eagle Day, we also honor the work of our client agencies—the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service at the U.S. Department of Interior, in particular—as well as state conservation agencies and private citizens around the nation for their vital work in this area.”

 

On June 15, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution designating June 20, 2017, as “American Eagle Day” and celebrating the recovery and restoration of the bald eagle. By 1963, only an estimated 417 nesting pairs of bald eagles remained in the lower 48 states. Through the extraordinary efforts of American citizens around the country, including state and federal agencies, conservations groups, and private landowners, the bald eagle once again began to flourish. By 2007, the number of nesting pairs of eagles in the lower 48 states increased to approximately 11,000, and the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ultimately determined that the bald eagle is no longer endangered or threatened.

 

The attorneys in the Environment and Natural Resources Division at the U.S. Department of Justice have a key role in efforts related to bald eagle protection under the laws passed by Congress, including the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Lacey Act. The Division’s Wildlife and Marine Resources Section represents the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other wildlife agencies in litigation involving the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and other federal wildlife conservation laws. The Division’s Environmental Crimes Section brings criminal cases against individuals and organizations that break the laws that protect our nation’s ecological and wildlife resources.

 

The bald eagle is prominently featured in the official seal of the U.S. Department of Justice.

 

For more information about the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, please visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/enrd.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered an agreement with the State of New York to resolve claims it failed to provide voter registration opportunities required by Section 5 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA).

Section 5 of the NVRA requires states to provide voter registration opportunities for federal elections when eligible citizens apply for or seek to renew their driver’s license or other identification documents through state motor vehicle offices. Section 5 also requires states to update voter registration records when registrants update the address associated with a driver’s license or other identification document, unless the registrant indicates otherwise.

Justice Department’s investigation found noncompliance with these NVRA requirements in New York State. Applications for New York driver’s licenses, learner’s permits, and identification cards did not consistently serve as applications for voter registration with respect to elections for federal office, as required by the NVRA. Moreover, the procedures by which citizens notified motor vehicle authorities that their address had changed did not consistently serve as notification of a change of address for voter registration purposes, as the NVRA requires.

“Our democracy is strengthened when voter registration is accessible to all eligible citizens,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division commends the State of New York for working with the Division to ensure that New York’s citizens have the opportunity to register to vote and update their voting information easily and conveniently through motor vehicle agencies, as envisioned by the National Voter Registration Act.”

Under the terms of the settlement, New York will fully integrate a voter registration opportunity into all applications for a driver’s license and other identification documents, including in-person and online renewal applications. New York will also ensure that all change of address information submitted for driver’s license purposes will be used to update voters’ address information unless voters decline to update their voter registration. The State has worked diligently throughout the settlement process to bring about NVRA compliance.

“The Motor Voter provision of the NVRA critically supports and enhances our citizens’ access to the democratic process,” said U.S. Attorney Rick Hartunian of the Northern District of New York. “I commend our many state officials for their hard work in reaching this agreement and for their commitment to protecting and promoting voting rights in New York.”

More information about the National Voter Registration Act and other federal voting laws is available on the Department of Justice website at https://www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section. Complaints about voter registration practices may be reported to the Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.

A Boynton Beach, Florida resident pleaded guilty today to corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the administration of the internal revenue laws and theft of government funds, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

 

According to documents filed with the court, from 2010 to 2015, David R. Andre, 41, filed fraudulent personal tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that sought more than $5.6 million in refunds to which he was not entitled. As a result of these returns, which falsely reported income earned and income tax withheld, the IRS paid Andre more than $485,000 in refunds. He used the funds to purchase his residence and multiple vehicles, including a Jaguar and Mercedes Benz. In late 2012, the IRS began trying to collect the taxes Andre owed and placed a lien on his residence. Days after the lien was recorded, Andre filed a form with the IRS that falsely claimed he was making a substantial payment, and the IRS released the lien. After Andre did not make the payment, the IRS revoked its release and re-filed the lien. In 2015, Andre also made false statements to IRS agents and told them that he purchased his residence with money he inherited, did not recall receiving any large refunds from the IRS and had not filed a tax return since 2008.

 

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 8. Andre faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws and a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for theft of government funds. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, forfeiture and monetary penalties.

 

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Daniel McGraw and Charles Edgar, Jr. 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 Southern District of Florida for its substantial assistance.

 

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

As the Department of Justice continues its efforts to fulfill President Trump’s commitment to reducing violent crime in America, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced today that 12 cities are joining the Department’s newly organized National Public Safety Partnership (PSP). The announcement came during the opening session of a national summit organized by the Attorney General’s Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety. The summit convened federal, state and local law enforcement to discuss how to support and replicate successful local violent crime reduction efforts.

A list of the cities is posted at www.nationalpublicsafetypartnership.org.

“Turning back the recent troubling increase in violent crime in our country is a top priority of the Department of Justice and the Trump Administration, as we work to fulfill the President’s promise to make America safe again,” said Attorney General Sessions. “The Department of Justice will work with American cities suffering from serious violent crime problems. There is no doubt that there are many strategies that are proven to reduce crime. Our new National Public Safety Partnership program will help these communities build up their own capacity to fight crime, by making use of data-driven, evidence-based strategies tailored to specific local concerns, and by drawing upon the expertise and resources of our Department.”

The Justice Department created PSP and the task force in response to President Trump’s February 9, 2017, Executive Order charging the agency with leading a national effort to combat violent crime. The partnership provides a framework for enhancing federal support of state, local and tribal law enforcement officials and prosecutors as they aggressively investigate and pursue violent criminals, specifically those involved in gun crime, drug trafficking and gang violence.

Twelve sites have been selected to receive this significant assistance:

• Birmingham, Alabama
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Memphis, Tennessee
• Toledo, Ohio
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Buffalo, New York
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Houston, Texas
• Jackson, Tennessee
• Kansas City, Missouri
• Lansing, Michigan
• Springfield, Illinois

We anticipate announcing additional sites this calendar year.

The Justice Department agencies involved in PSP are the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Office of Justice Programs; the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Office on Violence Against Women; and the Office of Community Oriented Policing.

For more information about the Department of Justice’s work to reduce violent crime and enhance public safety:

Attorney General Announces Crime Reduction and Public Safety Task Force

Attorney General Sessions Directs Federal Prosecutors to Target Most Significant Violent Offenders

Attorney General Jeff Sessions Announces New Initiatives to Advance Forensic Science and Help Counter the Rise in Violent Crime

Attorney General Jeff Sessions Announces New Actions to Support Law Enforcement and Maintain Public Safety in Indian Country

Department of Justice Releases Report Detailing the Prosecutions of Transnational Criminal Organizations and their Subsidiaries

Attorney General Sessions Issues Charging and Sentencing Guidelines to Federal Prosecutors

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, Acting United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant BERNARD J. MENDOZA, age 33, from Yigo, was sentenced today in District Court to a 37-month term of imprisonment for attempted possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The Court also ordered three years of supervised release following imprisonment, in addition to a mandatory $100 assessment fee. Federal law provides that defendants convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits.

          On September 19, 2016, MENDOZA entered a guilty plea to an Indictment that charged Attempted Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1). The investigation revealed that MENDOZA had over 56 grams of methamphetamine and 56 grams of marijuana shipped by FedEx to his place of employment in Guam from the state of Colorado. Forensic examination revealed that the methamphetamine was 98% pure.

          The investigation was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency. The case was prosecuted by Rosetta San Nicolas, an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Guam.

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein today announced that Robert K. Hur will serve as the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General and James A. Crowell IV will be the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Attorney General.

“Robert Hur and James Crowell have served with distinction in a variety of roles in the Department of Justice,” said Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein. “Their experience and judgment will advance our efforts to deter crime, promote the rule of law, and ensure equal justice for everyone.”

ROBERT K. HUR

Hur previously was a law firm partner in Washington, D.C., where he represented clients in criminal and regulatory enforcement actions before the U.S. Justice Department, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and other federal agencies, as well as related civil litigation. Hur also served as Hiring Partner for the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. From 2003 to 2005, he served at Main Justice as Special Assistant and later Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division, where he handled counterterrorism, corporate fraud, and appellate matters.

Hur also served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland from 2007 to 2014, where he prosecuted complex financial and regulatory offenses, including financial institutions fraud, criminal violations of the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, mortgage fraud, tax offenses, and public corruption as well as intellectual property-related matters involving electronic surveillance, computer network intrusions, and theft of intellectual property. Hur received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for superior performance and excellence as a lawyer.

Hur began his legal career as a law clerk for the late William H. Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States, and Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Hur received his A.B. from Harvard College and his J.D. from Stanford Law School.

JAMES A. CROWELL IV

Before joining the Deputy Attorney General's office, Crowell was the Criminal Chief in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, where he oversaw the work of over 85 Assistant U.S. Attorneys involved in criminal prosecutions, including national security, violent crime, fraud and corruption, cybercrime, narcotics, asset forfeiture, and money laundering, as well as the Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, Project Safe Child, Project Safe Neighborhoods, and related anti-crime programs. Crowell also served as the Chief of the Southern Division. Crowell has worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Maryland since 2007, when he began as an Assistant United States Attorney.

Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, from 2003 to 2007, Crowell was a Trial Attorney in the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, the office that oversees the federal effort to combat corruption through the prosecution of officials and employees at all levels of government. Crowell is the recipient of numerous law enforcement awards, including all three of the Department of Defense’s highest civilian awards, recognizing his effort to combat contract fraud and corruption involving military contracts. For his prosecution of public corruption cases, Crowell received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for superior performance and excellence as a lawyer.

Crowell began his career with the Department through the Attorney General’s Honors program as a Trial Attorney in the Antitrust Division’s Criminal Section in 2001, following his clerkship with Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Crowell received his B.A. from Hampden-Sydney College and his J.D. from Boston University School of Law. Crowell has also served in the United States Army Reserve since 1994.

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division sent a letter to the Kansas Real Estate Commission expressing its concerns regarding K.A.R. 86-3-32, a proposed regulation that would bar Kansas real estate brokers from offering gift cards to home buyers. According to the Division, this regulation would reduce competition and the likely effect would be to harm home buyers in Kansas.

 

A copy of the Division’s June 16, 2017, letter is attached.

A federal jury convicted a real estate investor of bid rigging and bank fraud related to public foreclosure auctions held in Georgia, the Department of Justice announced today.

Douglas L. Purdy was convicted today following a two-week trial before the Honorable Richard W. Story in Gainesville, Georgia.  The jury convicted Purdy on one count of bid rigging and two counts of bank fraud for participating in the charged conspiracy and scheme at Forsyth County, Georgia, foreclosure auctions from 2008 to 2011.

The evidence at trial showed that Purdy and his co-conspirators agreed not to compete for real estate at foreclosure auctions in Forsyth County and defrauded lender banks and homeowners.  Among other methods, the conspirators held secret “second auctions” of properties they had obtained through rigged bids, dividing among themselves the auction proceeds that should have gone to pay off debts against the properties and, in some cases, to homeowners.

A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment against Purdy on Feb. 3, 2016.  Including Purdy’s conviction, 23 real estate investors have either pleaded guilty or been convicted after trial as a result of the Department’s ongoing antitrust investigations into bid rigging at public foreclosure auctions in the Atlanta area.

The Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section and the FBI’s Atlanta Division conducted the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Georgia.  Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Washington Criminal II Section of the Antitrust Division at 202-598-4000 or call the FBI tip line at 415-553-7400.

 

The former owner of a now-defunct marble mining company in Afghanistan was charged in an indictment unsealed today with allegedly defrauding the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a U.S. government agency, and defaulting on a $15.8 million loan.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko and Assistant Director in Charge Andrew W. Vale of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.

Azam Doost, aka Adam Doost, Mohammad Azam Doost and Mohammad Azim (Doost), 39, most recently of Union City, California, was charged in an indictment filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia with three counts of major fraud against the United States, eight counts of wire fraud, four counts of false statements on loan applications or extensions and eight counts of money laundering. The indictment also has a forfeiture notice.

The indictment alleges that in February 2010, while working at his company, Equity Capital Mining LLC, Doost, along with his brother, obtained a $15.8 million loan from OPIC for the development, maintenance and operation of a marble mine in western Afghanistan. The loan proceeds were paid directly from OPIC to the alleged vendors who provided equipment for the mine, as reported to OPIC by Doost or his consultant. Doost was required to deal with these companies in arms-length transactions or, to the extent any transactions were other than at arms-length, he was required to report any affiliation he had with a vendor. Doost informed OPIC that he had no affiliation with any of the alleged vendors with whom he dealt, when in fact he allegedly had financial relationships with several of them. The indictment alleges that Doost’s business partner was listed with the bank for a number of these alleged vendors and, upon receipt of money from OPIC into the respective accounts, significant amounts of this money were then transferred from that respective account to companies and individuals with whom Doost was associated, or to pay debts Doost owed. Doost’s consultant allegedly received a commission of $444,000 for his alleged consulting services with the first of three disbursements from OPIC, and shortly after $40,000 was transferred from his account to a Doost company in California

The indictment further alleges that when the time came for Equity Capital Mining LLC to repay the loan to OPIC, Doost provided purported reasons to OPIC why it was not able to make those repayments at a time when Doost had control of sufficient funds to make those repayments. Doost and his brother failed to repay any of the principal on the OPIC loan, and only a limited amount of interest, and ultimately defaulted on the loan, the indictment alleges.

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

SIGAR, with assistance from the FBI, investigated the case. Trial Attorney Daniel Butler of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.

FALLS CHURCH, VA – The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced the investiture of 11 new immigration judges, bringing the agency’s total to 326. Deputy Chief Immigration Judge Print Maggard presided over the investiture during a ceremony held this afternoon at EOIR headquarters in Falls Church, Va.

After a thorough application process, Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Olga Attia, David Cheng, Scott D. Criss, Christopher M. Greer, Catherine E. Halliday-Roberts, Elizabeth G. Lang, Eric W. Marsteller, Jennifer L. Page-Lozano, Helaine R. Perlman, Frank T. Pimentel, and Michael S. Pleters to their new positions.

“We are excited to welcome these individuals to the immigration judge corps, and their arrival will significantly increase our adjudicatory capacity in immigration courts as we work to address a backlog of pending cases,” said Acting Director James McHenry. “The continued hiring of new immigration judges as quickly as possible is an important component of EOIR’s multi-step effort to address the backlog, which also includes maximizing the use and effectiveness of our current adjudicatory capacity, upgrading our technology to process cases more efficiently, and reviewing internal practices and procedures in order to identify ways in which we can enhance immigration judge productivity without compromising due process.”

Biographical information follows.

Olga Attia, Immigration Judge, Otay Mesa Immigration Court

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Olga Attia to begin hearing cases in July 2017. Judge Attia earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1993 from the California State University at Long Beach and a Juris Doctor in 1996 from the University of San Diego School of Law. From 2003 to 2017, she served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in San Diego, Calif. From 1997 to 2003, she served as an assistant district counsel for the Office of District Counsel, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Department of Justice, also in San Diego. From 1996 to 1997, she served as a judicial law clerk at the San Diego, El Centro, and Hawaii immigration courts, Executive Office for Immigration Review, Department of Justice, entering on duty through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. Judge Attia is a member of the California State Bar.

David Cheng, Immigration Judge, Newark Immigration Court

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed David Cheng to begin hearing cases in July 2017. Judge Cheng earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1992 from the State University of New York at Albany and a Juris Doctor in 1997 from St. John’s University School of Law. From 2002 to 2017, he served as a senior attorney for the Office of Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Newark, N.J. From 2000 to 2002, he served as an administrative law judge for the New York City Department of Finance. From 1997 to 2000, he was a general partner at Cheng and Cheng P.C., in New York, N.Y. Judge Cheng is a member of the New York State Bar.

Scott D. Criss, Immigration Judge, Atlanta Immigration Court

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Scott D. Criss to begin hearing cases in July 2017. Judge Criss earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2002 from the California State University at Long Beach and a Juris Doctor in 2005 from The John Marshall Law School. From 2008 to 2017, he served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Charlotte, N.C. From 2006 to 2008, he served as an assistant state’s attorney for the Criminal Traffic Division, Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, in Chicago, Ill. From 2004 to 2005, he served as an assistant state’s attorney for the Criminal Appellate Division, Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. Judge Criss is a member of the Illinois State Bar.

Christopher M. Greer, Immigration Judge, Salt Lake City Immigration Court

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Christopher M. Greer to begin hearing cases in July 2017. Judge Greer earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989 and a Juris Doctor in 1992 from the University of Utah, and a Master of Laws in 2003 from The Army Judge Advocate General’s School. From 2015 to 2017, he served as deputy chief trial judge at the Navy-Marine Corps Trial Judiciary in Washington, D.C. From 2013 to 2015, and 2006 to 2008, he served as a trial judge at the Navy-Marine Corps Trial Judiciary, Eastern Judicial Circuit at Camp Lejeune, N.C. From 2008 to 2013, he served as a senior legal advisor in Quantico, Va. and Cherry Point, N.C. From 2003 to 2006, he served as an operational law attorney in North Carolina, deploying to both Afghanistan and Iraq. From 1999 to 2002, he served as an attorney advisor and supervisory defense counsel in Naples, Italy. From 1996 to 1999, he served as defense counsel and senior prosecutor in Twentynine Palms, Calif. From 1993 to 1996, he served as a legal assistance attorney and prosecutor in Okinawa, Japan. Judge Greer is a member of the Utah State Bar.

Catherine E. Halliday-Roberts, Immigration Judge, Otay Mesa Immigration Court

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Catherine E. Halliday-Roberts to begin hearing cases in July 2017. Judge Halliday-Roberts earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1998 from the University of Dayton and a Juris Doctor in 2002 from the Valparaiso University School of Law. From 2008 to 2017, she served as a deputy chief counsel for the Office of Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in San Diego, Calif. From 2003 to 2008, she served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of Chief Counsel, ICE, DHS, in Los Angeles and Lancaster, Calif. From 2002 to 2003, she served as an assistant district counsel for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Department of Justice, entering on duty through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. Since 2002, she has been an associate professor at Santa Monica College. Judge Halliday-Roberts is a member of the California State Bar.

Elizabeth G. Lang, Immigration Judge, Chicago Immigration Court

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Elizabeth G. Lang to begin hearing cases in July 2017. Judge Lang earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1998 from Grinnell College and a Master of Arts degree and Juris Doctor in 2004 from the University of Virginia. From 2008 to 2017, she served as an assistant chief counsel for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Orlando, Fla. From 2013 to 2014, she served as an associate legal advisor for ICE, DHS, also in Orlando. From 2006 to 2008, she served as an assistant county attorney for the Stafford County Attorney’s Office, in Stafford, Va. From 2004 to 2006, she served as a law clerk at the Alexandria Circuit Court, in Alexandria, Va. Judge Lang is a member of the Florida and Virginia State Bars.

Eric W. Marsteller, Immigration Judge, New Orleans Immigration Court

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Eric W. Marsteller to begin hearing cases in July 2017. Judge Marsteller earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2000 from Tulane University and a Juris Doctor in 2004 from The George Washington University Law School. From 2012 to 2017, he served as a senior litigation counsel for the Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL), Civil Division, Department of Justice. From 2004 to 2012, he served as a trial attorney for OIL, entering on duty through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. Judge Marsteller is a member of the Virginia State Bar.

Jennifer L. Page-Lozano, Immigration Judge, Miami Immigration Court

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Jennifer L. Page-Lozano to begin hearing cases in July 2017. Judge Page-Lozano earned a Master of Public Health degree in 2003 from the University of South Florida and a Juris Doctor in 2006 from the Stetson University School of Law. From 2015 to 2017, she served as an attorney advisor for the Board of Immigration Appeals, Executive Office for Immigration Review, Department of Justice. From 2009 to 2015, she served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Orlando, Fla. From 2006 to 2009, she was an attorney at Page-Lozano, P.A., in Tampa, Fla. Judge Page-Lozano is a member of the Florida and Minnesota State Bars.

Helaine R. Perlman, Immigration Judge, Arlington Immigration Court

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Helaine R. Perlman to begin hearing cases in July 2017. Judge Perlman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1997 from Columbia University and a Juris Doctor in 2002 from New York University School of Law. From 2016 to 2017, she served as deputy general counsel for the Office of General Counsel (OGC), Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), Department of Justice (DOJ). From 2013 to 2016, she served as senior counsel for immigration for OGC, EOIR, DOJ. From 2011 to 2013, she served as associate general counsel for OGC, EOIR, DOJ. From 2002 to 2011, she was an associate attorney at Hogan Lovells LLP, in Washington, D.C. Judge Perlman is a member of the District of Columbia and the Maryland State Bars.

Frank T. Pimentel, Immigration Judge, Port Isabel Immigration Court

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Frank T. Pimentel to begin hearing cases in July 2017. Judge Pimentel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1987 and a Juris Doctor in 1994 from the University of Notre Dame. From 2012 to 2017, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York in Buffalo, N.Y. From 2009 to 2012, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, in Laredo, Texas. From 2004 to 2009, he was a senior associate attorney at Mintz Levin Cohn Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. in Washington, D.C. From 1999 to 2004, he was an associate attorney at Reed Smith LLP, in Falls Church, Va. From 1995 to 1999, he served as an assistant public defender for the Monroe County Public Defender’s Office in Rochester, N.Y. From 1994 to 1995, he clerked for the Honorable David G. Larimer, U.S. District Court, Western District of New York. From 1987 to 1990, he served as a field artillery officer in the U.S. Army in Oklahoma, Colorado, and Turkey. Judge Pimentel is a member of the New York State Bar.

Michael S. Pleters, Immigration Judge, El Paso Service Processing Center

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Michael S. Pleters to begin hearing cases in July 2017. Judge Pleters earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1987 from Columbia University and a Juris Doctor in 1992 from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. From 1999 to 2017, he served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of Chief Counsel, Department of Homeland Security, in El Paso, Texas. From 2011 to 2014, he served as a special assistant U.S. attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico. From 1994 to 1999, he served as an assistant district attorney for the Office of the District Attorney, 34th Judicial District, also in El Paso. From 1992 to 1994, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable Harry Lee Hudspeth, Chief U.S. District Court Judge, Western District of Texas. Judge Pleters is a member of the Texas and New York State Bars.

A former Hampton, Virginia business owner pleaded guilty today to failing to pay over employment taxes, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

 

According to documents filed with the court, John E. Manley, 71, owned and operated Manley’s Service Co. Inc. (MSC), a heating, ventilation and cooling maintenance business in the Hampton, Virginia area since 1971. As president of MSC, Manley exercised significant control over the firm’s financial affairs and had final decision-making authority regarding its business activities. Between 2010 and 2014, Manley failed to pay over to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) $611,564.83 in payroll taxes and, beginning in March 2012, he caused MSC to stop filing employment tax returns. Manley also filed personal income tax returns for 2010 through 2014 on which he falsely reported that MSC had withheld payroll taxes from his wages and paid the withholdings to the IRS. He caused MSC to stop timely filing corporate tax returns after 2010. Manley has admitted to causing a tax loss of more than $929,491.

 

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 22. Manley faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison, a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

 

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Robert J. Boudreau and David Zisserson of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

 

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

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein today issued the following statement:

“Americans should exercise caution before accepting as true any stories attributed to anonymous ‘officials,’ particularly when they do not identify the country – let alone the branch or agency of government – with which the alleged sources supposedly are affiliated. Americans should be skeptical about anonymous allegations. The Department of Justice has a long-established policy to neither confirm nor deny such allegations.”

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

California real estate investor Ramin Rad “Ray” Yeganeh pleaded guilty to one count of bid rigging in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland.  He was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of California on June 25, 2015.

According to court documents, as early as September 2008 and continuing until in or about January 2011, Yeganeh conspired with others not to bid against one another, instead designating a winning bidder to obtain selected properties at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Alameda County.  The selected properties were then awarded to the conspirators who submitted the highest bids in second, private auctions.  The private auctions often took place at or near the courthouse steps where the public auctions were held.

The Department determined that the primary purpose of the conspiracies was to suppress and eliminate competition in order to obtain selected real estate offered at Alameda County public foreclosure auctions at noncompetitive prices. When real estate properties are sold at these auctions, the proceeds are used to pay off the mortgage and other debt attached to the property, with remaining proceeds, if any, paid to the homeowner.

The guilty plea entered yesterday was the result of the Department’s ongoing investigation into bid rigging at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Francisco, San Mateo, Contra Costa and Alameda counties, California. To date, 60 individuals have agreed to plead or have pleaded guilty.

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

The Department of Justice today announced that former Mississippi correctional officer Lawardrick Marsher was sentenced to 50 weekends in prison, five years probation and 150 hours of community service for severely beating an inmate at the state’s Parchman Prison.

Marsher, 29, admitted at his guilty plea in February that he repeatedly punched and kicked the victim while he lay nonresistant on the ground. The victim was temporarily blinded by the attack and suffered severe blood loss, a broken orbital bone, and permanent partial vision loss after the March 9, 2014, incident.

After the attack, Marsher and three other officers created a cover story that falsely minimized and falsely justified the force used by officers. As part of the cover-up, they wrote false reports and lied to federal investigators.

“Vicious attacks like this one dishonor the responsible work done by corrections officers throughout the country,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler.  “The Department of Justice will protect the rights of all citizens, including those in prison.”

The leader of the cover-up, Robert Sturdivant, has also pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 30. Sturdivant was a lieutenant at the prison and Marsher’s supervisor.

Two other officers were sentenced on June 2 for their roles in the beating and the cover-up. Deonte Pate, 24, was sentenced to 12 weekends in jail and to a period of probation for his role in concealing the incident. Romander Nelson, 44, was sentenced to 14 weekends in jail and a period of probation for failing to intervene to protect the victim.

The Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman is the largest prison in the state, housing more than 3,000 inmates. It has operated continuously as both a prison and a working farm since 1901.

Marsher was terminated by the Mississippi Department of Corrections shortly after the incident, and Nelson and Sturdivant were terminated after federal charges were filed. Pate resigned.

"Corrections officers are sworn to protect those within our prison systems, but there is an expectation that they uphold the laws and rights of those they protect," said Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Mississippi, Christopher Freeze. "Inmates are not less than human and maintain inalienable civil rights; therefore, they should be treated with justice not callous assault. The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate allegations of civil rights violations."

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Jackson Division, with the cooperation of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.  It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Coleman of the Northern District of Mississippi and Trial Attorney Dana Mulhauser of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.      

The Department of Justice announced today that it will require The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) and E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. (DuPont) to divest multiple crop protection and two petrochemical products to proceed with their proposed merger valued at about $130 billion. 

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, along with the offices of three state attorneys general, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to enjoin the proposed transaction, along with a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the department’s competitive concerns.  The participating state attorneys general offices represent Iowa, Mississippi, and Montana.

The department said that, without the divestitures, the proposed merger likely would reduce competition between two of only a handful of chemical companies that manufacture certain types of crop protection chemicals and the only two U.S. producers of acid copolymers and ionomers, potentially harming U.S. farmers and consumers. 

“The Department of Justice conducted a thorough investigation into this merger,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “As originally proposed, the merger would have eliminated important competition between Dow and DuPont in the development and sale of insecticides and herbicides that are vital to American farmers who plant winter wheat and various specialty crops.  In addition, it would have given the merged company a monopoly over ethylene derivatives known as acid copolymers and ionomers that are used to manufacture many products, including food packaging.  The remedies obtained by today’s settlement, including the divestiture of DuPont’s market-leading Finesse and Rynaxypyr crop protection products, will preserve vigorous competition in the sale of these products and benefit American farmers and consumers alike.”

According to the department’s complaint, Dow and DuPont are two of only a few significant competitors in the markets for broadleaf herbicides for winter wheat and insecticides for chewing pests.  Specifically, DuPont’s Finesse product is the market leading broadleaf herbicide for winter wheat, and Dow recently introduced a new broadleaf herbicide called Quelex to compete with Finesse.  DuPont’s Rynaxypyr line of products, which are marketed in the United States under the brand names Altacor, Coragen, and Prevathon, are the top selling insecticides for chewing pests, and compete with Dow’s methoxyfenozide products, sold in the United States under the Intrepid brand, and Dow’s spinetoram products, sold under the Delegate and Radiant brands.  The complaint alleges that the loss of competition between Dow and DuPont would result in higher prices, less favorable contractual terms, and a reduced incentive to innovate for each of these products.

The department’s complaint further alleges that Dow and DuPont are the only two U.S. suppliers of acid copolymers and ionomers, both of which are high-pressure ethylene derivative products that are important inputs for food packaging and other plastics applications.  According to the complaint, customers for each of these products would have no choice but to accept higher prices from the merged company following the transaction.  

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, DuPont must divest its market-leading Finesse herbicide and Rynaxypyr insecticide products to a buyer to be approved by the United States.  The department said that the divestiture of these products, which have total combined annual U.S. sales of over $100 million, would preserve competition in U.S. markets for broadleaf herbicides for winter wheat and insecticides for chewing pests.  The proposed settlement further requires Dow to divest its U.S. acid copolymers and ionomers business to a buyer approved by the United States to remedy the merger’s harm in the U.S. markets for acid copolymers and ionomers.

The department’s Antitrust Division and the European Commission cooperated closely throughout the course of their respective investigations.  The European Commission announced on March 27, 2017, that it will approve the merger conditioned on certain divestitures to address concerns in a variety of products.  These divestitures included several products also divested in the Antitrust Division’s proposed settlement, as well as Dupont’s assets used for research and development of new crop protection chemicals.  Like the European Commission, the Antitrust Division examined the effect of the merger on development of new crop protection chemicals but, in the context of this investigation, the market conditions in the United States did not provide a basis for a similar conclusion at this time.

Dow, a Delaware corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, operates in approximately 180 countries, and employs over 50,000 people worldwide.  Dow’s primary lines of business are chemical, plastic, and agricultural products and services, and its products are used in various end markets, ranging from agriculture to consumer goods.  In 2016, Dow reported global revenues of approximately $48 billion. 

DuPont, a Delaware corporation headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, operates in approximately 90 countries, and employs more than 60,000 people worldwide.  Dow’s primary products include crop protection chemicals and performance materials such as plastics and polymers.  In 2016, DuPont reported global revenues of $24.6 billion.

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

On Wednesday, June 14th, INTERPOL Washington—the U.S. National Central Bureau--welcomed some very special detailees. Flat Stanley, Stella, Saul, and Santos will be learning about INTERPOL Washington’s national and international mission this summer. Their time with INTERPOL Washington will culminate with a presentation to the children of our employees, during the Department of Justice’s Kids Day activities in August.

On his first day, Flat Stanley helped INTERPOL Washington celebrate Flag Day by attending a Washington Nationals baseball game where he met a local Metro Transit police officer and a fire fighter from the L’Enfant Plaza fire station. He also showed his patriotism by posing for a photograph with the U.S. flag.

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

Flat Stanley attends a Washington Nationals baseball game.

 

The Justice Department today announced that Gerald Wallace, 35, was indicted by a federal grand jury on a hate crime charge for obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs by threatening to shoot members of a mosque in Miami Gardens, Florida.

According to court documents, during the evening of February 19, 2017, Wallace left a voicemail message for the Islamic Center of Greater Miami, located in Miami Gardens, Florida. 

The defendant is alleged to have left a profanity laden message against Islam, the prophet Mohammed, and the Koran, during which he threatened to go to the mosque, and stated, "I'm gonna shoot all y'all."

Counts One and Two of the superseding indictment charge Wallace with obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs and the interstate transmission of a threatening communication for leaving this threating voicemail. Wallace was previously indicted, on May 25, 2017, for the interstate transmission of a threatening communication for making this threat.  If convicted of both counts, Wallace faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison. 

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

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

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against Stratus Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Miami, Florida; Sonar Products Inc. of Carlstadt, New Jersey; and individuals Alberto Hoyo and Juan Carlos Billoch, the Department of Justice announced today. The injunction permanently enjoins the defendants from distributing unapproved, misbranded, and adulterated drugs in violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).

The Department filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on April 28, at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The complaint alleges, among other things, that the defendants shipped drugs that had not been approved by the FDA and failed to abide by current good manufacturing practices.

Products Inc. (Sonar), a New Jersey corporation, manufactures drugs for Stratus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Stratus). Stratus, a Florida corporation, distributes prescription and non-prescription drugs and, according to the complaint, owned 80 percent of Sonar. The complaint also included Alberto Hoyo, who is president of Stratus and was a member of Sonar’s board of directors, and Juan Carlos Billoch, who is vice president of operations of Stratus and was a member of Sonar’s board of directors.

According to the complaint, Sonar and Stratus manufactured and/or distributed a number of dermatological products that were not approved by the FDA. The complaint further details that on April 13, 2015, the United States seized unapproved and misbranded drugs held at Stratus’s facility and manufactured by Sonar. They included X-Viate 40 percent Gel and X-Viate 40 percent Lotion.

“Compliance with the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act is necessary to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the medicines we all use,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department will continue to work closely with the FDA to protect the public from conduct, like that alleged in the complaint, which poses a potential risk to consumers.”

The consent decree entered today resolves the litigation and requires that defendants cease the production and distribution of unapproved and misbranded drugs. The decree further requires that defendants adhere to current good manufacturing practices for drugs, and requires Sonar to cease manufacturing until the company implements specified remedial measures. The measures include among other things, establishing a quality assurance and quality control program and retaining an expert to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of Sonar’s operations.

As noted in the complaint, FDA inspections of Sonar’s facility in 2014 and 2015, and Stratus’s facility in 2014, revealed violations of current good manufacturing practices that demonstrated a lack of quality oversight of the manufacturing, processing, and testing of drugs such that, if they continued, posed a threat to the public health. The complaint alleged, for example, that Sonar failed to reject drug products that did not meet established standards or specifications. Sonar also knew that some products were exceeding microbial limits and contained objectionable microorganisms, but did not thoroughly investigate the cause of such problems, and instead released the products to the market.

Also, according to the complaint, several products manufactured by Sonar were recalled in 2015 for microbial contamination, and an inspection concluded Stratus did not have the proper controls in place or possess adequate quality oversight to assure that finished drug products meet established specifications for identity, strength, quality, and purity prior to release.

This matter was handled by Trial Attorneys Jacqueline Blaesi-Freed and Monica Groat of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney James Weinkle of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, with the assistance of Associate Chief Counsel for Enforcement Joshua Davenport of the FDA’s Office of General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services.

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

On World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, our nation joins the world in voicing our opposition to elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. On this day, the Department of Justice extends its support to elder victims and their loved ones, recognizing with gratitude those who have committed their lives to protecting older Americans, and affirms its unwavering commitment to combatting elder mistreatment in all its forms.

 

The U.S. Census Bureau projects that that the population of Americans over 65 years of age will increase to 83.7 million in 2050, nearly double its estimated population of 43.1 million as of the most recent census. While many Americans are enjoying longer, healthier lives, far too many older Americans are suffering in the shadows. Some studies suggest that 10 percent of seniors may suffer some form of physical abuse, psychological or verbal abuse, sexual abuse, financial exploitation or neglect. Likewise, other studies suggest that older adults may suffer billions in losses as a result of financial fraud, and that being victimized by financial fraud could lead to higher rates of hospitalization and mortality.

 

“On World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, the Department of Justice gives voice to those who have suffered from elder abuse, neglect, fraud and exploitation and commits to supporting those who combat elder mistreatment every day,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “The department is dedicated to actively working with our federal agency partners as well as state, local and international law enforcement, prosecutors and civil attorneys, counselors and case workers, and healthcare professionals to address the growing problem of crime targeting the nation’s seniors.”

 

The Department of Justice, through its Elder Justice Initiative, which includes the work of many Department components, is working on multiple fronts to protect older Americans from elder mistreatment. The Department has aggressively prosecuted mass mailing fraud schemes, such as Jamaican lottery and psychic scams, many of which are international in nature and target seniors. The Department also launched 10 regional Elder Justice Task Forces across the country in California, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Washington 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. Additionally, in 2016, the Department’s Office for Victims of Crime and the Elder Justice Initiative, in partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service, established the two-year Elder Justice AmeriCorps program, which received $2 million in Justice Department grant funding to provide legal assistance and support services to victims of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. Lastly, the Department actively supports state and local efforts to prevent and combat elder abuse in a variety of ways, including:

 

• Helping older victims and their families by connecting them to available resources, assistance and information on its Elder Justice website: www.elderjustice.gov;

   

• Advancing our collective 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;

   

• 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; and

 

• Raising public awareness of elder abuse and financial exploitation through the Elder Justice website, webinars, and public meetings.

 

While some progress has been made in stemming the tide of elder abuse and financial exploitation, there is so much that we still must accomplish. So, on this World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, we ask all Americans to join the Department of Justice in redoubling its efforts to prevent and combat all forms of elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation.

 

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.

Robert Doggart, 65, of Signal Mountain, Tennessee, was sentenced to 235 months in prison for soliciting another person to violate federal civil rights laws by burning down a mosque in Islamberg, a hamlet outside Hancock, New York, announced Attorney General Jeff Sessions and United States Attorney Nancy Stallard Harr of the Eastern District of Tennessee.  Doggart also was found guilty of soliciting another person to commit arson.

Evidence presented at trial established that, in February 2015, the FBI learned through a confidential source that the defendant was recruiting people online to carry out an armed attack on Islamberg, a community that is home to a large Muslim population. Doggart arranged to meet with the confidential source in Nashville, where he discussed details of his plan to burn down a mosque, a school, and a cafeteria in Islamberg. Doggart showed the confidential source maps of Islamberg, laid out the number of guns and types of ammunition they would need to destroy the community, and discussed different ways to burn down a mosque and other buildings. Through a court order, the FBI also began intercepting Doggart’s phone calls during which Doggart solicited and recruited people to join him in his attack on Islamberg.

Doggart specifically targeted the mosque because it was a religious building, and he discussed burning it down or blowing it up with a Molotov cocktail or other explosive device. At trial, the jury heard recorded conversations in which Doggart repeatedly discussed killing people, including one in which Doggart said, “I don’t want to have to kill children, but there’s always collateral damage.” 

“People of all faiths have the fundamental right to worship freely, and this administration will not tolerate attempts to violate that right,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “The defendant solicited people to commit acts of violence in an effort to terrorize a community simply because of its Islamic faith.  The Justice Department will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute attacks against our faith-based communities.”

“The people of the Eastern District of Tennessee will not tolerate the type of threats and actions perpetrated by Doggart.  The United States Attorney’s Office will aggressively prosecute those who seek to disrupt the safety of our community and others,” said U.S. Attorney Nancy Stallard Harr. 

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Knoxville Division. This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Saeed A. Mody of the Civil Rights Division, Assistant U.S. Attorney Perry H. Piper of the Eastern District of Tennessee, and assisted by Trial Attorney Clement McGovern of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein today released the following statement on the shooting at the congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, VA:

“This morning, Members of Congress, Senators, congressional staffers, and Capitol Police officers were targets of a senseless and cowardly attack during a practice for a bi-partisan, charity baseball game. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families. We pray for their swift recovery. The Department of Justice will provide all resources necessary for a thorough investigation."

“I commend the heroic officers of the Capitol Police and the Alexandria Police Department. Their willingness to risk their lives to keep us safe is humbling and inspiring."

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, Acting United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant JOSEPH WENDELL MONTON DEVELLES, age 24, was sentenced in District Court on June 13, 2017, to a 21-month term of imprisonment for Possession of Firearms by a Prohibited Person and Possession with Intent to Distribute Less than 50 Kilograms of Marijuana. The Court also ordered two years of supervised release and a mandatory $200 assessment fee. In addition, defendants convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits.

          On October 31, 2016, DEVELLES pled guilty to an Information that charged Possession of Firearms by a Prohibited Person, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), and Possession with Intent to Distribute Less than 50 Kilograms of Marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). The firearms offense was based on DEVELLES being an unlawful drug user at the time he possessed the weapons. During February 2016, officers from the Guam Police Department (GPD) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence in Astumbo, Dededo. Inside a bedroom, law enforcement found two five-gallon buckets that contained 2.4 pounds of marijuana. They also discovered a Glock .380 caliber pistol, a Marlin 270 Win. rifle, ammunition, and approximately $26,300 in U.S. currency. The money was proceeds from the sale of marijuana. DEVELLES had previously been convicted in the Superior Court of Guam for driving while intoxicated. Chief District Judge Tydingco-Gatewood noted that DEVELLES committed federal offenses while still on probation.

          The investigation was conducted by ATF and the GPD-Special Investigation Section. The case was prosecuted by Belinda Alcantara, Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Guam.

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, Acting United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant CHYANNA MARIE CAMACHO, age 40 from Dededo, was sentenced today in District Court to a 70-month term of imprisonment for Attempted Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute. The Court also ordered three years of supervised release following imprisonment, 75 hours of community service, and a mandatory $100 assessment fee. In addition, defendants convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits.

          On August 11, 2016, CAMACHO pled guilty to an Indictment charging her with Attempted Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1). The investigation revealed that CAMACHO and other individuals agreed to use the mail system to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine on Guam. On June 28, 2016, federal agents seized a U.S. Postal Service package that concealed over 78.7 grams of methamphetamine. Laboratory tests later determined that the drugs were 98% pure. The investigation further revealed that CAMACHO arranged to have the drugs sent to her in Guam from Bremerton, Washington.

          The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Rosetta San Nicolas, Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Guam.

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, Acting United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant RICHARD PENG aka PAI PENG, a citizen of the United States and Taiwan, was sentenced on June 12, 2017, in District Court, to six months imprisonment. The Court also ordered a one-year term of supervised release following PENG’S release, and a fine of $2,000.00, in addition to the payment of a mandatory $100 assessment fee.

          On August 2, 2016, PENG was charged by Information with Harboring an Illegal Alien, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(3). On August 3, 2016, PENG waived indictment by the grand jury, and entered a guilty plea to the charge. From November 2014 until February 2015, PENG housed a Chinese birth-tourist after she had overstayed her conditional parole, with the intention of avoiding her detection by immigration authorities.

          Acting United States Attorney Anderson stated, “On April 11, 2017, Attorney General Sessions announced that DOJ will place a high priority on establishing lawfulness in our immigration system. The District of the Northern Mariana Islands will see an increase in federal law enforcement efforts to implement this important policy change. As this case demonstrates, the Department is committed to holding persons accountable for enticing, encouraging and abetting aliens who unlawfully enter or remain in the United States.”

          The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. The case was prosecuted by James J. Benedetto, Assistant United States Attorney for the District of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions today released the following statement on the Ninth Circuit’s decision on President Trump’s Executive Order:

“President Trump’s Executive Order is well within his lawful authority to keep the Nation safe.  We disagree with the Ninth Circuit’s decision to block that authority.”

“Recent attacks confirm that the threat to our nation is immediate and real.  Certain countries shelter or sponsor terrorist groups like ISIS and al Qaeda, and we may be unable to obtain any reliable background information on individuals from these war-torn, failed states. We must not place our nation at risk until we have the ability accurately and responsibly to vet those seeking entry here.  The President was clear in his landmark speech in Saudi Arabia: this is not about religion; it is about national security.  In fact, the President called upon leaders in the Muslim world to join the United States in protecting religious freedom for all, including the freedom to be free from violence and terror. “

“The Executive Branch is entrusted with the responsibility to keep the country safe under Article II of the Constitution.  Unfortunately, this injunction prevents the President from fully carrying out his Article II duties and has a chilling effect on security operations overall.”

“President Trump knows that the country he has been elected to lead is threatened daily by terrorists who believe in a radical ideology, and that there are active plots to infiltrate the U.S. immigration system -- just as occurred prior to 9/11.  The President is committed to protecting the American people and our national security, and we are proud to support his mission to put America first by defending his right to keep us safe.  That is why the Department of Justice will continue to seek further review by the Supreme Court.”

A federal jury in Lexington, Kentucky, today convicted a clinical psychologist for his role in a Social Security disability fraud scheme that included a former Social Security Administration (SSA) administrative law judge and that involved the submission of thousands of falsified medical documents to the SSA, obligating the SSA to pay more than $600 million in lifetime benefits to claimants predicated on these fraudulent submissions.

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, Kentucky, Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Tracey D. Montaño of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) Nashville, Tennessee, Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Derrick Jackson of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Atlanta Regional Office made the announcement.

“Today’s jury verdict holds accountable the final defendant for his role in the largest scheme to defraud the Social Security Administration in its history,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Blanco. “Each defendant abused the trust placed in him as a professional for personal gain. We thank our law enforcement partners for their years-long investigation and commitment to this case.” 

After a one-week trial in federal court in Lexington, the jury convicted Alfred Bradley Adkins, 45, of Shelbiana, Kentucky, 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. Sentencing has been scheduled for September 22, before U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky, who presided over the trial. 

According to evidence presented at trial, Adkins conspired with former SSA administrative law judge David Black Daugherty and former Kentucky lawyer Eric Christopher Conn to defraud the U.S. Conn and Adkins submitted false and fraudulent medical documentation to the SSA, and Daugherty awarded disability benefits based on the same, in order to have the SSA pay claimants’ retroactive disability benefits, continue to pay claimants’ disability benefits in the future, award Medicare and Medicaid benefits to claimants, and pay Conn’s attorney fees (enabling him to pay Adkins), the evidence showed. The trial evidence demonstrated that the conspirators’ actions obligated the SSA to pay more than $600 million in disability benefits in more than 2,000 cases to claimants in Kentucky and elsewhere, irrespective of the claimants’ actual entitlement to benefits. During the nearly eight-year scheme, Conn received more than $7.5 million of taxpayer dollars in attorney’s fees, and paid more than $600,000 to Daugherty, and approximately $200,000 to Adkins, the evidence showed.

According to the trial evidence, Adkins performed perfunctory evaluations of claimants referred to him by Conn and used boilerplate reports to detail conditions to support disability findings. Additionally, the trial evidence showed that Adkins, at Conn’s request, altered his findings on certain reports and ultimately signed forms prepared by Conn purporting to show that claimants qualified for disability benefits, whether or not they did. Conn then submitted these artificially disabling reports and falsified forms to Daugherty and other administrative law judges in support of disability determinations.

Conn pleaded guilty on March 24, to a two-count information charging him with theft of government money and payment of illegal gratuities, and Daugherty pleaded guilty on May 12, to a two-count information charging him with receipt of illegal gratuities. Both Conn and Daugherty are awaiting sentencing.

The SSA-OIG, FBI, IRS-CI and HHS-OIG investigated the case. Trial Attorney Dustin M. Davis of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Trial Attorney Elizabeth G. Wright of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section are prosecuting the case, with previous co-counsel including Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford of the Western District of Missouri and Investigative Counsel Kristen M. Warden of the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General.

The Department of Justice announced that it will require General Electric Co. and Baker Hughes Incorporated to divest GE’s Water & Process Technologies business in order to proceed with their merger.  The department said that the proposed transaction, without the divestiture, would substantially lessen competition for refinery chemicals and services in the United States, leading to higher prices and a reduction in service quality.

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

“Competition to provide refinery chemicals and services benefits a vital sector of our economy,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch of the Antitrust Division.  “Today’s action will ensure that oil and gas refiners continue to receive competitive prices for the chemicals and services needed to produce oil, gasoline, and other refined petroleum and natural gas products.”  

According to the department’s complaint, the merger would create one of the largest oilfield service companies in the United States with $32 billion of combined revenue.  The merger would unite two of the four companies that provide the sophisticated chemicals and services required to refine crude oil and natural gas.  The complaint states that this reduction in the number of competitive alternatives would lead to higher prices and reduced service quality. 

In conducting its investigation, the department’s Antitrust Division cooperated closely with its counterparts in a number of jurisdictions, including the European Commission, Canada, and Australia.

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

Baker Hughes Incorporated is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas.  Baker Hughes serves customers across the oil and natural gas industries.  Baker Hughes generated $15.7 billion in revenues in 2015. 

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed consent decree, along with the department’s competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register.  Any person may submit written comments by mail concerning the proposed settlement during a 60-day comment period to Kathleen S. O’Neill, Chief, Transportation, Energy and Agriculture Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth St. N.W., Suite 8000, Washington DC 20530.  At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the court may enter the final judgment upon a finding that it serves the public interest.

A former executive of an Israel-based defense contractor was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for his role in multiple schemes to defraud a multi-billion dollar United States foreign aid program, the Department of Justice announced.

After being extradited from Bulgaria in October 2016, Yuval Marshak pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud and one count of major fraud against the United States in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut on March 13, 2017. In addition to his prison sentence, he was ordered to pay restitution to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in the amount of $41,170 and pay a criminal fine of $7,500.

“The Antitrust Division is committed to prosecuting individuals who, like Yuval Marshak, commit crimes that corrupt the competitive process,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of these crimes and should serve as a warning to those, wherever located, who scheme to defraud essential, taxpayer-funded programs.”

According to court documents, Marshak carried out three separate schemes between 2009 and 2014 to defraud the DoD’s Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program. Marshak and others falsified bid documents to make it appear that certain FMF contracts had been competitively bid when they had not. Marshak further caused false certifications to be made to the DoD stating that no commissions were being paid and no non-U.S. content was used in these contracts, when, in fact, Marshak had arranged to receive commissions and to have services performed outside the United States, all in violation of the DoD’s rules and regulations. Marshak arranged for these undisclosed commission payments to be made to a Connecticut-based company that was owned by a close relative to disguise the true nature and destination of these payments.

The United States spends billions of dollars each year through the FMF program to provide foreign governments, including Israel, with money which must be used to purchase American-made military goods and services. The rules and regulations of the FMF program require the disclosure of and approval for any FMF-funded commissions and require that all goods and services be of U.S. origin to qualify for FMF funding. These same rules also strongly encourage the use of competitive bidding in the award of all FMF contracts. American vendors who receive FMF funded contracts are required to certify their compliance with these regulations to the DoD.

The sentence announced today was the result of an investigation by the Antitrust Division’s New York Office and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, with assistance from the Antitrust Division’s Foreign Commerce Section, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, and Israel’s Ministry of Defense. Anyone with information on price fixing, bid rigging or other anticompetitive conduct related to government contracts should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, Acting United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that on June 12, 2017, GLEN RUBEN, JR., of San Roque, Saipan, was sentenced by Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona, of the U.S. District Court in the Northern Mariana Islands, to 60 months incarceration and three years of supervised release.

          This sentence follows RUBEN’s plea of guilty on July 20, 2016, to one count of Receipt of Child Pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2). As part of his plea, RUBEN admitted to requesting and receiving one or more visual depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, using a mobile device with Internet access. In addition to the sentence of 60 months of incarceration and three years of supervised release, RUBEN was ordered to register with the Sex Offender Registry in any jurisdiction in which he lives, works or attends school.

          Acting U.S. Attorney Anderson stated, “the receipt of child pornography is an unconscionable offense that targets the most vulnerable persons in our communities. Unfortunately, social media has become a common tool for the circulation of such images. The harm to child victims can last a lifetime. The Department of Justice, in coordination with Homeland Security Investigations, will continue to aggressively pursue those who prey on children through the use of cyber technology.”

          Anderson additionally reminds the public that those who have committed sexual offenses involving children have a duty to register and keep their registration current with the Sex Offender Registry in their jurisdiction, under federal and local law. Sex offenders who travel to the Northern Mariana Islands and who reside in the Northern Marianas must inform the CNMI’s Public Sex Offender Registry where they reside, work, or attend school. They must also periodically update their registration information. The Public Sex Offender Registry was created to protect the general public and victims, by informing the public of the whereabouts of sex offenders. The Public Sex Offender Registry for the CNMI can be found online at https://cnmi.nsopw.gov/.

          This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood (PSC) Initiative, a nationwide commitment to aggressively prosecute defendants who engage in the sexual victimization of children and adults, possess or receive child pornography, and sex offenders who fail to register with the jurisdiction’s Sex Offender Registry.

          The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Benedetto.

The Department of Justice announced that a former police officer with the Providence (Ky.) Police Department was charged Thursday, June 8, 2017, by federal grand jury indictment, with two counts of willfully violating the civil rights of an arrestee and one count of obstructing justice by filing a false report. The announcement was made by Acting Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Wheeler, II, head of the Civil Rights Division, and U.S. Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr., of the Western District of Kentucky.

 

The indictment alleges that William Dukes, Jr., of Greenville, Kentucky, arrested J.L., a Webster County resident, on May 26, 2016, without probable cause to believe that J.L. had committed a crime, and that Dukes made this unlawful arrest to retaliate against J.L. for seeking to file a complaint against Dukes through state law enforcement agencies. The indictment alleges that the offense resulted in bodily injury to J.L. and that it involved the use of a dangerous weapon. A third count in the indictment charges Dukes with filing a false report with the intent to obstruct any investigation into the false arrest incident.

 

If convicted, Dukes faces a maximum statutory punishment of 10 years of imprisonment on each of the first two charges and a maximum statutory punishment of 20 years on the third charge.

 

An indictment is merely an accusation, and Dukes is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

 

This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Owensboro Division, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Hancock of the Western District of Kentucky, and Trial Attorney Roy Conn III of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.

The Justice Department today announced the indictment of Adam W. Purinton, 52, of Olathe, Kansas.  Purinton was indicted by a federal grand jury on hate crime and firearm charges for shooting three men—including two Indian nationals—at an Olathe bar on Feb. 22, 2017.

The announcement was made by Acting Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Wheeler, II, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and United States Attorney Thomas E. Beall of the District of Kansas.

Today’s indictment accuses Purinton of shooting and killing Srinivas Kuchibhotla because of Kuchibhotla’s actual and perceived race, color, religion and national origin. The indictment also accuses Purinton of attempting to kill Alok Madasani because of his actual and perceived race, color, religion and national origin.

A third count in the indictment charges Purinton with violating a federal firearms statute by discharging a firearm at Kuchibhotla, Madasani, and the third man, Ian Grillot, during those crimes of violence.

The indictment alleges that Purinton committed the offenses after substantial planning and premeditation, attempted to kill more than one person in a single criminal episode, and knowingly created a grave risk of death to others on the scene.

The statute authorizes a maximum penalty of death or life in prison; the Justice Department will determine at a later date whether, in this particular case, it will seek the death penalty.   

An indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Investigating agencies include the FBI and the Olathe Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Tris Hunt and David Zabel of the District of Kansas and Trial Attorney Christopher J. Perras of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

A federal grand jury in West Palm Beach, Florida, returned a six-count indictment yesterday charging Boynton Beach Police Officer Michael Brown and former Boynton Beach Police Officers Justin Harris and Ronald Ryan, Jr., with unlawfully assaulting an arrestee, J.B., during a traffic stop on August 20, 2014 and then filing false reports of the incident. Boynton Beach Police Sergeant Phillip Antico was charged with falsifying a report of the incident and obstructing justice during the investigation.

The indictment alleges that while serving as patrol officers and conducting a traffic stop of a vehicle, Brown, Harris and Ryan unlawfully assaulted one of that vehicle’s passengers, J.B.  The indictment further alleges that Antico, as the patrolmen’s supervisor, and Harris aided and abetted one another in falsifying a report of the incident and that Antico further intentionally misled a federal agent who conducted an investigation of the incident.  The indictment also alleges that Brown, Harris and Ryan made false entries in reports of the incident.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

If convicted, Antico, Brown and Ryan each face a maximum punishment of 30 years imprisonment, and Harris faces a maximum punishment of 50 years imprisonment.  

This case is being investigated by the West Palm Beach Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau Investigation.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Osborne of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney D.W. Tunnage of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.   

The former owner of a Las Vegas, Nevada strip club pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in the District of Nevada to evading employment taxes, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Steven W. Myhre for the District of Nevada.

According to documents filed with the court, Frederick John Rizzolo, 58, of Las Vegas, the former owner of The Crazy Horse Too, evaded paying more than $1.7 million in employment taxes that he owed for 2000 through 2002. Rizzolo paid The Crazy Horse Too’s floormen, bouncers, bartenders and shift managers in cash, but failed to provide accurate records of these payments to the Club’s bookkeepers. As a result, Rizzolo caused false employment tax returns to be filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which underreported wages paid and thus the taxes due. In 2006, Rizzolo admitted this conduct and pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States. Following his plea, however, Rizzolo took affirmative steps to conceal his assets and income to thwart the IRS from collecting the delinquent taxes that he owed. For example, Rizzolo directed $900,000 that he received from the sale of the Crazy Horse Too to an offshore bank account in the Cook Islands. He also withdrew $50,000 from a bank account, writing a check to a third party, who in turn provided the money back to Rizzolo, thereby avoiding an IRS levy and seizure of the funds. Additionally, Rizzolo lied to an IRS collections attorney, falsely stating that he had no income or assets and no ability to pay the taxes owed.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 15. If the court accepts the parties’ agreement, Rizzolo will be sentenced to a period of 24 months in prison and will be ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,637,290 to the IRS.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and Acting U.S. Attorney Myhre thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip N. Smith Jr. and Trial Attorney Rebecca J. Sable 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.

 

A Lawrenceville, Georgia man was sentenced in Norfolk, Virginia for his role in an odometer tampering and title fraud scheme, the Justice Department announced today.

Paul Robinson, 38, was sentenced to serve 37 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release by Judge Robert G. Doumar in the Eastern District of Virginia. Judge Doumar also ordered Robinson to pay $320,797.82 in restitution to victims who purchased vehicles with rolled back odometers. 

In February, Robinson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit odometer tamping and securities fraud. Robinson, who formerly owned Affordable Auto Body Repair in Chesapeake, Virginia, admitted that he purchased high mileage vehicles, and that he, or someone acting at his direction, altered the vehicles’ odometers to reflect a fraudulent low mileage reading. Robinson and his co-conspirators then acquired Virginia motor vehicle titles with false, low mileage odometer readings. Those titles were used to sell the vehicles to unsuspecting purchasers.

“Not only does odometer fraud result in consumers paying more for their vehicles and having higher repair costs, there are significant safety risks in unknowingly driving high mileage vehicles,” said Acting Assistant Attorney Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We are committed to protecting consumers by prosecuting individuals who engage in these schemes.”

From 2012 to 2014, Robinson and his co-conspirators tampered with odometers and secured fraudulent motor vehicle titles for more than 100 vehicles. At times, the mileage readings on the altered odometers and fraudulent titles were 150,000 miles less than the vehicles’ actual mileage.

One of Robinson’s co-conspirators, Steven Bazemore, a former title clerk who assisted Robinson with securing fraudulent motor vehicles, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud.  On Sept. 22, 2016, Bazemore was sentenced to five years of probation, with the first year as home detention, and ordered to pay $219,552.82 in restitution to the victims.

This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys John W. Burke and Jacqueline Blaesi-Freed of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Salsbury of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  The investigation was handled by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation (NHTSA).

NHTSA estimates that odometer fraud in the United States results in consumer losses of more than $1 billion annually and has established a special hotline to handle odometer fraud complaints.  Individuals having information relating to odometer tampering should call (800) 424-9393 or (202) 366-4761.

More information on odometer fraud is available on the NHTSA website https://one.nhtsa.gov/Vehicle-Safety/Odometer-Fraud and tips on detecting and avoiding odometer fraud are available at this page: www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nvs/pdf/811284.pdf

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 about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva.

 

 

In response to testimony given today by former FBI Director James Comey, Department of Justice Spokesman Ian Prior issued the following statement:

• Shortly after being sworn in, Attorney General Sessions began consulting with career Department of Justice ethics officials to determine whether he should recuse himself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States.

Those discussions were centered upon 28 CFR 45.2, which provides that a Department of Justice attorney should not participate in investigations that may involve entities or individuals with whom the attorney has a political or personal relationship. That regulation goes on to define “political relationship” as:

“[A] close identification with an elected official, a candidate (whether or not successful) for elective, public office, a political party, or a campaign organization, arising from service as a principal adviser thereto or a principal official thereof ***”

Given Attorney General Sessions’ participation in President Trump’s campaign, it was for that reason, and that reason alone, the Attorney General made the decision on March 2, 2017 to recuse himself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States.

• In his testimony, Mr. Comey stated that he was “not *** aware of” “any kind of memorandum issued from the Attorney General or the Department of Justice to the FBI outlining the parameters of [the Attorney General’s] recusal.” However, on March 2, 2017, the Attorney General’s Chief of Staff sent the attached email specifically informing Mr. Comey and other relevant Department officials of the recusal and its parameters, and advising that each of them instruct their staff “not to brief the Attorney General *** about, or otherwise involve the Attorney General *** in, any such matters described.”

 

• During his testimony, Mr. Comey confirmed that he did not inform the Attorney General of his concerns about the substance of any one-on-one conversation he had with the President. Mr. Comey said, following a morning threat briefing, that he wanted to ensure he and his FBI staff were following proper communications protocol with the White House. The Attorney General was not silent; he responded to this comment by saying that the FBI and Department of Justice needed to be careful about following appropriate policies regarding contacts with the White House.

 

• Despite previous inaccurate media reports, Mr. Comey did not say that he ever asked anyone at the Department of Justice for more resources related to this investigation.

 

• In conclusion, it is important to note that after his initial meeting with career ethics officials regarding recusal (and including the period prior to his formal recusal on March 2, 2017), the Attorney General has not been briefed on or participated in any investigation within the scope of his recusal.

"Chris is super smart, a great lawyer and highly experienced. He will serve the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation well. I worked with Chris for a number of years and always had complete confidence in him. He simply doesn't make mistakes. We are lucky he decided to reenter public service."

 

--Larry Thompson, Former Deputy Attorney General

 

”Chris is a wonderful choice to lead the FBI who cares deeply about the institution and already has strong relationships with the FBI. His background at the helm of the criminal division offered an excellent experience working on national security, white collar crime and a range of federal crimes as well as offering the privilege of working with the fantastic men and women of the FBI every day. He’s an excellent lawyer who will provide even keeled leadership.”

 

--Alice Fisher, Former Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division

 

“This is an inspired nomination by the President. Chris Wray is a man of great intellect and unsurpassed integrity. He is a man of impeccable judgment. He is exactly the person the country needs at the FBI at this moment in our history. He will be beloved by the men and women of the Bureau and respected by all, Republicans and Democrats alike.”

 

--Judge J. Michael Luttig

 

"Chris Wray is a great choice for FBI Director. He is smart, independent and has a very impressive track record of service and experience in the Department of Justice where he worked closely with the FBI and was widely regarded as a strong leader. Chris's expertise covers a vast array of critical areas he will be dealing with, ranging from terrorism to white collar crime to cyberattacks. The country would be very fortunate to have someone of Chris's integrity and abilities leading the Bureau."

 

--Mary Jo White, Former Chair of the SEC under President Obama

"Chris Wray is the right man at the right time for the Nation and the FBI. He is a world-class prosecutor, lawyer, and leader with the integrity, experience, judgment, credibility, independence, and intellect needed to lead the FBI. He will bring the same immense talent, capacity for work and success in mission to the Bureau as he has brought in everything he has touched since he began his distinguished legal and public service career."

 

--John C. Richter, Former Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division

 

“Chris is a person of extraordinary integrity, intelligence, and common sense. As the Director of the FBI, I have no doubt he would be outstanding. Years ago, when I was a Clinton Administration U.S. Attorney, I hired Chris as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. He was a star from the get-go, and always put justice before politics. The country needs more public servants like Chris Wray. I hope the Senate confirms him as quickly as possible.”

 

--Kent Alexander, Former U.S. Attorney under President Clinton

 

“Chris is a seasoned professional with experience in all critical areas of the Department’s law enforcement and national security operations. We can have absolute confidence that he will serve the Bureau and the nation with honor and distinction.”

 

--Ken Wainstein, Former Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division

 

“I am delighted to hear the news that President Trump has nominated Chris Wray to be the next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I have known Chris Wray throughout his legal career and his public service at the Department of Justice. In all of those different positions, Chris Wray has served with distinction and integrity. I know he will bring his experience and intellect to the office of FBI Director. He will be a strong and positive influence at the bureau for the next decade. I am confident Chris Wray will be seen as an impartial and unbiased leader who will help maintain the critical and historical tradition of excellence at the FBI. The American people can have confidence and trust in his anticipated leadership of the FBI. Specifically, Chris will provide superb leadership to America's daily efforts to prevent and protect Americans and American interests against future acts of global terrorism.”

 

--Joe Whitley, Former Department of Homeland Security General Counsel and U.S. Attorney

 

"Chris Wray is an outstanding choice to lead the FBI. I have known and worked with Chris Wray for many years. He is an exceptional lawyer with impeccable integrity and sound judgment. His extensive experience as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and then as Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division during the immediate aftermath of 9/11 gives him the critically important skills required to manage this great law enforcement agency. His work as a defense attorney also gives him broader insight into how to most effectively manage the complex investigations that the FBI will conduct in the coming years. When with the Department of Justice, Chris worked tirelessly to uphold the rule of law, strengthen our national security, and protect the rights of victims of crime. I am confident that he will do the same as Director of the FBI. Chris is the kind of leader that the FBI needs and deserves.”

 

--Gary Grindler, Acting Deputy Attorney General under President Obama

 

“Chris Wray is a man of integrity with a deep commitment to the rule of law. His substantial experience, particularly in serving on our Justice Department team fighting terrorism after 9/11, uniquely qualifies him to protect America as FBI Director.”

--Former Attorney General John Ashcroft

 

“I worked for Chris as his counsel for terrorism from 2003 to 2005, during a period when international terrorism occupied a great deal of Chris’s time as the Assistant Attorney General. Chris was smart, hard-working and absolutely committed to the mission of the Department of Justice. He has the kind of judgment and integrity that we rightfully expect from an FBI Director and I applaud his nomination.”

 

--J. Patrick Rowan, former Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division

 

"I’ve known Chris Wray for over two decades. He is smart, careful, tough and kind. He has a brilliant mind, great judgment, and unwavering integrity. The terrific women and men of the FBI will be well served, as will our country, with Chris at the helm.”

--Zach Fardon, Former U.S. Attorney under President Obama

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“Chris Wray is a superb and serious lawyer with a strong moral compass. Having served under Chris when I was Director of the Enron Task Force, I witnessed first-hand his deep respect for the Department of Justice and the FBI, as well as his strong commitment to public service. The country is lucky to have someone of Chris’s caliber serve in such an important role.”

 

--Leslie Caldwell, Former Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division

 

“I’ve known him and worked with him for two decades, in both his private and public sector stints. He will bring the independence and strength needed in this challenging environment.”

 

--Neil McBride, Former U.S. Attorney under President Obama

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand today issued the following statements on the nomination of Chris Wray to be FBI Director:

 

“Chris Wray is widely respected for professionalism, independence, integrity and patriotism,” said Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein. “He served with great distinction in several important positions in the United States Department of Justice, and he helped manage the Department during a very challenging period. He is well qualified for the job and will be a superb Director of the FBI.”

 

"Chris Wray will be an outstanding Director of the FBI,” said Associate Attorney General Brand. “His deep law enforcement and national security experience speaks for itself. Having worked with Chris during his previous tenure in the Department of Justice, I know that he will lead the Bureau with integrity, sound judgment, and a steady hand.”

Attorney General Jeff Sessions today issued the following statement on the nomination of Chris Wray to be FBI Director:

Chris Wray is an extraordinary person, possessing all the gifts necessary to be a great Director of the FBI.  I congratulate President Trump for choosing a leader of proven skill, independence, and integrity, a man in whom all Americans can have confidence. 

Chris combines a brilliant legal mind, outstanding accomplishments, and a proven record of public service.  We are fortunate that he is willing to make this personal commitment to serve his country at this important time.  He prosecuted many cases with FBI agents when he served as an assistant United States Attorney for four years.  His exceptional abilities were recognized, and he was brought to Department of Justice headquarters to serve as Associate Deputy Attorney General and, later, in the key role of Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General under Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, where he performed superbly during the incredibly intense period after 9/11.

President Bush then asked Chris to take on the enormous responsibility of heading the Justice Department’s Criminal Division in 2003, and the United States Senate voted unanimously to confirm him to that position.  At that time, he supervised both the general crimes and anti-terrorism roles of the Department, and worked closely with the FBI as the Bureau shifted to a much larger counterterrorism role.  He has tremendous respect for the FBI’s agents, analysts, and professional staff, and the agents he worked with enthusiastically affirm his leadership and integrity.  

The President asked us to look for an FBI Director who has integrity, who understands and is committed to the rule of law, and who is dedicated to protecting the American people from crime, gangs, and terrorists.  We have found our man in Chris Wray.

After being convicted at trial, a Lafayette, California, man was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice announced. 

Thomas Joyce was charged on Dec. 3, 2014, in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of California.  Joyce was convicted on Feb. 6, 2017, of conspiring to rig bids at real-estate foreclosure auctions in Contra Costa County.  In addition to his term of imprisonment, Joyce was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to complete 100 hours of community service.

Between June 2008 and January 2011, Joyce and other bidders at the auctions conspired not to bid against one another for selected properties, instead designating a winning bidder to win the property at the auction.  The members of the conspiracy then held second, private auctions, known as “rounds,” to award the properties to members of the conspiracy and determine payoffs for other conspirators who had agreed not to bid against each other at the public auctions.  The private auctions often took place at or near the courthouse steps where the public auctions were held.  When real estate properties are sold at public auctions, the proceeds are used to pay off the mortgage and other debt attached to the property, with the remaining proceeds, if any, paid to the homeowner.

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

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

On June 6, 2017, a federal jury in Camden, New Jersey, convicted defendants Michael Wood, 53, and Mary Wood, 45, of Mullica Hill, New Jersey, on charges arising from a scheme to smuggle a young Kenyan woman into the United States and harbor and exploit her for domestic labor in their New Jersey home.  Both defendants were convicted of alien harboring for financial gain and conspiracy.  Mary Wood was also convicted of fraudulently obtaining naturalization as a United States citizen by falsely denying involvement in the criminal scheme, and was acquitted on one count of making false statements in connection with the investigation.  Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and Special Agent in Charge Marlon V. Miller of ICE Homeland Security Investigations Philadelphia, announced the convictions.

According to evidence presented in court and other documents filed in connection with this case, the defendants traveled to Kenya and recruited a young woman, identified as P.I. in court documents, to care for their four minor children in New Jersey.  In August 2005, Michael Wood provided P.I. with his adult daughter’s British Passport and directed her to memorize the information and pretend to be the daughter.  Upon entering the United States, Michael Wood presented the British Passport to immigration authorities and represented P.I. as his daughter.

Once in New Jersey, the defendants required P.I. to clean the house, do the laundry, cook, and care for the four minor children.  She was responsible for being on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for which the defendants paid her a mere $200 a month.  Evidence at trial revealed that the defendants would have been required to pay her approximately $5,200 a month pursuant to applicable U.S. labor laws.  As demonstrated at trial, in order to conceal P.I. from authorities, the defendants did not permit her to leave the house except to walk the children to school and instructed her not to talk to anyone outside of the house or family.  In June 2006, Mary Wood’s sister and other family members moved P.I. to their homes, where they continued to harbor her and exploit her domestic labor, until P.I. managed to leave in 2011, prompting the subsequent federal investigation.

“The defendants acted out of greed and circumvented immigration law to exploit the domestic labor of a young Kenyan woman, for minimal pay,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Wheeler.  “Today’s verdict sends a clear message that the Department of Justice will continue to seek justice on behalf of vulnerable individuals and will hold defendants who violate our laws accountable for their crimes.”

“HSI special agents will continue to vigorously pursue those who think the law does not apply to their criminal acts,” said Special Agent in Charge Miller. “We are resolute in our efforts to hold accountable the perpetrators who attempt to circumvent United States law by participating in alien harboring and domestic labor exploitation schemes.  This verdict underscores the necessity of the public's awareness of these schemes and importance to bring justice to the victims."

The defendants face a maximum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment for alien harboring for financial gain and conspiracy, and Mary Wood faces ten years’ imprisonment for naturalization fraud.  Sentencing has been scheduled for September 7, 2017.

Six additional defendants, including members of Mary Wood’s family, who continued to harbor P.I. from 2006 to 2011 previously pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to charges related to their roles in the continuing scheme.

The case was investigated by ICE Homeland Security Investigations Philadelphia, and prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Anita Channapati and Shan Patel of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.

Attorney General Sessions today issued the attached memo to all Department of Justice components and 94 United States Attorney’s Offices prohibiting them from entering into any agreement on behalf of the United States in settlement of federal claims or charges that directs or provides for a settlement payment to non-governmental, third parties that were not directly harmed by the conduct.

“When the federal government settles a case against a corporate wrongdoer, any settlement funds should go first to the victims and then to the American people— not to bankroll third-party special interest groups or the political friends of whoever is in power,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions.  “Unfortunately, in recent years the Department of Justice has sometimes required or encouraged defendants to make these payments to third parties as a condition of settlement.  With this directive, we are ending this practice and ensuring that settlement funds are only used to compensate victims, redress harm, and punish and deter unlawful conduct.”

Under the last Administration, the Department repeatedly required settling parties to pay settlement funds to third party community organizations that were not directly involved in the litigation or harmed by the defendant’s conduct.  Pursuant to the Attorney General’s memorandum, this practice will immediately stop.