District Not Recorded

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, released the following statement on Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood’s decision to close the investigation into the murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner:

“During ‘Freedom Summer’ in 1964, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were brutally murdered while working as part of a massive campaign to register African-American voters in Mississippi.  Their gruesome deaths shook the nation.  The ensuing federal civil rights prosecution, which sought to bring their families a measure of justice, was a proud moment for the Justice Department.  In 1967, federal prosecutors from the Civil Rights Division convicted eight defendants for violating the federal criminal civil rights conspiracy statute.

“The Justice Department has investigated this case three times over 50 years and has helped convict nine individuals for their roles in this heinous crime.  In 2005, Edgar Ray Killen was convicted by a state jury of three counts of manslaughter based on new information that state and federal prosecutors discovered and pursued in 2000.  With the passage of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act in 2008, the department reopened our investigation into the incident again in 2010.  The department’s focus during this third investigation honed in on determining whether sufficient admissible evidence existed to support further state prosecution against any surviving person for involvement in the murders.

“Mississippi Attorney General Hood has determined that despite one of the most intensely investigated and documented underlying investigations of any racially-motivated murder during the 1960s, followed by the exhaustive efforts of more recent reinvestigations, the passage of time has simply rendered additional prosecutions impossible.  While legal and factual impediments sometimes prevent us from bringing cases we wish that we could, the Civil Rights Division remains dedicated to pursuing racially-motivated crimes wherever the facts allow.

“Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner gave their lives while struggling to advance the cause of civil rights for all.  Though the reinvestigation into their heinous deaths has formally closed, we must all honor their legacy by forging ahead and continuing the fight to ensure that the founding promise of America is true for all of its inhabitants.”

Caused 14 False Tax Returns to be Filed in Just Six Months Claiming $7,753,940 in Refunds

A College Park, Maryland, man was sentenced to 97 months in prison today following his conviction in November 2015 by a federal jury on one count of conspiring to defraud the United States and six counts of filing false income tax returns, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein of the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge Thomas Jankowski of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Washington, D.C. Field Office.

According to the evidence presented at trial, between March and June 2009, Charles W. Parker Jr., 49, recruited clients for co-conspirator Penny Jones, 65, formerly of Rigby, Idaho.  Jones, a tax return preparer in Idaho, prepared tax returns falsely reporting the amount of taxes withheld and purportedly paid to the IRS.  Parker collected financial information from clients and provided it to Jones for the preparation of the false tax returns.  Parker paid Jones to prepare false tax returns for Parker and others.  Parker mailed the false tax returns to the IRS for the years 2005 to 2008, claiming large tax refunds to which the clients were not entitled.  Parker caused the filing of 14 false tax returns in just a six month period that fraudulently claimed $7,753,940 in tax refunds.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus for the District of Maryland ordered Parker to serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $2,007,568.  In 2013, Jones was sentenced to 144 months in prison for her role in the scheme.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Rosenstein thanked special agents of IRS-CI, who investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah Jo Bressack of the District of Maryland and Trial Attorney Erin Pulice of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

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

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached agreements with 121 podiatry residency programs and the American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine (AACPM) to resolve claims that they discriminated against work-authorized non-U.S. citizens in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

The department’s investigations found that between 2013 and 2015, the programs and AACPM created and published discriminatory postings for podiatry residents through AACPM’s online podiatry residency application and matching service.  Specifically, the department determined that hundreds of job postings limited podiatry residency positions to U.S. citizens even though there was no legal authorization for the citizenship requirement.  Several work-authorized non-U.S. citizens stated that they were discouraged or deterred from applying to residency programs because of the citizenship requirements, and the department concluded that two lawful permanent residents were denied consideration for positions because of unlawful citizenship requirements.

Under the settlement agreements, the programs are required to remove citizenship requirements from podiatry residency postings except where required by law, train staff involved in the advertising and hiring of podiatric residents and ensure that future residency postings are reviewed by staff trained in equal employment opportunity laws or by legal counsel.  Some of the settlements also require the programs to pay a civil penalty, amounting to total civil penalties from the programs of $141,500.

The settlement with AACPM requires it to pay $65,000 in civil penalties, train its staff on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA and ensure that all participating programs receive such training before they may use AACPM’s online system to advertise residency positions.  The settlement also requires AACPM to refund the fees that the charging party paid to use AACPM’s residency application and matching system.

“Immigrants authorized to work in our country should never face unlawful discriminatory barriers to employment,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “Across the industry, these settlements will ensure that qualified medical students have equal opportunities to join podiatric residency programs and provide healthcare services to our communities.”

The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from discriminating in hiring, firing and recruiting or referring for a fee based on a person’s citizenship, immigration status or national origin.  Employers may not limit job opportunities to U.S. citizens unless employers have a legal basis to do so, such as a law, regulation or government contract that imposes citizenship requirements on the position.  Similarly, recruiters and referrers for a fee may not impose barriers to obtaining employment based on an individual’s citizenship, immigration status or national origin.  This means, for instance, that unless a legal exception applies, they may not advertise jobs as available only to U.S. citizens because doing so excludes other work-authorized individuals, such as U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (often referred to as green card holders), asylees and refugees.

The department began its investigations of the programs and AACPM in 2015 after receiving a charge against AACPM from a podiatry medical student with lawful permanent residence.  The charge alleged that AACPM published a series of podiatry residency job announcements that unlawfully restricted positions to U.S. citizens through AACPM’s online application service.  The charge further claimed that AACPM used its online service to collect citizenship status information from residency applicants and share that information with residency programs.

The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA.  The statute prohibits, among other things, citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, recruitment or referral for a fee; document abuse; retaliation and intimidation.

For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/webinars.php, email osccrt@usdoj.gov or visit OSC’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc.

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

Podiatry Settlement - AACPM

Podiatry Settlement Category 1

Podiatry Settlement Category 2

Podiatry Settlement - Genesys Regional Medical Center

Podiatry Settlement - Northwest Medical Center

The Justice Department issued a letter of findings today concluding that the Nevada Department of Corrections’ (NDOC) policies and practices for housing and employing inmates with disabilities violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Following a comprehensive ADA compliance review, the department found that NDOC’s discriminatory practices have resulted in the illegal segregation and stigmatization of inmates with HIV and the incarceration of inmates with disabilities for longer periods, in more restrictive settings, than inmates without disabilities.

The department’s letter makes three principal findings.  First, NDOC segregates inmates with HIV through a policy prohibiting the housing of inmates with HIV in the same cells as inmates who do not have HIV.  Second, NDOC denies inmates with HIV equal employment opportunities.  Third, NDOC denies inmates with various disabilities, including those with mobility disabilities, HIV or certain other medical or mental health conditions, equal opportunities to benefit from the programs offered at two of NDOC’s lowest-custody facilities –its conservation camps and transitional-housing facilities.

The department found that these discriminatory practices have the following effects:

• NDOC’s segregation of inmates with HIV stigmatizes them while indiscriminately disclosing their confidential HIV status to NDOC employees and inmates.  This segregation policy is without any legitimate health justification, as leading public health and correctional authorities, including the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, oppose the routine segregation of inmates with HIV as medically unnecessary. 
• Inmates who work in NDOC prisons, and those who are housed in conservation camps or transitional-housing facilities, can earn “work credits” to reduce the lengths of their sentences.  By denying inmates with HIV equal employment opportunities, and by denying inmates with disabilities equal opportunities to benefit from the services, programs and activities available to inmates at conservation camps and transitional-housing facilities, NDOC deprives inmates with disabilities of equal opportunities to engage in productive activities and to accelerate their NDOC release dates. 
• By denying inmates with disabilities equal opportunities to obtain placement at its lower-custody and lower-security facilities, NDOC confines them in more restrictive settings than they otherwise would be housed. 

“The ADA’s promises of non-discriminatory treatment and equal opportunity apply to all people with disabilities, including inmates at correctional facilities,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “No inmate should have to stay in segregated housing because of a HIV diagnosis or serve a longer sentence because of a disability.  Real and lasting reform in Nevada will require not only systemic changes to its policies, practices and procedures, but also a commitment to address unfounded stereotypes, fears and assumptions about individuals with disabilities.”

The department commends Nevada for its cooperation with this ADA compliance review and will continue to work closely with NDOC and Nevada’s Office of the Attorney General to resolve the department’s findings expeditiously and under mutually-agreeable terms.

To read the full findings letter, please visit www.ada.gov.  For more information about the ADA, call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov.

Nevada Department of Corrections 

The Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued the following statement regarding the FBI's release of the transcript related to the Orlando shooting:

“The purpose of releasing the partial transcript of the shooter's interaction with 911 operators was to provide transparency, while remaining sensitive to the interests of the surviving victims, their families, and the integrity of the ongoing investigation.  We also did not want to provide the killer or terrorist organizations with a publicity platform for hateful propaganda.  Unfortunately, the unreleased portions of the transcript that named the terrorist organizations and leaders have caused an unnecessary distraction from the hard work that the FBI and our law enforcement partners have been doing to investigate this heinous crime.  As much of this information had been previously reported, we have re-issued the complete transcript to include these references in order to provide the highest level of transparency possible under the circumstances.”

Transcript of Orlando Police Department 911 Calls, June 12, 2016

2:35 a.m.: Shooter contacted a 911 operator from inside Pulse.  The call lasted approximately 50 seconds, the details of which are set out below:

(OD)   Orlando Police Dispatcher

(OM)   Omar Mateen

OD:     Emergency 911, this is being recorded.

OM:     In the name of God the Merciful, the beneficent [Arabic]

OD:     What?

OM:     Praise be to God, and prayers as well as peace be upon the prophet of God [Arabic]. I wanna let you know, I’m in Orlando and I did the shootings.

OD:     What’s your name?

OM:     My name is I pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of the Islamic State.

OD:     Ok, What’s your name?

OM:     I pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may God protect him [Arabic], on behalf of the Islamic State.

OD:     Alright, where are you at?

OM:     In Orlando.

OD:     Where in Orlando?

[End of call.]

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch will travel to Orlando on TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2016, to meet with victims, first responders and other members of the community impacted by the terrorist attack in Orlando.  The Attorney General will also receive an operational briefing at the investigation command center and hold a media availability with U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida.        

WHO:            

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch

U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida

WHEN:         

TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2016

2:15 p.m. EDT

WHERE:

U.S. Attorney’s Office Middle District of Florida – Orlando Office  

400 W. Washington Street

Suite 3100

Orlando, FL 32801

OPEN PRESS (Media Gather Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT; Final Access: 2:00 p.m. EDT)

NOTE: All media must present government-issued photo I.D. (such as a driver’s license) as well as valid media credentials.  Members of the media must RSVP to press@usdoj.gov by MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016, at 5:00 p.m. EDT.  Space is limited and not guaranteed.  Press inquiries regarding logistics should be directed to press@usdoj.gov. 

                U.S. Attorney Alicia A.G. Limtiaco, Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), was invited by ISA Guam to the Lighting of the Latte of Freedom in Anigua, held June 16, 2016, in memory of the victims of the Orlando shooting and in support of the LGBT community.  U.S. Attorney Limtiaco was also invited to give remarks at the candlelight vigil held later that night at Club Icon in Tumon.  ISA Guam is an organization dedicated to supporting and advocating for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) equality, specifically Guam’s LGBT community and supporters.

                The theme for this year’s the Department of Justice (DOJ) LGBT Pride Month Program was “The Struggle for Equality Continues.”  Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch at the Annual Justice Department LGBT Pride Month Observance Program, stated, “Every year during Pride Month we take a moment to commemorate the accomplishments of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals who have spurred this country to make strides toward the stronger, more equal and more perfect Union that all Americans deserve.  We talk about the road we’ve taken, the challenges we’ve faced and the obstacles we’ve overcome.  And we look ahead to the journey that still stretches out before us.”

 

Photo of the Lighting of the Latte of Freedom Photo taken at the Candlelight Vigil in memory of the victims of the Orlando shooting Photo taken at the Candlelight Vigil in memory of the victims of the Orlando shooting

 

A federal court in Orlando, Florida, has permanently barred a Florida man from preparing tax returns for others and owning or operating a tax return preparation business, Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division announced today.

The court also entered a $1 million judgment against Demetrius Scott of Orlando on the United States’ claim for disgorgement of the proceeds that he received for the preparation of tax returns.  The civil injunction and disgorgement judgment were signed by Judge Anne C. Conway of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Scott agreed to entry of the injunction and disgorgement judgment, but did not agree to any of the facts alleged in the United States’ civil complaint.

In September 2014, the United States filed a civil injunction complaint against Scott alleging that he and his employees prepared fraudulent tax returns for customers.  Scott was allegedly a former franchisee of LBS Tax Services and operated a tax preparation company called Neighborhood Tax Pros and Tax Giant with locations in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.  The complaint alleged that return preparers in Scott’s business targeted primarily low-income customers with deceptive and misleading advertisements; prepared and filed fraudulent tax returns to fraudulently increase their customers’ refunds; and profited through unconscionable, exorbitant and often undisclosed fees—all at the expense of their customers and the U.S. Treasury.  According to the complaint, Scott and his employees prepared federal tax returns on which they falsely claim the earned-income credit and bogus education credits, report improper filing statuses, claim income and expenses related to non-existent businesses and fabricate job-related expenses, while charging their customers deceptive and unconscionable fees. 

Return preparer fraud is one of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2016.  The IRS has some tips on their website for choosing a tax preparer.  In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers.  Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website.  An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page.  If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.

Company to pay $5 Million Criminal Fine

GEO Specialty Chemicals Inc., an Ohio company, has pleaded guilty for its role in a conspiracy to eliminate competition involving contracts to supply liquid aluminum sulfate to municipalities and pulp and paper manufacturers in the United States, the Department of Justice announced today.

GEO’s Water Treatment Chemicals Division, headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a manufacturer and supplier of water treatment chemicals, including liquid aluminum sulfate.  The company has admitted to conspiring to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate customers involving contracts for liquid aluminum sulfate, a coagulant used by municipalities to treat drinking and waste water, and by pulp and paper manufacturers in their manufacturing processes.  GEO has been sentenced to pay a fine of $5 million.  GEO is the first corporate defendant, and fourth defendant overall, to be charged with participation in this decade-and-a-half-long conspiracy.  One individual previously pleaded guilty and two others have been indicted in connection with the conspiracy.

“GEO and its co-conspirators deprived municipalities and paper manufacturers of the competitive prices they rightly expected from their suppliers of liquid aluminum sulfate,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse, head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “This prosecution continues our efforts to hold criminally responsible those who collude to cheat their customers.”

“The FBI is committed to protecting the American consumer’s right to expect the benefits of free and open competition. However, GEO Specialty Chemicals and their co-conspirators colluded to circumvent competitive bidding and independent pricing for liquid aluminum sulfate contracts, and conspired to raise prices by submitting artificially inflated bids to their customers,” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher of the FBI’s Newark Division.  “They also allocated customers in furtherance of their collusive scheme. By agreeing to violate both the spirit and the letter of the competitive process, GEO and others defrauded municipalities as well as pulp and paper companies out of millions of dollars.”

According to documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, from 1997 until 2011, GEO and its co-conspirators engaged in their collusive agreement by meeting to discuss each other’s liquid aluminum sulfate business, submitting intentionally losing bids to favor the intended winner of the business, withdrawing inadvertently winning bids, and discussing with each other prices to be quoted or bid to municipalities and pulp and paper manufacturers.

The investigation into price fixing, bid rigging, and customer allocation in the liquid aluminum sulfate industry is being conducted by the New York Office of the Antitrust Division and the FBI’s New Jersey Office.  Anyone with information on price fixing, bid rigging, or customer allocation in the sale and marking of liquid aluminum sulfate should contact the New York Office of the Antitrust Division at 212-335-8000, call the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258, or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.

Press Secretary Dena Iverson released the following statement regarding proposed amendment 4720 to the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Bill by Senator Dianne Feinstein.

“The Justice Department supports Senator Feinstein's amendment to help keep guns out of the hands of individuals believed to be engaged in terrorism.  The amendment gives the Justice Department an important additional tool to prevent the sale of guns to suspected terrorists by licensed firearms dealers while ensuring protection of the department's operational and investigative sensitivities.  We also continue to support universal background checks as a necessary tool to prevent suspected terrorists from lawfully obtaining firearms."

Conspired to File Fraudulent Income Tax Returns Claiming Over $1.5 Million in Tax Refunds Using Stolen Names and Social Security Numbers

A Pembroke Pines, Florida couple was sentenced to prison for their role in a stolen identity tax refund fraud scheme, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Kelly Jackson of the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).

On June 16, U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom for the Southern District of Florida sentenced Rhonda Perry Gittens, 35, to serve 75 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.  Gittens’ boyfriend and co-conspirator, Walther Wilson Godfrey, 37, was previously sentenced on April 15 to serve 75 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.  Judge Bloom also ordered Godfrey and Gittens to pay $792,442 in restitution to the IRS.  Godfrey and Gittens pleaded guilty in January to one count of a multi-object conspiracy to defraud the United States, commit wire fraud and commit aggravated identity theft, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of access device fraud.   

“The sentences imposed by Judge Bloom reflect the serious harm caused by the defendants’ scheme to enrich themselves at the expense of the U.S. Treasury and their identity theft victims,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo.  “The defendants attempted to hide behind a veneer of corporate and nominee identities that ultimately provided no bar to the investigative efforts of our law enforcement partners.  Return preparers who seek to profit through false tax returns face harsh punishment and the result in this case should deter other individuals from engaging in similar schemes.”

“This sentence should serve as a warning to anyone who seeks to commit tax fraud or identity theft that federal law enforcement resources will be marshalled against them to discover their crimes and bring them to justice," said U.S. Attorney Ferrer.  "We will continue to work tirelessly with all our law enforcement partners to prosecute those crimes.”

“IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) will continue to investigate those who attempt to defraud our nation’s tax system, and we will continue to fight for the innocent victims whose identities are being used in these stolen identity tax refund fraud schemes,” stated Special Agent in Charge Jackson of IRS-CI.  “We are pleased with these sentences, as the defendants are being held accountable for attempting to steal more than $1.5 million from the IRS, possessing device-making equipment for driver’s licenses and credit cards, and recruiting another individual to participate in the crime.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at the sentencing hearing, between July 2009 and August 2014, Godfrey, Gittens and others conspired to defraud the United States by filing false federal income tax returns using stolen identities.  Gittens owned and operated 2G, Inc., a tax return preparation business, and G&G Check Cashing Inc., a check cashing business, both of which were located in Pembroke Pines.  Godfrey and Gittens obtained the personal identification information of actual individuals, some deceased, including names, social security numbers, addresses and dates of birth, without the individuals’ authorization, to prepare and file false income tax refund claims for the years 2009 through 2011.  Godfrey and Gittens recruited a co-conspirator, Marc Brown, to put Electronic Filing Identification Numbers (EFINs) in his name through which fraudulent income tax returns would be filed.  In addition, Godfrey and Gittens directed Brown to set up companies and bank accounts in his name to negotiate the fraudulently obtained income tax refund checks.  Godfrey and Gittens filed more than 700 fraudulent tax returns requesting more than $1.5 million in income tax refunds.  In addition, Godfrey and Gittens possessed device-making equipment including an identification card printer, a credit card embosser, hologram stickers for driver’s licenses and credit cards and blank credit cards.   

Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Ferrer commended special agents of IRS-CI, who investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Karadbil of the Southern District of Florida and Assistant Chief Greg Tortella of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

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

The Department of Justice and the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) today announced the appointment of Rebecca J. Ferrell, Ph.D. and Sgt. Troy Lawrence to the National Commission on Forensic Science. 

The commission, created in 2013, develops forward-looking policy recommendations for the Attorney General to enhance the practice and improve the reliability of forensic science.

The commission is co-chaired by Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates and Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Dr. Willie E. May.  Deputy Assistant Administrator Nelson Santos of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Office of Forensic Sciences and Special Assistant to the NIST Director for Forensic Science John M. Butler serve as vice-chairs.

“The commission has been diligently developing important recommendations to strengthen forensic science in this country.  These two new members will ensure that the commission continues to benefit from a wide range of perspectives, including those from the scientific community and from state and local law enforcement,” said Deputy Attorney General Yates.  “Dr. Ferrell and Sgt. Lawrence are eminently qualified to continue the good work of the commission.”

“Since its inception, the Commission has benefitted from the contributions of some of America's most prominent scientists and forensic practitioners,” said Under Secretary May. “I have no doubt that our newest commissioners will continue this proud tradition as we work together to strengthen the science that underpins the forensic evidence used in the U.S. judicial system.”

Dr. Ferrell is the Program Director for the Biological Anthropology Program at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia.  She is replacing outgoing Commissioner Mark Weiss who recently retired from the National Science Foundation.  Sgt. Lawrence is the Director of the Digital Forensic Lab for the Fort Worth Police Department.  He is replacing Bill Crane, who will be relocating to a new position overseas.

The commission includes federal, state and local forensic science service providers; research scientists and academics; law enforcement officials; prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges; and other stakeholders from across the country.  This breadth of experience and expertise reflects the many different entities that contribute to forensic science practice in the United States and will ensure that these broad perspectives are represented on the commission and in its work.

The commission was established in 2013 and re-chartered for another two-year period in April 2015.  The new members announced today are replacing individuals whose tenures with the commission recently ended. 

The commission’s next meeting will be held from June 20 to 21, at the Office of Justice Programs, 3rd Floor Main Conference Room, 810 7th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20531.  More information about the commission can be found at http://www.justice.gov/ncfs.

 

An Alabama real estate investor pleaded guilty for his role in a conspiracy to commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in southern Alabama, the Department of Justice announced today.

Adrian J. Beach admitted that he conspired with others to, among other things, defraud financial institutions, homeowners and others with a legal interest in rigged foreclosure properties, out of proceeds from foreclosure auctions.  Beach is charged with participating in the conspiracy from January 2004 through March 2010.  Financial institutions and homeowners suffered monetary losses as a result of the conspiracy. 

“Adrian Beach schemed to rig home foreclosure auctions for his own benefit,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse, head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “Real estate investors should know that the division and its colleagues in law enforcement will hold them accountable for conspiring to defraud banks and homeowners by depriving them of competitive auctions.” 

“Honesty and integrity in business practices are a hallmark of the American way and those who engage in illegal activities to obtain a business advantage which lines their pockets with ill-gotten gain will be held accountable by the FBI for their action,” said FBI Mobile Division Special Agent in Charge Robert F. Lasky.

Beach is the fourteenth defendant prosecuted in the Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation of bid rigging and other fraudulent conduct in the Alabama real estate foreclosure industry. 

The investigation into fraud and bid rigging in the Alabama real estate foreclosure industry is being conducted by the Washington Criminal II Section of the Antitrust Division, and the FBI’s Mobile Field Office, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.  Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Washington Criminal II Section of the Antitrust Division at 202-598-4000, call the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at    1-888-647-3258, or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.

These charges have been filed in connection with the president’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.  The president established the task force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.  With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud.  Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations.  Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants.  For more information about the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.  Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Washington Criminal II Section of the Antitrust Division at 202-598-4000, call the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.

More Than 100 Charged in Wide-Spread Auto Parts Investigation

A federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio returned two indictments charging Japanese automotive parts companies, their U.S. subsidiaries, and a total of five executives for their alleged participation in international conspiracies to eliminate competition in the sale of automotive parts sold in the United States and elsewhere, the Justice Department announced today.

One of the indictments, filed today in Cincinnati, charges Tokai Kogyo Co. Ltd., its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, Green Tokai Co. Ltd., and Akitada Tazumi with conspiring to rig bids for and fix the prices of automotive body sealing products sold to Honda Motor Company Ltd. and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates for installation in vehicles manufactured and sold in the United States and elsewhere.  Automotive body sealing products consist of body-side opening seals, door-side weather-stripping, glass-run channels, trunk lids and other smaller seals, which are installed into automobiles to keep the interior dry from rain and free from wind and exterior noises. 

In a separate indictment, also filed in Cincinnati, Maruyasu Industries Co. Ltd., its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, Curtis-Maruyasu America Inc. (CMA), Tadao Hirade, Satoru Murai, Kazunori Kobayashi and Yoshihiro Shigematsu were charged with conspiring to fix prices, allocate customers, and rig bids for automotive steel tubes sold in the United States and elsewhere.  Automotive steel tubes are used in fuel distribution, braking, and other automotive systems and are sometimes divided into two categories – chassis tubes and engine parts.  As their names suggest, chassis tubes, such as brake and fuel tubes, tend to be located in the body of a vehicle while engine parts, such as fuel injection rails, oil level tubes, and oil strainer tubes, are associated with the function of a vehicle’s engine.

“These defendants, as is their right, have chosen to put the government to its burden of proof, and we accept that challenge without hesitation,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Snyder of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “We will not be deterred from holding those involved – both corporations and individuals – accountable for their actions, and we welcome the opportunity to prove our cases to a jury.”

“The FBI is committed to aggressively investigating individuals who engage in criminal conduct that corrupts the global marketplace,” said Special Agent in Charge Howard Marshal of the FBI’s Louisville Division.  “We will continue our work with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division to uncover schemes aimed at creating an unfair competitive advantage by way of price fixing, bid rigging or other illegal means.”

“The Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General is dedicated to working in conjunction with the DOJ Antitrust Division in protecting the U.S. economy from the type of criminal activity revealed in this case,” said Special Agent in Charge Duane Townsend of the Department of Commerce’s Office of Inspector General.  “The charges today represent our diligent cooperative efforts to identify such activity and seek prosecution, whether committed by domestic or international sources, and to deter future attempts to damage our economy through criminal enterprise.”

According to the indictment charging Tokai Kogyo, Green Tokai, and Tazumi, the defendants, along with their co-conspirators, participated in meetings and conversations to discuss the allocation of sales of automotive body sealing products, and the bids and price quotations that they would submit to Honda.  The indictment charges that the conspirators agreed on, and exchanged information about, bids, price quotations, and price adjustments to be submitted to Honda, and agreed to allocate sales of automotive body sealing products sold to Honda.  The conspirators concealed their conduct by using code in e-mails and instructing e-mail recipients to delete e-mails referencing coordination with competitors, according to the charge. 

Tokai Kogyo, Green Tokai, and Tazumi allegedly participated in the automotive body sealing products conspiracy from at least as early as March 2008 until at least August 2011.  During this period, Tazumi served as Assistant General Manager at Tokai Kogyo, an Obu, Japan-based company that manufactured and sold automotive body sealing products. 

According to the indictment charging Maruyasu Industries, CMA, Hirade, Murai, Kobayashi and Shigematsu, the defendants, along with their co-conspirators, participated in and directed subordinate employees to participate in meetings conversations, and communications in which they agreed to customer allocations as well as bids, prices and price adjustments to be submitted to customers in the United States and elsewhere.  The indictment also alleges that the defendants and their conspirators employed measures to conceal their conduct, including meeting surreptitiously and adopting means and methods of communication designed to avoid detection.

Maruyasu Industries, CMA, Hirade, Murai, Kobayashi and Shigematsu allegedly participated in the automotive steel tubes conspiracy from at least as early as December 2003 until at least as late as July 9, 2011.  During this period, Hirade, Murai, Kobayashi and Shigematsu served as sales executives at Maruyasu Industries, headquartered in Aichi Prefecture in Japan.  Additionally, Kobayashi and Shigematsu each served as sales coordinators at Kentucky-based CMA for several years during the conspiracy.

The charges contained in these indictments are allegations and not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The companies charged today are the first companies to be indicted in the ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement sections and the FBI.  A total of 64 individuals and 44 companies have been charged and have agreed to pay more than $2.7 billion in criminal fines.  These indictments were brought by the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office, the FBI’s Louisville Field Office, Covington Resident Agency, and the Department of Commerce’s Denver Field Office, with the assistance of the FBI’s International Corruption Unit, the FBI’s Cincinnati Field Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Ohio.  Anyone with information about anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html or the FBI’s Louisville Field Office at 502-263-6000.

Tokai Kogyo et al. Indictment

Maruyasu Indictment

A Michigan man pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan today to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. 

Royal Alexander Jr., 51, who owned and operated Royal Publishing Inc., in Flint, Michigan, admitted that from 2010 through 2015, he willfully aided in the preparation and filing of 40 false individual income tax returns.  According to the information, these returns were false in that they included inflated or entirely fictitious Schedules C; claimed a false dependent; claimed a false IRA deduction; falsely claimed Head of Household status for a client; and/or claimed a false education credit, all to produce larger refunds.

Alexander’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 20.  He faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison and agreed in his plea to pay $98,605 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  Alexander also faces financial penalties and a term of supervised release. 

Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorneys Jeffrey A. McLellan and Abigail B. Chingos of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting this case.

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

A Brooklyn, New York, tax return preparer was sentenced to 36 months in prison today following her guilty plea on Sept. 21, 2015, to two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

“The Tax Division remains committed to pursuing and prosecuting tax return preparers who knowingly prepare false tax returns for their clients,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo.  “Fraudulent preparers undermine the integrity of our tax system.  Today’s sentence serves as a reminder to all tax return preparers that if you engage in such criminal conduct it will result in prosecution and incarceration.”

Awilda Rosario, 40, owned and operated a tax preparation business in Brooklyn called Edujas Multiservices Corporation.  Rosario prepared false individual income tax returns for clients for tax years 2008 through 2013.  She attached false schedules that reported business losses the taxpayers did not incur and attached schedules that reported inflated or fictitious deductions.  She also attached forms claiming fictitious education and fuel tax credits that the taxpayers were not entitled to receive.

After the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revoked the Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN) for Edujas Multiservices Corporation, Rosario obtained at least two different EFINs and continued to prepare and submit false tax returns for her clients that listed a different paid tax return preparer and tax preparer firm.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the Eastern District of New York ordered Rosario to serve one year of supervised release and pay $607,904 in restitution to the IRS.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Assistant Chief Jorge Almonte and Trial Attorney Shawn T. Noud of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

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

The Department of Justice announced today that since it reopened in 2011, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) has paid over $1.52 billion to first responders, recovery workers, and residents who suffered physical harm or were killed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of Sept. 11, 2001 or the debris removal efforts that took place in the immediate aftermath of those crashes.  The VCF is now ready to enter its next phase and today posted for public comment updated regulations that will govern the program for the next several years.  

The $1.52 billion includes all payments made to date – either partial or in full – on Group A claims, defined as claims for which a loss determination was issued on or before Dec. 17, 2015.  Since reauthorization of the VCF in December 2015, the Special Master has authorized the final payment on 8,930 Group A claims.  This means that the VCF has less than 200 Group A claims left to be authorized for full payment.  All of the remaining claims have issues preventing payment; however, the VCF is working with claimants and their representatives to resolve the open issues as quickly as possible.  The Special Master will authorize payment on remaining Group A claims by the end of the month. 

In addition to the priority placed on paying Group A claims as quickly as possible, the Special Master has also issued updated regulations as an Interim Final Rule, with a 30-day post-publication comment period, as well as created an updated claim form. 

“It has taken a tremendous amount of work to update the regulations to reflect the reauthorization law and to redesign the claim form to make it easier to use, while at the same time continuing to implement the other changes required by the reauthorization,” said VCF Special Master Sheila Birnbaum.  “I encourage claimants to review the new sample claim form and begin gathering the relevant information and documents so they are prepared to submit their claim when the form becomes available online and in hard copy at the end of July.  I realize no amount of money can alleviate the losses suffered on Sept. 11, 2001, but the 9-11 community is one of great resilience, and the men and women who are working so hard to process VCF claims are proud and privileged to work with all of you.”

The Interim Final Rule is effective as of today and has been posted on the VCF website for public inspection and review.  The rule has also been formally published in the Federal Register and the 30-day comment period has begun.  Information on how to submit comments can be found in the document.  By publishing the regulations as an Interim Final Rule, the VCF can begin issuing Group B compensation decisions as soon as Group B funding becomes available, while still allowing Special Master Birnbaum to carefully consider any comments received post-publication and make any necessary changes before issuing a Final Rule. 

Additionally, the updated claim form has been finalized.  A sample version of the revised form can be found on the VCF website.  The sample form cannot be submitted as a claim at this time, but provides claimants with a guide to understand the type of information and documents that will be needed once the VCF begins accepting new claims.  For more information about the timing for submitting new claims, please see the Special Master’s May 24 message. 

The VCF continues to review Group B claims and contact claimants to request missing information when needed.  The VCF has rendered more than 2,500 eligibility decisions since the beginning of January and completed loss calculations for more than 1,000 claims.  The VCF continues to send “Group B Complete” letters to claimants to inform them that their claim has been reviewed and any eligible loss has been calculated.   The Special Master expects to begin issuing the first Group B loss determinations at the end of June, with the expectation that the first full payments will be authorized in mid-August.  This is contingent on finalizing the accounting for Group A payments and the subsequent availability of Group B funding.

Claimants are encouraged to call the VCF Helpline at 1-855-885-1555 with any questions they may have.  For the hearing impaired, please call 1-855-885-1558 (TDD).  If you are calling from outside the United States, please call 1-202-514-1100.

 

Joint Summary of Outcomes

Today, Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Ministry of Public Security Guo Shengkun co-chaired the second U.S.-China Cybercrime and Related Issues High Level Joint Dialogue with representatives of the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.  The dialogue aims to implement the consensus reached between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama in September 2015 during President Xi’s visit to the United States, and to enhance pragmatic bilateral cooperation with regard to cybercrime, network protection and other related issues.

Since the first dialogue, both sides have worked to implement the consensus reached between the two countries’ presidents and the outcomes of the first dialogue.  Both sides continue to develop cooperation on combating cybercrime and network protection investigations and information exchanges, aiming to conduct routine exchanges and improve cyber security cooperation.

The outcomes of the second dialogue are listed as below:

1. Tabletop Exercise.  Both sides value the cyber tabletop exercise held in April 2016, and regard the exercise as informative and effective.  Both sides decided to hold a second tabletop exercise concerning cybercrime and network protection prior to the next dialogue.
2. Hotline Mechanism.  Both sides decided to implement the “U.S.-China Cybercrime and Related Issues Hotline Mechanism Work Plan,” and have reached consensus on the scope, objective and procedures of the hotline.  China and the United States decided to test the hotline mechanism before September 2016.
3. Network Protection.  Both sides decided to continue to strengthen cooperation in network protection.  Both sides decided to hold a network security and protection working-level expert seminar in August 2016 in China.  The experts decided to meet regularly in the future and report to the ministerial level at the High-Level dialogue in the future.
4. Information Sharing, Case Cooperation and Resources.  Both sides decided to: enhance case investigations and information exchange related to cybercrime and other malicious cyber activities; exchange information and develop cooperation in cybercrime investigations and cyber incidents of mutual concern; hold a workshop to discuss how to enhance information exchanges and handling related to Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement (MLAA); and share cyber threat information on a regular basis, including increasing information sharing of malicious software samples and related analysis reports.  Both sides acknowledge the importance of the increase of manpower and resources to tackle cybercrime threats and decided to further strengthen communication mechanisms as well as respective central authorities under the MLAA.  Both sides discussed the 24/7 High Tech Network of international points of contact for the purpose of assisting in investigations involving electronic evidence that require urgent assistance from foreign law enforcement. 
5. Cyber-Enabled Crime.  Both sides commit to prioritize cooperation on combatting cyber-enabled intellectual property (IP) theft for commercial gain and cooperate in law enforcement operations in four additional areas: online child pornography distribution, misuse of technology and communications for terrorist activities, commercial email compromise/phishing and online firearms trafficking.  Both sides decided to conduct a proposed seminar on misuse of technology and communications to facilitate violent acts of terrorism in 2016 in China before the next round of the dialogue.  The United States and China decided to create an action plan to address the threat posed from business email compromise scams.
6. Senior Experts Group.  Both sides discussed the first U.S.-China Senior Experts Group on International Norms in Cyberspace and Related Issues.
7. Third High-Level Dialogue.  Both sides plan to hold the next round of the dialogue in the second half of 2016 in Washington, D.C.       

Today, at the United State of Women Summit, the Department of Justice and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), through its new Elder Justice AmeriCorps partnership, announced $2 million in grants to provide legal assistance and support services to victims of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation – the majority of whom are women. 

The Elder Justice AmeriCorps program is funded by the Justice Department’s Elder Justice Initiative, Office for Victims of Crime and CNCS, the federal agency which administers AmeriCorps and other national service programs.  This new effort is also supported by the Justice Department’s Office for Access to Justice.  

The new program will support 300 AmeriCorps members, serving through Equal Justice Works, over the next two years in Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

“Elder abuse and exploitation exact an enormous physical, financial and emotional toll on victims, many of whom never find the comprehensive support they so desperately need,” said Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch.  “Elder Justice AmeriCorps deploys a volunteer army of legal advocates in communities across the country, giving thousands of our nation’s elders a place to turn for healing and justice.”

“After a lifetime of hard work, serving our nation, and raising their families, our seniors are often targeted by unscrupulous actors who intend to take advantage of them, making them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation,” Said Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service.  “Through Elder Justice AmeriCorps, we are expanding our partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice to connect these older adults with highly skilled AmeriCorps members who can provide legal services that will ensure our seniors have the care and support they need and deserve.”

The AmeriCorps members are expected to serve more than 4,000 older adults each year by providing screenings for abuse, neglect or exploitation; referrals to support services associated to abuse or neglect; and high-quality legal services. Elder Justice AmeriCorps members are also expected to leverage an additional 300 community volunteers who will be engaged in the provision of specialized legal services to older adults who have been victims of abuse, neglect or exploitation.

Elder Justice AmeriCorps is the first-ever army of new lawyers and paralegals to help victims of those who prey on our nation’s elders.  It expands on an existing partnership between the two agencies, which includes justice AmeriCorps, a legal aid program launched in 2014 by the Department of Justice and CNCS to serve unaccompanied minors.  Upon completion of their service, Elder Justice AmeriCorps members will be eligible for a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award, or scholarship, to help pay for additional education or pay back student loans.

***

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages millions of Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund and other programs, and leads president's national call to service initiative, United We Serve.  For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov.

On June 14 the White House Council on Women and Girls is convening the first United State of Women Summit, a large-scale effort to rally together advocates of gender equality to highlight what we've achieved, identify the challenges that remain, and chart the course for addressing them. Experts, advocates, and grassroots and business leaders who work in both domestic and international arenas will gather to highlight key issues affecting women and girls.  More information on the summit is available at www.theunitedstateofwomen.org.

The Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) today announced more than $3.2 million in new investments to help communities prevent domestic violence homicides.

“Despite improvements in shelter, protection orders and training for law enforcement, judges and prosecutors, domestic violence homicide is all too common,” said Principal Deputy Director Bea Hanson of OVW.  “These awards we’re announcing are part of OVW's ongoing efforts to prevent domestic violence homicide.”

OVW will provide $700,000 to the Battered Women’s Justice Project to improve the criminal justice system’s response to domestic violence homicides involving firearms.  The funds will establish a National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Firearms that will build the capacity of victim service providers to respond effectively to domestic violence cases involving firearms.

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges will receive $900,000 to provide enhanced training and technical assistance, working closely with OVW, to implement an effective firearms response at the local, state and tribal levels.

National Intimate Partner Violence Intervention Initiative (NIPVII), a partner of the National Network for Safe Communities at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, will also receive $1.6 million.  NIPVII will work with three cities, to be selected as part of the demonstration pilot, to replicate a promising strategy for reducing intimate partner violence and homicides.  The National Institute of Justice will oversee an evaluation of the initiative through a grant to Yale University.

Additionally, OVW also announced the addition of two new cities, Miami and Winnebago County, Illinois, as replication sites for the evidence-based Lethality Assessment Program model, which has been shown to be effective in encouraging victims to use domestic violence support and shelter services.  The Lethality Assessment Program model was included as part of OVW’s Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Demonstration Initiative, established in 2012.

OVW provides leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to reduce violence against women through the implementation of VAWA and subsequent legislation.  Created in 1995, OVW administers financial and technical assistance to communities across the country that are developing programs, policies and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.  More information is available at www.justice.gov/ovw.  

Joint Demonstration to Enhance Coordination between HIV Housing and Domestic Violence Services

In an effort to help prevent victims of domestic violence living with HIV/AIDS from falling into homelessness, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced more than $9 million to support eight local programs across the country working to protect and house these victims.

“This joint effort will help low-income individuals with HIV/AIDS who have survived domestic violence secure the vital services they need to reclaim their lives and restore their futures,” said Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch.  “The Justice Department is committed to safeguarding the rights and opportunities of all Americans, including the most vulnerable among us.  And in the days ahead, we will continue our work to ensure that every American – from every background – has the safety, security, and support that they deserve.”

“Every person, especially those fighting the effects of HIV/AIDS or looking to escape an abusive situation, deserves to live in a safe and stable environment,” said HUD Secretary Julián Castro.  “Through this collaborative effort with the Justice Department, we’re able to help those living at the intersection of HIV/AIDS and domestic violence to secure the housing and health services they need to build a better future.”

The Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and HUD’s Office of HIV-AIDS Housing collaborated to provide these grants under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and HUD’s Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Program.  During today’s White House United State of Women Summit, the following grantees were announced: 

STATE

GRANTEE

HOPWA

VAWA

TOTAL

California

Volunteers of America of Los Angeles

$1,068,681

$185,259

$1,253,940

 

City of San Jose

$1,089,000

$197,520

$1,286,520

District of Columbia

DC Department of Health

$1,100,000

$197,520

$1,297,520

Louisiana

UNITY of Greater New Orleans

$1,100,000

$197,520

$1,297,520

Missouri

City of Kansas City

$817,720

$191,520

$1,009,240

New York

Gay Men's Health Crisis Inc.

$1,085,977

$197,520

$1,283,497

 

Unity House of Troy Inc.

$869,257

$197,519

$1,066,776

Oregon

City of Portland

$602,795

$125,622

$728,417

 

TOTAL

$7,733,430

$1,490,000

$9,223,430

Through this demonstration program, HUD will provide funding for housing assistance and supportive services to low-income persons living with HIV/AIDS who are victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence or stalking.  Grantees are required to form partnerships between local HIV housing and service providers and domestic violence and sexual assault service providers for client outreach and engagement and for comprehensive supportive services to ensure client success in the program.  Descriptions of the funded projects can be found here.

This demonstration follows a recommendation by the Federal Interagency Working Group on the Intersection of HIV/AIDS, Violence against Women and Girls, and Gender–Related Health Disparities to enhance federal efforts in addressing HIV and intimate partner violence (IPV) among homeless and marginally housed women and girls.  While the working group focuses on women and girls, the housing assistance and supportive services provided through the demonstration will be open to all eligible clients regardless of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, familial status, marital status, race, color, religion, national origin, disability or age.

OVW, headed by Principal Deputy Director Bea Hanson, provides leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to reduce violence against women through the implementation of VAWA and subsequent legislation.  Created in 1995, OVW administers financial and technical assistance to communities across the country that are developing programs, policies and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.  More information is available at www.justice.gov/ovw. 

The HOPWA program is the only federal program dedicated to addressing the housing needs of persons living with HIV/AIDS and their families.  Grantees partner with nonprofit organizations and housing agencies to provide housing and support to program beneficiaries.

A former social security Chief Administrative Law Judge pleaded guilty in federal court today for conspiring to retaliate against a former employee of the Social Security Administration (SSA) who provided information regarding potential corruption and fraud to federal investigators.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell 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 Howard S. Marshall of the FBI’s Louisville, Kentucky, Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Tracey D. Montaño of the 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 (HHS-OIG) Atlanta Regional Office made the announcement.

Charlie Paul Andrus, 66, of Huntington, West Virginia, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky to a one-count information charging him with conspiracy to retaliate against an informant.  Andrus had been an administrative law judge with the SSA for nearly 28 years, where he was responsible for adjudicating claims for disability benefits on behalf of the SSA.  In 1997, Andrus was promoted to the position of Chief Administrative Law Judge for the hearing office located in Huntington.

According to court documents, on May 19, 2011, federal agents went to the Huntington hearing office and began securing evidence and interviewing witnesses as part of an investigation into allegations of potential corruption and fraud at the hearing office purportedly committed by Administrative Law Judge David Black Daugherty and an attorney in Kentucky, Eric Christopher Conn.  That same day, The Wall Street Journal published an article critical of the Huntington hearing office.  Andrus admitted that the article was personally embarrassing, as it cast both him and the Huntington hearing office in a negative light.  Because of the article and the criminal investigation, Andrus was demoted from his position as Chief Administrative Law Judge.

Andrus admitted that at the time of his demotion, he was aware that an SSA employee from the hearing office was meeting with investigators and relaying information about potential federal offenses.  According to his plea agreement, Andrus met with Conn shortly after the article was published and the two devised and implemented a plan to discredit the informant.  According to court documents, the plan involved filming the informant violating a program that allowed employees to work from home, with the hope that the informant would be terminated as a result.  By pleading guilty today, Andrus admitted that he was aware that the SSA employee reported truthful information to federal investigators and that he wanted to retaliate against the employee by interfering with the employee’s employment and livelihood.

In a related case, Conn and Daugherty were charged in an 18-count indictment with conspiracy, fraud, obstruction, false statement and money laundering in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $600 million in federal disability payments for thousands of claimants.  That indictment included charges related to the conduct that forms the basis of Andrus’ guilty plea.  An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The SSA-OIG, FBI, IRS-CI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.  Trial Attorney Dustin M. Davis and Special Trial Attorney Trey Alford of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Trial Attorney Kristen M. Warden of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section are prosecuting the case. 

A federal court in Orlando, Florida, has permanently barred a Florida man from preparing tax returns for others and owning or operating a tax return preparation business, Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division announced today. 

The court also entered a $1 million judgment against Kerny Pierre-Louis of Windermere, Florida, on the United States’ claim for disgorgement of the proceeds he derived from preparing tax returns.  The civil injunction and disgorgement judgment were signed by U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway of the Middle District of Florida.  Pierre-Louis agreed to entry of the injunction and disgorgement judgment, but did not agree to any of the facts alleged in the United States’ civil complaint.

In September 2014, the United States filed a civil injunction complaint against Pierre-Louis alleging that he and his employees prepared fraudulent tax returns for customers.  The complaint alleged that return preparers in Pierre-Louis’s business targeted primarily low- to moderate-income customers with deceptive and misleading advertisements; prepared and filed fraudulent tax returns to increase their customers’ refunds; and profited through unconscionable, exorbitant and often undisclosed fees—all at the expense of their customers and the U.S. Treasury.  According to the complaint, Pierre-Louis and his employees prepared federal tax returns on which they falsely claimed earned income and education credits, reported improper filing statuses, concocted phony businesses, claimed bogus income and expenses related to the non-existent businesses and fabricated job-related expenses.  The complaint also named Jehoakim Victor and Lauri Rodriguez, allegedly former managers at Pierre-Louis’s tax preparation stores, as defendants.  In February 2015, the court permanently enjoined Victor and Rodriguez from preparing tax returns for others and from owning or operating a tax return preparation business.  Victor and Rodriguez agreed to entry of the injunction without admitting the allegations in the complaint.

Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2016.  The IRS has some tips on their website for choosing a tax preparer.  In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers.  Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website.  An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page.  If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch released the following statement regarding the terrorist attack in Orlando, Florida, early this morning:

“I have been briefed by Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and FBI Director James Comey on the horrific terrorist attack in Orlando and will continue to receive updates on the situation.  My thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families during this very difficult time.  The Department of Justice, including the FBI, the ATF, the National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, is fully supporting the ongoing investigation.  The Justice Department's Community Relations Service has been in contact with local authorities, community leaders and local working groups to offer any assistance as needed.  Additionally, I will no longer participate in the U.S.-China Cyber Ministerial in Beijing and will travel back to Washington immediately to continue monitoring the developments.”  

---

President Obama on the Tragic Shooting in Orlando

Statement from Vice President Biden on Mass Shooting in Orlando

Divestiture Prevents a Duopoly in the Provision of Media Contact Databases to Businesses and Other Organizations

The Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed acquisition, and simultaneously filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the competitive harm alleged in the lawsuit. 

Businesses, nonprofits, and other organizations rely on media contact databases to identify journalists and other influencers for public relations purposes.  Cision is the largest media contact database provider in the United States through its flagship public relations workflow software suite.  PR Newswire is the third-largest media contact database provider in the United States through its Agility workflow software suite and competes directly with Cision to provide media contact databases to customers.  According to the department’s complaint, GTCR’s acquisition of Agility would eliminate one of the two meaningful competitors to Cision in the provision of media contact databases, creating a duopoly in the market and further enhancing Cision’s dominant market position.  Under the terms of the proposed settlement, GTCR must divest Agility to Innodata Inc., or to another buyer approved by the United States. 

“Media contact databases are important to the public-relations activities of many American businesses and organizations,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Renata B. Hesse, head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “Today’s settlement protects these customers and preserves competition in the market for media contact databases.”

GTCR’s acquisition of PR Newswire is also being reviewed by the United Kingdom’s Competition & Markets Authority (CMA).  The department cooperated closely with the CMA throughout the course of its investigation.

GTCR is a private equity firm headquartered in Chicago.  GTCR owns Cision, a leading public relations workflow software company that had approximately $227 million in U.S. revenues in 2015.

UBM is a global events marketing and communications services business headquartered in St. Helier, Jersey.  UBM owns PR Newswire, a leading provider of commercial newswire services.  PR Newswire’s 2015 U.S. revenues totaled approximately $209 million.

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, 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 during a 60-day comment period to Scott Scheele, Chief, Telecommunications & Media Enforcement Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 7000, Washington, D.C. 20530.  At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the court may enter the proposed settlement upon finding that it is in the public interest.

GTCR CIS

GTCR PFJ

GTCR Stipulation & Order

GTCR Explanation

GTCR Complaint

Agencies Urge North Carolina General Assembly to Consider the Competitive Benefits of Legislation Allowing Interactive Websites to Generate Legal Forms for Consumers

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the staff of the Federal Trade Commission have submitted a joint statement to the North Carolina legislature on the potential competition and consumer benefits of legislation that would allow websites to generate legal forms for consumers.  Websites that offer this type of interactive software may be more cost-effective for some consumers, exert downward price pressure on licensed lawyer services, and promote more efficient and convenient access to legal services. 

The agencies also noted that scope-of-practice laws can have valid consumer protection justifications.  However, they recommend that such restrictions should be imposed only where there is credible evidence of likely harm to consumers.  Any restrictions should be narrowly tailored to address the harm and not unnecessarily inhibit new and competitive ways to deliver legal services for the benefit of consumers.

“Competition between lawyers and non-lawyers for certain legal services can drive down prices, provide consumers with new and more convenient options, and expand access to legal services,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse of the Antitrust Division.  “When analyzing House Bill 436, the North Carolina General Assembly should consider the benefits to consumers and competition that would result from allowing consumers to use interactive software to generate legal forms.” 

The joint statement is in response to a request from North Carolina State Senator Bill Cook.  The request asked for views on North Carolina House Bill 436, legislation that would exclude from the statutory definition of the practice of law the operation of a website that generates legal documents based on consumer responses to questions presented by interactive software, provided certain conditions are satisfied.

Anticompetitive Restrictions Bar Insurers from Steering Patients to Lower-Cost Competing Providers

The Department of Justice today filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS), challenging CHS’s practice of imposing steering restrictions in its contracts with commercial health insurers in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area.

The Antitrust Division and the state of North Carolina filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.  The complaint alleges that CHS, with its approximately 50 percent share in the sale of acute inpatient hospital services to health insurers in the Charlotte area, has used its market power to require steering restrictions in its contracts with every major insurer.  These provisions have prevented insurers from, among other things, introducing health plans that encourage patients to use medical providers that offer lower priced, higher-quality services. 

“Americans should be able to choose a healthcare provider that gives them and their families the most cost-effective and appropriate treatment,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Renata B. Hesse, head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “This lawsuit will stop a dominant hospital from using its market power to undermine its smaller competitors’ efforts to attract patients by competing on the price and quality of their services.”

“Today’s enforcement action seeks to ensure that consumers in the Charlotte area will benefit by identifying the more cost-efficient, quality providers when making the critically important decision of selecting a doctor or hospital,” said U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose of the Western District of North Carolina.  “In these times of escalating health care costs, vigilant antitrust enforcement in local healthcare markets such as the Charlotte area is essential to protecting the interests of consumers.”

CHS is the largest healthcare system in North Carolina and one of the largest not-for-profit healthcare systems in the United States.  In 2014, CHS had net operating revenue of about $8.7 billion.  

The Justice Department reached an agreement today with the city of Milwaukee to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.  The agreement was reached under Project Civic Access (PCA), the department’s wide-ranging initiative to ensure that cities, towns and counties throughout the country comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Today’s agreement was reached under Title II of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities by state and local governments.  The agreement requires the actions to be completed within three years and the department will actively monitor compliance with the agreement throughout this timeframe.

“Cities and towns must comply with the ADA so that people with disabilities can use public entities and participate fully in their community – from enjoying parks and libraries, to accessing polling places and courthouses,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “We applaud Milwaukee’s commitment to ensuring that its entire population can access the city’s public resources and look forward to seeing these critical reforms become a reality.”

The agreement requires the city to modify facilities surveyed by the department so that they are accessible and to retain an independent licensed architect to survey facilities and programs that were not surveyed by the department.  The agreement also requires that Milwaukee certify that all remedial actions are compliant with the ADA, provide auxiliary aids and services necessary to ensure effective communication, ensure accessibility of polling places, provide accessible curb ramps throughout the city and ensure that the city’s website will conform with the Website Content Accessibility Guidelines Level 2.0 Level AA.

PCA ensures that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in civic life.  As part of PCA, Justice Department staff survey state and local government facilities, services and programs in communities across the country to identify changes needed in order to comply with the ADA.  The agreements detail the actions that a public entity must take to improve access.

People interested in finding out more about the ADA, this agreement with Milwaukee, PCA or the ADA Best Practices Tool Kit for State and Local Governments may access the ADA web page at www.ada.gov or call the toll-free ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TTY).

Milwaukee Settlement Agreement

A Raleigh, North Carolina, man was sentenced to 71 months in prison today after pleading guilty in February to one count of conspiracy to commit theft of public money and one count of theft of public money, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. 

Wilfredo Acosta Hidalgo, 47, in 2011 and 2012, conspired with check cashers to cash U.S. Treasury refund checks issued as a result of fraudulently-filed tax returns, according to court documents.  Hidalgo provided the check cashers with U.S. Treasury checks issued to third parties in whose name the fraudulent returns were filed.  The check cashers deposited the U.S. Treasury checks into their business bank accounts and provided Hidalgo with cash equal to the value of the U.S. Treasury checks, less a check-cashing fee.  The third-party payees were not present when the checks were cashed. 

In addition to the prison term, Hidalgo was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $4,280,871 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 

Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorneys Lauren Castaldi and Nathan Brooks of the Tax Division, who prosecuted this case. 

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

An ocean freight executive has been indicted for his participation in a long-running conspiracy to restrain trade in international ocean shipments of roll-on, roll-off cargo to and from the Port of Baltimore and elsewhere in the United States, the Department of Justice announced today.

A grand jury in the District of Maryland returned the indictment.  Mauricio Javier Garrido Garcia (Garrido), an executive of Compañia Sudamericana de Vapores S.A. (CSAV) and resident of Chile, is charged with allocating customers and routes, rigging bids and fixing prices for international ocean shipments of roll-on, roll-off cargo, including cars, trucks and construction and agriculture equipment.  Garrido is accused of participating in the conspiracy from as early as 2000 until at least September 2012.  An indictment is a formal charging document, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Garrido is the eighth executive to be charged in the investigation to date.  Four individuals have already pleaded guilty and been sentenced to prison and three others have been indicted but remain fugitives from justice.  CSAV and two other companies have also pleaded guilty and paid over $136 million in criminal fines.

“This long-running conspiracy restrained trade in one of the main channels of international commerce – the oceans,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Renata B. Hesse, head of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “Today’s indictment further demonstrates the division’s commitment to holding accountable ocean-shipping executives who participated in this scheme.”

“These charges brought today, and for the prior seven executives charged, outline a deceptive scheme to destabilize competition in the marketplace,” said Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the FBI’s Baltimore Division.  “Those who engage in this type of criminal activity with the intent on corrupting our economy will be identified and brought to justice.  To ensure we don’t erode the public’s trust in the competitive bidding process, the FBI will continue to work with the Antitrust Division to ensure the integrity of competition across all industries.”

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

Garrido Indictment

"For almost a decade, INTERPOL Washington, the United States National Central Bureau (USNCB), has empowered the nation’s law enforcement to use both national and INTERPOL criminal indices. The process of linking states together to use INTERPOL systems, known as federation, will assist officers across the country in making determinations about persons or items they encounter in the field: suspected fugitives, victims, stolen vehicles, stolen travel documents, etc."

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) puts the USNCB Federation initiative in its DISPATCH Headlines for the June issue of the e-newsletter.

Please see the below link for the full story.

http://cops.usdoj.gov/html/dispatch/06-2016/international_systems.asp

 

Pharmaceutical companies Genentech Inc. and OSI Pharmaceuticals LLC will pay $67 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that they made misleading statements about the effectiveness of the drug Tarceva to treat non-small cell lung cancer, the Department of Justice announced today.  Genentech, located in South San Francisco, California, and OSI Pharmaceuticals, located in Farmingdale, New York, co-promote Tarceva, which is approved to treat certain patients with non-small cell lung cancer or pancreatic cancer.  OSI Pharmaceuticals LLC is the successor to OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc., which was acquired by Astellas Holding US Inc. in 2010 and converted to a limited liability company in 2011.

“Pharmaceutical companies have a responsibility to provide accurate information to patients and health care providers about their prescription drugs,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “The Department of Justice will hold those companies accountable that mislead the public about the efficacy of their products.”

The settlement resolves allegations that, between January 2006 and December 2011,  Genentech and OSI Pharmaceuticals made misleading representations to physicians and other health care providers about the effectiveness of Tarceva to treat certain patients with non-small cell lung cancer, when there was little evidence to show that Tarceva was effective to treat those patients unless they also had never smoked or had a mutation in their epidermal growth factor receptor, which is a protein involved in the growth and spread of cancer cells.

As a result of today’s $67 million settlement, the federal government will receive $62.6 million and state Medicaid programs will receive $4.4 million.  The Medicaid program is funded jointly by the state and federal governments.

“This settlement demonstrates the government’s unwavering commitment to pursue violations of the False Claims Act and recover taxpayer dollars spent as a result of misleading marketing campaigns,” said U.S. Attorney Brian Stretch for the Northern District of California.

“Pharmaceutical companies that make misleading or unsubstantiated statements about their products can put patients at risk,” said Deputy Commissioner Howard R. Sklamberg for FDA’s global regulatory operations and policy. “The FDA will continue to work to protect the public's health by ensuring that companies do not mislead healthcare providers about their products.”

“Drug manufacturers that make misleading claims about their product’s effectiveness can jeopardize the health of patients – in this case, cancer patients,” said Special Agent in Charge Steven J. Ryan for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).  “Our agency will continue to protect both patients and taxpayers by holding those who engage in such practices accountable for their actions.”

The settlement resolves allegations filed in a lawsuit by former Genentech employee Brian Shields, in federal court in San Francisco.  The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery.  Shields will receive approximately $10 million.

This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.  The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation.  One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act.  Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $29.8 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $18.2 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.  

The settlement is the result of a coordinated effort by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, with assistance from the HHS-OIG, the HHS Office of Counsel to the Inspector General, the HHS Office of the General Counsel-CMS Division, the FDA’s Office Chief Counsel, the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the Office of the Inspector General for the Office of Personnel Management, the FBI, the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, the Office of the General Counsel for the Defense Health Agency and the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units.       

The case is captioned United States ex rel. Shields v. Genentech, Inc., et al., Case No.  CV 11 0822 MEJ (N.D. Ca.).  The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.  

A Stillwell, Kansas, man pleaded guilty today to one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of theft of government funds, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall of the District of Kansas.

Richard Drake, 60, admitted that he obtained more than $2 million from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by filing false tax returns in the names of his clients.  Those false returns claimed refunds that Drake directed into accounts he controlled.  In his plea agreement, Drake admitted that he used the identities of his clients to perpetrate his fraud without their knowledge.  The tax returns that Drake filed caused the U.S. Department of the Treasury to issue large income tax refunds that Drake then converted to his own use.

As part of his plea agreement, Drake has agreed to serve 48 months in prison and to pay $2,432,147 in restitution to the IRS.  The sentencing hearing date has not yet been determined.

Acting Assistant Attorney General and Acting U.S. Attorney Beall commended special agents of IRS–Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorney Ryan Raybould of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tris Hunt of the District of Kansas, who are prosecuting the case.

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

Over 200 artifacts were returned to the government of India today by Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch during a ceremony with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  The items were recovered as a result of an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the work of the United States Attorneys’ Offices in the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, and the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.

“The United States is committed to ensuring that no nation is robbed of the objects that inform its identity, shape its traditions and inspire its citizens,” said Attorney General Lynch.  “Today, as part of that ongoing commitment, more than 200 antiquities and cultural artifacts that speak to India’s astounding history and beautiful culture are beginning their journey home.  It is my hope – and the hope of the American people – that this repatriation will serve as a sign of our great respect for India’s culture; our deep admiration for its people; and our sincere appreciation for the ties between our nations.  I want to commend the men and women of the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for recovering these priceless objects and I want to thank our Indian counterparts for their continued cooperation in our shared efforts to protect and preserve the cultural heritage of both of our nations.”

Items returned included religious statues, bronzes and terra cotta pieces, some dating back 2,000 years, looted from some of India’s most treasured religious sites.  Among the pieces returned is a statue of Saint Manikkavichavakar, a Hindu mystic and poet from the Chola period (circa 850 AD to 1250 AD) stolen from the Sivan Temple in Chennai, India, which is valued at $1.5 million.  Also included in the collection is a bronze sculpture of the Hindu god Ganesh estimated to be 1,000 years old.

“Protecting the cultural heritage of our global community is important work and we are committed to identifying and returning these priceless items to their countries of origin and rightful owners,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson.  “It’s the responsibility of law enforcement worldwide to ensure criminal smuggling organizations do not profit from the theft of these culturally and historically valuable items.”

The majority of the pieces repatriated in the ceremony were seized during Operation Hidden Idol, an investigation that began in 2007 after HSI special agents received a tip about a shipment of seven crates destined for the United States manifested as “marble garden table sets.”  Examination of the shipment in question revealed numerous antiquities.  This shipment was imported by Subhash Kapoor, owner of Art of the Past Gallery, who awaits trial in India.

HSI’s Operation Hidden Idol focused on the activities of former New York-based art dealer Kapoor, currently in custody in India awaiting trial for allegedly looting tens of millions of dollars’ worth of rare antiquities from several nations.  Artifacts were also found in the Honolulu Museum and Peabody Essex, who promptly partnered with HSI to surrender illicit cultural property stemming from Kapoor.  HSI special agents have executed a series of search warrants targeting Kapoor’s New York City gallery, along with warehouses and storage facilities linked to the dealer.  Additionally, five individuals have been arrested in the United States for their role in the scheme.  The estimated value of the artifacts seized so far in the case exceeds $100 million.

HSI plays a leading role in criminal investigations that involve illegally importing and distributing cultural property, including illicit trafficking of cultural property, especially objects that have been reported lost or stolen.  HSI International Operations, through its 64 attaché offices in 46 countries, works closely with foreign governments to conduct joint investigations.  Since 2007, more than 7,500 artifacts have been returned to 30 countries, including paintings from France, Germany, Poland and Austria; 15th  to 18th  century manuscripts from Italy and Peru; as well as cultural artifacts from China, Cambodia and Iraq.

Learn more about HSI cultural property, art and antiquities investigations.  Members of the public who have information about suspected stolen cultural property are urged to call the toll-free HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or to complete its online tip form.

 

 

On Tuesday, May 31, 2016, Director Shank met with NCMEC CEO John Clark to discuss continued collaboration between the two organizations.  Mr. Clark is the former Director of the U.S. Marshals Service.

The Justice Department announced today the release of draft guidance documents governing the testimony and reports of the department’s forensic experts.  These documents, available for public comment through July 8, are designed to ensure that department forensic experts only make statements in the courtroom and in laboratory reports that are supported by sound science. 

The drafting of these proposed documents arose out of the department’s ongoing, multi-year effort to strengthen the practice of forensic science.  Once finalized and adopted, these documents, known as the Uniform Language for Testimony and Reports, will apply to all department personnel who issue forensic reports or provide expert forensic testimony, including forensic experts at the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). 

“Forensic science is a critical component of our criminal justice system, both for identifying the perpetrator of a crime and for clearing the innocent,” said Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates.  “Once finalized and adopted, these guidance documents will clarify what scientific statements our forensic experts may – and may not – use when testifying in court and in drafting reports, in turn strengthening the integrity of our system overall.”

The proposed uniform language documents released today cover seven forensic science disciplines: body fluid testing (serology), drug and chemical analysis (general chemistry), fibers, foot prints/tire treads, glass, latent fingerprints and toxicology.  This summer, the department will release a second round of proposed documents for public comment, which will include draft guidance relating to DNA, explosive devices, hair analysis and handwriting.  The department expects to adopt final versions of these documents later this year. 

Once finalized and adopted, the uniform language documents will only apply to department personnel, but the department decided to release the proposed documents for public comment in an effort to promote transparency and to solicit feedback from the broader forensic science community.  As today’s proposed documents make clear, the uniform language documents are not intended to serve as precedent for other forensic laboratories and do not imply that statements by other laboratories are incorrect, indefensible or erroneous. 

Copies of the proposed uniform language documents are available for review at https://justice.gov/forensics. Public comments may be submitted through www.regulations.gov.  

The Department of Justice, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the New York State Inspector General, which are all conducting a joint federal and state investigation into bid-rigging, fraud and tax-related offenses in the award of contracts at the New York Power Authority (NYPA), announced today that a Westchester County, New York, resident pleaded guilty today to aiding and assisting in the filing of a false tax return.

According to the one-count felony charge filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, in White Plains, New York, John Simonlacaj caused another individual to file a Form 1040 for the tax year 2010 that substantially understated that individual’s taxable income.  Simonlacaj pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the filing of a false tax return, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. 

“Our investigation into bid rigging and fraud by companies supplying the New York Power Authority has uncovered a variety of criminal activity,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse, head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “Filing a false tax return is a serious offense and we are pleased to have worked with our partners in law enforcement to prosecute the criminal violation.”

“We say many times the FBI won’t stop until we find everyone responsible for their roles in a criminal investigation,” said Assistant Director in Charge Diego Rodriguez of the FBI’s New York Field Office.  “These charges prove our tenacity in digging until we hit the bottom of the pile and uncover anyone who had a part in criminal wrongdoing.”

"Today’s plea marks yet another defendant admitting guilt following a bid rigging investigation that began at the state level. My office and those of my federal law enforcement partners, will continue to follow the evidence wherever it may lead," said New York State Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott. 

“Mr. Simonlacaj is now held accountable for his role in filing a false tax return,” said Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen of the IRS Criminal Investigation New York Field Office.  “Towards pursuing its goal of ensuring that that everyone pays their fair share of taxes, IRS Criminal Investigation remains committed to this ongoing investigation.”

The investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Office with the assistance of the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and the New York State Office of the Inspector General.  NYPA is cooperating with the investigation.  Anyone with information on bid rigging or other anticompetitive conducted related to the award or performance of municipal and state contracts should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.

NEWARK, N.J. – Four people have been arrested and charged with stealing more than $900,000 from a New Jersey-based trucking company, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced today.

Lisa Popewiny, 53, of Clifton, New Jersey, and brothers Angel D. Vidal, 24, and Angel Gabriel Vidal, 22, of Paterson, New Jersey, and Miguel Vidal, 22, of Jersey City, New Jersey, are each charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud. Federal authorities arrested Popewiny, Angel D. Vidal and Angel Gabriel Vidal on June 2, 2016. Miguel Vidal was arrested today. All four defendants appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Mannion in Newark federal court; Miguel Vidal appeared today and the remaining defendants appeared yesterday. 

According to the complaint:

Popewiny was the payroll clerk at Clifford B. Finkle Jr. Inc, a Clifton company that provided transportation and freight services to various public and private entities located in New Jersey, New York, and elsewhere. From June 2012 to April 2015, Popewiny, Angel D. Vidal, Angel Gabriel Vidal, and Miguel Vidal – a former truck driver for the Company – allegedly engaged in a scheme to defraud the company out of $920,380. 

Popewiny falsified payroll records in order to generate fraudulent paychecks payable to non-existent employees. Angel D. Vidal, Angel Gabriel Vidal, and Miguel Vidal then converted the paychecks, many of which were deposited into their bank accounts and then funneled out in cash. The scheme came to light when owners of the company, in an effort to investigate suspected fraud, distributed the payroll checks to employees – a task normally completed by Popewiny. After all of the payroll checks had been distributed, six paychecks remained that turned out to be fraudulently issued. Further investigation revealed that Popewiny input false hours for at least 12 different individuals.

The count of wire fraud is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited criminal investigators in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, postal inspectors from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Cynthia Shoffner, and members of the U.S. Marshals’ Fugitive Task Force, under the direction of U.S. Marshal Juan Mattos Jr., with the investigation leading to the arrests and charges.

The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cari Fais of the Special Prosecution Division in Newark. finkle_trucking_complaint.pdf

Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates released the following statement following President Obama’s clemency announcement today:

 "Our responsibility at the Department of Justice is to seek justice and that includes rectifying disproportionately long sentences for certain drug offenders sentenced under outdated laws.  The President has used his clemency authority today to give more individuals a second chance to live law abiding lives and we are confident that there will be many more commutations in the months 

 

On June 1st, officials from NCB Beijing and Chinese Embassy visited the USNCB. Director Shank, Chief of Staff Graham, and General Counsel Smith met with them to discuss the valuable relationship between our NCBs, and their ability to promote cooperation.

 

 

 

Note: The court entered judgments of acquittal as to Matthew Connolly and Gavin Campbell Black on all counts alleged in the indictment.

Two former Deutsche Bank AG (Deutsche Bank) traders—the bank’s supervisor of the Pool Trading Desk in New York and a derivatives trader in London—were indicted for their alleged roles in a scheme to manipulate the U.S. Dollar (USD) London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR), a benchmark interest rate to which trillions of dollars in interest rate contracts were tied. 

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Snyder of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and Assistant Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement after the indictment was unsealed today.

On May 31, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York returned a 10-count indictment charging Matthew Connolly, 51, of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and Gavin Campbell Black, 46, of London, with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and nine counts of wire fraud for their participation in a scheme to manipulate the USD LIBOR rate in a manner that benefited their own or Deutsche Bank’s financial positions in derivatives that were linked to those benchmarks.  Connolly was taken into custody today and is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon.  The case has been assigned to Chief U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon of the Southern District of New York.

Michael Curtler, 43, of London, a former Deutsche Bank derivatives trader and manager of the London Money Market Derivatives (MMD) Desk in London, pleaded guilty in October 2015 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud in connection with his role in the scheme.

“This indictment charges two senior traders with manipulating LIBOR to gain an illegal advantage in the market,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “Millions of people around the world rely on LIBOR and other global financial benchmarks as accurate and honestly-reported rates.  Manipulation of these rates undermines the integrity of our financial system and the Justice Department will continue to hold accountable both the financial institutions and the individuals responsible for this conduct.”

“Healthy financial markets are crucial to a successful economy,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Snyder.  “By corrupting this important benchmark rate, the defendants undermined the integrity of financial markets here and around the world.  The department is committed to holding individuals accountable for the roles they play in committing complex financial crimes.”

“These federal charges outline the alleged criminal actions perpetrated by two banking insiders to manipulate the LIBOR interest rate, which is used to set interest rates for consumer loan products, including mortgages and credit cards,” said Assistant Director in Charge Abbate.  “This indictment comes as a result of the dedicated and tireless efforts of agents, analysts and prosecutors committed to holding accountable those who deliberately compromise the integrity of our financial markets for personal gain.”

According to the indictment, LIBOR was an average interest rate, calculated based on submissions from leading banks around the world, reflecting the honest and unbiased rates those banks believed they would be charged if borrowing from other banks.  LIBOR was published by the British Bankers’ Association, a trade association based in London.  The published LIBOR “fix” for USD currency was the result of a calculation based upon submissions from a panel of 16 banks, including Deutsche Bank.

According to allegations in the indictment, Connolly was Deutsche Bank’s director of the Pool Trading Desk in New York, where he supervised traders who traded USD LIBOR-based derivative products.  Black was a director on Deutsche Bank’s MMD Desk in London, who also traded USD LIBOR-based derivative products.  In order to increase Deutsche Bank’s profits on derivatives contracts tied to the USD LIBOR, Connolly allegedly directed his subordinates, and Black allegedly asked Curtler and others at Deutsche Bank, to submit false and fraudulent LIBOR contributions consistent with the traders’ or the bank’s financial interests rather than the honest and unbiased costs of borrowing. 

The charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

In April 2015, Deutsche Bank entered into a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve wire fraud and antitrust charges and Deutsche Bank Group Services (UK) Limited pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, collectively agreeing to pay a $775 million fine, for the bank’s role in engaging in a scheme to defraud counterparties to interest rate derivatives trades by secretly manipulating USD LIBOR and other currencies submissions. 

The Justice Department has previously announced resolutions with five other banks for their roles in manipulation of benchmark interest rates, including Barclays Bank PLC, UBS AG, The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. and Lloyds Banking Group plc.  The department has also charged 13 individuals as a result of this investigation.  Three of those individuals have pleaded guilty, two have been convicted at trial, and the charges against the others are pending. 

Special agents, forensic accountants and intelligence analysts of the FBI’s Washington Field Office are conducting the investigation.  Senior Trial Attorney Carol L. Sipperly and Trial Attorneys Alison L. Anderson and Richard A. Powers of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Trial Attorney Daniel M. Tracer of the Antitrust Division’s New York Office are prosecuting the case.  Fraud Section Deputy Chief Benjamin D. Singer and Assistant Chief Jennifer L. Saulino have also provided valuable assistance in this matter.

The investigation leading to this case has required, and has greatly benefited from, a diligent and wide-ranging assistance among various enforcement agencies both in the United States and abroad.  In particular, the department acknowledges and expresses its appreciation for this assistance from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Enforcement, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority and the U.K. Serious Fraud Office.  More than 20 individuals have been charged by the U.K. Serious Fraud Office for their roles in engaging in benchmark rate manipulation.

This prosecution is part of efforts underway by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.  President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.  The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources.  The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.  For more information about the task force visit www.stopfraud.gov. 

A North Carolina man was sentenced yesterday to 21 months in prison for tax evasion and four counts of serving as a pilot without an airman’s certificate, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Ripley Rand for the Middle District of North Carolina. 

Paul Douglas Tharp, from 2012 through 2014, attempted to evade payment of an outstanding federal income tax debt by filing false documents, including false tax returns, with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), according to court documents.  After Tharp failed to file tax returns for the years 2003 through 2006, the IRS assessed federal income taxes for those years.  In 2014, Tharp provided a false Form 433-A, Collection Information Statement for Wage Earners and Self-Employed Individuals, signed under penalty of perjury, on which Tharp failed to report that he owned an airport and an investment firm and concealed his business bank accounts and rental income.  In 2012 and 2014, Tharp also filed tax returns for the 2011 through 2013 tax years on which he omitted significant income that he received from his airport and rental properties. 

As part of his plea, Tharp also admitted that he served as a pilot without the required certification on four different occasions in 2012.  Tharp surrendered his pilot certificate on Aug. 2, 2012.  After that date, Tharp flew four flights in and out of Davidson County Airport in Lexington, North Carolina, without valid registration and while his pilot certificate was suspended. 

In addition to his prison term, Tharp was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $285,028.47 to the IRS.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Rand commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anand Ramaswamy of the Middle District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney Nathan Brooks of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting this case.

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

James Kaminsky, a fisherman from Mattituck, New York, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Central Islip, New York, to federal felonies stemming from his role in systematically covering up the landing and sale of illegal fluke (summer flounder), scup and black sea bass that were overharvested in violation of New York state quotas and the federal Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program, the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division announced.

Kaminsky pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting false documents and one count of oral false statements in connection with a scheme that ran from May through August 2011.  During this period, Kaminsky utilized the RSA Program as a mask for unlawful quota overages.  He then sold his illegal catch to Mark Parente, a federal fish dealer and a defendant in a related case.  Federal fish dealers are required to accurately report their purchases to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), regardless of whether the fish originated from a state or federal fishery.  NOAA utilizes these reports to assess fish stocks and to set quotas in conjunction with regional fisheries councils.  False information inputted into fisheries statistical models reduces their effectiveness and could result in unexpected, corrective quota reductions years after the illegal catch because actual fishing effort had been undercounted by the models.  Such quota reductions can have negative effects on the legitimate fishing fleet.  

In order to cover up the illegal harvest and transactions, Kaminsky and Parente agreed to falsify government documents.  As such Kaminsky falsified approximately 30 fishing vessel trip reports and Parente falsified a corresponding number of dealer reports.  To further obscure the illicit conduct, almost all of the payments were made in cash, with Parente and Kaminsky meeting at a pre-determined spot off the Long Island Expressway in Nassau or Suffolk Counties.  The scheme omitted or misidentified approximately 6,900 pounds of fluke, 50,000 pounds of scup and 12,000 pounds of black sea bass.  The wholesale value of the fish was stipulated as $78,000.  The second charge stems from material, false statements that Kaminsky made to NOAA criminal investigators during a November 2014 proffer session with a federal prosecutor.

As part of the plea deal, the defendant agreed to pay a total financial penalty of $150,000.  He also agreed to five years of probation and six months of home detention.  Agreed-upon probation terms include relinquishment of commercial fishing permits, ban from the RSA Program and divestiture and ban from any interest in a commercial fishing vessel. Kaminsky’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 2.

Kaminsky is “Fisherman Y,” as that term is used in the related Mark Parente case.  Kaminsky is the tenth defendant to be prosecuted as part of NOAA’s ongoing Long Island RSA Fraud Investigation.  The case was investigated by agents of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Christopher L. Hale of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division.

Thousands of U.S. Victims Defrauded Out of Over $18 Million Annually

The United States filed a civil complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against an individual and two Dutch companies that allegedly engaged in multiple international mail fraud schemes that have defrauded elderly and vulnerable U.S. victims out of tens of millions of dollars, the Department of Justice announced.  The Department sought a temporary restraining order, which was entered by the court yesterday, as well as preliminary and permanent injunctions to prevent the defendants from further victimizing U.S. consumers. 

According to the complaint, U.S. residents received fraudulent direct mail solicitations that falsely claimed that the individual recipient had won, or would soon win cash or valuable prizes or otherwise come into great fortune.  Victims sent payments through the U.S. and international mail systems to defendants Trends Service in Kommunikatie B.V. (Trends) and Kommunikatie Service Buitenland B.V. (KSB), both in Utrecht, Netherlands, and both owned and operated by defendant Erik Dekker, 54, of Langbroek, Netherlands.

At the same time that the Justice Department took this law enforcement action, Dutch law enforcement agents executed search warrants on the business address used by both companies and on Dekker’s home address.  The Dutch authorities also took control of the Dutch P.O. boxes used by the defendants to receive victim funds.  The coordinated U.S. and Dutch enforcement actions seek to immediately stop the use of Dutch P.O. boxes to receive payments from fraud victims and to immediately stop the defendants from continuing to victimize the elderly.  Learn more about the actions taken by Dutch authorities at: https://www.om.nl/actueel/nieuwsberichten/@94702/fiod-and-us-doj/

“Schemes targeting elderly victims are increasingly international in scope, but geographic distance will not prevent us from seeking justice and holding bad actors accountable,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “Dutch authorities have done a great service to U.S. residents and elderly victims worldwide by addressing fraud facilitated within their borders.  The Justice Department will continue to work with our international law enforcement partners to put a stop to fraud schemes that exploit vulnerable Americans.” 

“As alleged in the complaint, defendants act as the clearinghouses for multiple international mail fraud schemes, taking money from thousands of elderly and vulnerable victims not only in this district but also throughout the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Robert L. Capers for the Eastern District of New York.  “Together with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and our international partner, the Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Division of the Netherlands, we will track down, and stop, the schemes wherever they lead.”  

“No one should ever be told they must pay a fee, or make a worthless purchase, to collect a prize,” said Inspector in Charge Regina L. Faulkerson of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigation Group.  “When that happens, it’s fraud - plain and simple - and Postal Inspectors work to keep those falsehoods out of the U.S. mail.”

The complaint filed June 1 in U.S. federal court in the Eastern District of New York alleges that, since at least 2012, Trends, KSB and Dekker have used P.O. boxes in the Netherlands to receive payments from various predatory mass-mailing fraud schemes.  Solicitations are mailed from locations around the globe to residents in the United States.  The solicitations purport to be personalized to each individual recipient, even though they are form letters mailed to hundreds of thousands of potential victims.  Some solicitations instruct recipients to pay a processing fee in order to receive lottery winnings or other prizes; other solicitations urge recipients to purchase goods or services based on false promises that they will guarantee future lottery wins.

As alleged in the complaint, victims responded to the solicitations by completing a form and submitting a payment, usually around $15 to $55, via U.S. mail.  The solicitations contain pre-addressed envelopes in which victims send payments.  The envelopes are addressed to P.O. boxes in the Netherlands.  Trends and KSB operate more than 50 of these P.O. boxes.  Like other so-called “caging services,” Trends and KSB open the payment envelopes, remove the contents, enter payment and other personal information from the victims into a database and handle victim payments.  The U.S. government estimates that U.S. victims mail more than $18 million annually to the defendants’ P.O. boxes.         

The government is seeking an injunction under the Anti-Fraud Injunction Statute immediately shutting down the defendants’ role in the fraudulent schemes in order to protect U.S. victims from further harm.  The injunctions sought by the United States would enjoin the defendants from using the U.S. mail or causing the U.S. mail to be used, to distribute the fraudulent solicitations or to collect victim payments, and from selling lists of American victims who have responded to the solicitations.  If granted, a permanent injunction would allow the U.S. Postal Service to intercept mail heading to the defendants, and return that mail—along with any money being sent to the defendants—to U.S. victims.

U.S. District Court Judge I. Leo Glasser for the Eastern District of New York set a hearing on the preliminary injunction on July 18 at 10 a.m.

The Justice Department’s case is being handled by Trial Attorney Kerala Thie Cowart of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Vagelatos of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York and Postal Inspector Joseph R. Bizzarro of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

The claims made in the complaints are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. 

A copy of the complaint, case # 16-CV-2770, can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/863501/download

More information on fraud against the elderly is available here: https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/.

Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.

Today the EU-U.S. Ministerial Meeting on Justice and Home Affairs, hosted by the Netherlands Presidency of the Council of the European Union, took place in Amsterdam.  This meeting is held usually twice a year, to evaluate and advance Trans-Atlantic cooperation in the areas of freedom, security and justice.

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch joined Dutch Minister of Security and Justice Ard van der Steur, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, and Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos and Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Věra Jourová, representing the European Union.

In this Ministerial meeting, the EU and the United States reaffirmed their commitment to  closer cooperation, especially in the context of evolving and shared challenges that affect the security and rights of citizens on both sides of the Atlantic.

Today’s signing of the "Umbrella" agreement[1] represented a major step forward in EU-U.S. relations.  The agreement sets high standards for the protection of personal data transferred by law-enforcement authorities.  It also strengthens legal certainty and enhances the rights of citizens which in turn will facilitate EU-U.S. cooperation to combat crime, including terrorism.  The EU and the U.S. are committed to work together in the implementation of this agreement to ensure that it benefits both citizens and law enforcement cooperation.  The next step will be to seek approval by the European Parliament.

During the ministerial meeting, the delegations focused on ways to address the migration crisis, on their respective visa policies, and on information sharing in the context of security, on counterterrorism policies and terrorist financing, on money laundering, data protection and on practical cooperation to tackle transnational organised crime.  The exchange of views covered issues including the protection of refugees, global resettlement efforts, effective border management and dismantling organised criminal migrant smuggling networks.

The EU and the U.S. first discussed ways to address global migration by developing safe, regular and orderly migration processes whilst ensuring international protection for those who need it.  The discussion focused on opportunities to mutually reinforce and coordinate their actions in this respect while also establishing high security standards.  They agreed that the current migration and refugee challenges require global solutions through increased international cooperation and regional action.  In this respect they reaffirmed their commitment to work together in the lead-up to the upcoming United Nations General Assembly high level meeting addressing large movements of refugees and migrants and to the U.S. hosted Leader-Level Refugee Summit, to be held in September 2016 in New York.

The EU and U.S. exchanged views on visa issues and the respective legal frameworks.  They agreed to maintain their constructive dialogue at all levels to achieve mutually beneficial solutions. 

The EU and the U.S. discussed initiatives to improve counterterrorism efforts, including border security, screening of travellers and information sharing, as well as cooperation to better identify terrorist and foreign fighter travel.  They also agreed to reinforce their dialogue on chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear material and on its possible use by terrorist networks.  They discussed legislative initiatives to improve information sharing, and to streamline efforts to combat terrorist financing and money laundering.

They also discussed a five year review of the 2010 EU-U.S. Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, a key mechanism for transatlantic criminal justice cooperation.  The EU and the U.S. confirmed that the treaty is working effectively and identified areas for further practical improvement.  The U.S. and the EU committed to implementing those recommendations.  These recommendations include enhancing training and specialisation of practitioners, improving the way joint investigation teams work together, using technology to avoid delays, and making it easier to track criminal proceeds by identifying bank accounts.  Facilitating access to electronic evidence is a particular concern of the review, and the participants committed to improving their practices through which they obtain such evidence.

Following up to the commitment made at the EU–U.S. Summit in March 2014, the EU and the U.S. reiterated their desire to tackle jointly the issue of transnational child sex offenders, acknowledging the operational conclusions of an EU–U.S. expert meeting held in September 2015.  The EU and the U.S. recognized the importance of improving operational cooperation to protect children from transnational sex offenders.

Concluding the discussions, Europol and the U.S. jointly presented the results of a successful EU–U.S. operation that brought together law enforcement authorities from across Europe and the US to dismantle an important drug trafficking network and seize the proceeds of their crimes.

The EU and the U.S. committed to continuing their regular dialogue and to hold another ministerial meeting in the second half of 2016.

---

[1] Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the protection of personal data when transferred and processed for the purpose of preventing, investigating, detecting or prosecuting criminal offences, including terrorism

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch released the following statement on the departure, effective June 24, of Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. Attorney General Lynch also announced that Principal Deputy Solicitor General Ian Gershengorn will serve as Acting Solicitor General effective June 25.

Attorney General statement on the departure of Solicitor General Verrilli:

“Don Verrilli is a brilliant lawyer, a devoted public servant and one of the most consequential Solicitors General in American history,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch.  “Since he began his service in the Obama Administration in February of 2009, Don has been at the center of the foremost legal challenges of our time, most notably through his arguments in a series of groundbreaking cases before the Supreme Court.  He led the case against the Defense of Marriage Act and for the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of marriage equality, breaking down barriers that had divided us from one another and extending the reach of America’s promise.  He secured a landmark victory in Arizona v. United States, helping to strike down harsh anti-immigration laws and prevent the separation of countless families looking for a better life.  And he successfully defended the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, preserving a law that has helped millions of Americans obtain health insurance. 

“Through these and many other cases – and through his thoughtful counsel and principled advocacy – Don has built a legacy of inclusion, expanding opportunities and civil rights for all Americans and moving our country forward.  I could not be more proud to call him a colleague and a friend.  I thank him for his extraordinary service to the Department of Justice and to the nation and I wish him well in all of his future endeavors.”

Attorney General Lynch statement on Ian Gershengorn assuming the position of Acting Solicitor General:

“In his two tours of duty with the Department of Justice, Ian Gershengorn has earned a reputation as an exceptionally talented attorney and a gifted defender of the Constitution,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch.  “From his service in the Clinton Administration as a special assistant and counsel to the Deputy Attorney General under Attorney General Janet Reno, to his work over the course of this administration since 2009, Ian has displayed his unwavering dedication to public service and his irreproachable commitment to the rule of law.  He has played a key role in some of our most high-profile cases, including as head of the Federal Programs Branch of the department’s Civil Division, where he personally argued in defense of the Affordable Care Act during district court challenges.  I have no doubt that Ian is well-equipped to build on departing Solicitor General Don Verrilli’s extraordinary record.  I am confident that he will advance a trailblazing legacy of excellence and accomplishment.  And I am certain that as Acting Solicitor General, he will expand and extend the vital work of the Obama Administration and the American people.”

Six New Jersey residents were among nine individuals charged today in four states for their alleged roles in an interstate dog-fighting network spanning from New Mexico to New Jersey, announced Assistant Attorney General John Cruden for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman for the District of New Jersey.

The federal Animal Welfare Act makes it a felony punishable by up to five years in prison to fight dogs or to possess, train, sell, buy, deliver, receive or transport dogs intended for use in dog fighting. 

Criminal complaints filed in New Jersey named the following individuals, eight of whom were arrested:  

• Anthony “Monte” Gaines, 35, of Vineland, New Jersey (already in state custody on unrelated charges)
• Justin Love, 36, of Westville, New Jersey
• Lydell Harris, 30, of Vineland
• Mario Atkinson, 40, of Asbury Park, New Jersey
• Frank Nichols, 39, of Millville, New Jersey
• Tiffany Burt, 34, of Vineland
• Dajwan Ware, 43, of Fort Wayne, Indiana
• Pedro Cuellar, 46, of Willow Springs, Illinois
• Robert Arellano, 62, of Albuquerque, New Mexico

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

The three criminal complaints charge residents of New Jersey and out-of-state residents for their alleged involvement in a multi-state dog fighting network.  The charges include alleged criminal acts related to transporting, delivering, buying, selling, receiving and possessing pit bull-type dogs for dog fighting ventures and conspiring to commit these acts in New Jersey and elsewhere throughout the United States.

From October 2015 through the present, the defendants and their associates participated in dog-fighting ventures in which pit bull-type dogs were set up for matches to maul and attack each other and fight – often until one or both dogs die – and facilitated these ventures by transporting and delivering dogs between dog fighters in various states.  The federal undercover investigation revealed that the defendants discussed graphic accounts of prior dog fights they and their associates staged and furthered their dog-fighting ventures through the exchange of information concerning dog-fighting bloodlines, training methods, fighting techniques and the market for buying and selling dogs.

Federal agents found and saw evidence of the dog-fighting ventures on some of the defendants’ properties.  This included scarred dogs and dogs stacked in crates; dog fighting paraphernalia, such as dog treadmills, “flirt” poles used to build jaw strength and increase aggression and animal pelts.  Also found and seen were surgical instruments, syringes and other tools used to mend dogs in lieu of seeking veterinary attention.

This case is part of Operation Grand Champion, a coordinated effort across numerous federal judicial districts to combat organized dog fighting.  The phrase “Grand Champion” is used by dog fighters to refer to a dog with more than five dog-fighting “victories.”

“Dog fighting is truly an organized criminal activity, as well as a deplorable trade in the suffering of animals,” said Assistant Attorney General Cruden.  “This case marks the beginning of a coordinated effort at the Department of Justice to meet organized dog fighting head-on with a strategic, aggressive federal response.”

“There is no place in New Jersey – or anywhere else, for that matter – for a vicious blood sport like dog fighting,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman.  “Not only is it unspeakably cruel to the animals that are raised to participate in dog fighting, but animals trained in this way can be extremely dangerous to the public.”

Operation Grand Champion is a continuing investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge William G. Squires; Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Terence S. Opiola; and the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher, in coordination with the Department of Justice.

The government is represented by Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section Trial Attorneys Ethan Eddy and Shennie Patel  and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jihee Suh and Kathleen O’Leary of the District of New Jersey and the, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the District of New Mexico, Northern District of Illinois and Northern District of Indiana.

The Humane Society of the United States is assisting with the care of the dogs seized by federal law enforcement.

A criminal complaint is an allegation based upon a finding of probable cause by a magistrate judge.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted.  If convicted, each defendant faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine per count of animal fighting charges.  The investigation is ongoing.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with Napa County, California, to ensure compliance with provisions of the Voting Rights Act that require the county to provide bilingual election materials and information in Spanish to voters.

The Voting Rights Act requires that jurisdictions determined by the Census Bureau to have a substantial population of minority-language citizens with limited English proficiency, such as Napa County, provide voting materials and assistance in the minority language as well as in English.

“The right to vote forms the foundation of our democracy, and language barriers should never keep eligible voters from accessing that right,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “This agreement ensures that Napa County’s eligible Spanish-speaking voters can access the election process and participate in our democracy by casting effective ballots.  The Justice Department commends Napa County for resolving the issue quickly and cooperatively.”              

The agreement with Napa County requires implementation of a comprehensive Spanish language elections program for the county’s Spanish-speaking limited English proficient voters.  Under the terms of the agreement, the county will disseminate bilingual election-related information, materials and announcements.  Napa County will also ensure that Spanish-language assistance is available at all locations where election-related transactions are conducted, including polling places and voter assistance centers.

Napa County already has hired a bilingual elections coordinator to assist in implementing the Spanish language elections program.  The county has also established an advisory group of interested community members and organizations to assist the county in determining how to most effectively provide election information and assistance to Spanish-speaking voters.  To assist in ensuring the effectiveness of the agreement’s bilingual assistance procedures, the agreement provides that Justice Department election monitors may monitor during training and early voting as well as on Election Day.

To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, voters may contact the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931 or at voting.section@usdoj.gov.  Complaints can also be filed online here.

More information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting rights laws are available on the Justice Department’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/.

Napa County Memorandum of Agreement

The U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against Native American Enterprises LLC (NAE), of Wichita, Kansas; its vice president and part-owner, William N. McGreevy; and its production manager, Robert C. Conner, to stop the distribution of adulterated food, the Department of Justice announced today. 

The department filed a complaint in the District of Kansas on March 21, at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  According to the complaint, NAE manufactures and distributes ready-to-eat (RTE) refried beans and sauces.  The complaint alleged that the company’s RTE refried beans and sauces are adulterated in that they have been prepared, packed and/or held under insanitary conditions whereby the food may have become contaminated with filth or have been rendered injurious to health.  According to the complaint, the insanitary conditions include the presence of Listeria Monocytogenes (L. mono) in NAE’s facility and insanitary employee practices.

“Listeria Monocytogenes is a very dangerous bacteria, and its presence in a food production facility is of great concern,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division.  “The Department of Justice will continue to work aggressively with the FDA to ensure a safe food supply.”

On May 27, the parties filed a consent decree of permanent injunction, by which the defendants agreed to resolve the litigation.  The consent decree of permanent injunction, entered by the district court, requires the defendants to cease all manufacture or distribution of food (including RTE refried beans and sauces) other than meat products.  Meat products are regulated separately by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).  In the event that defendants intend to resume the manufacture or distribution of food other than meat products, they will only be allowed to do so with FDA approval and under strict supervision.  The defendants will also be required to destroy, under FDA’s supervision, any such products already in existence.

With respect to meat products, USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) conducts daily on-site operations inspections at all firms manufacturing USDA FSIS regulated products pursuant to the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act and the Egg Products Inspection Act.

According to the complaint filed in this matter, FDA inspected NAE’s facility, located at 230 N. West Street in Wichita, in August 2015, collected environmental samples, and observed numerous insanitary practices, including the defendants’ failure to manufacture and package food under conditions necessary to minimize microorganism growth, take necessary precautions to protect against contamination and maintain buildings in good repair.  Specifically, according to the complaint, FDA observed rain water leaking through the roof in the packaging room, directly above where NAE employees packaged RTE refried beans.  In addition, FDA observed cracks and holes in the walls and floor junctures that allow water and debris to collect, prohibit adequate cleaning and could harbor Listeria, according to the complaint.

FDA inspected NAE’s facility twice in 2014.  As alleged in the complaint, FDA collected environmental samples during RTE refried beans production during each of the 2014 inspections and found Listeria in the facility.  In addition, as alleged in the complaint, FDA also observed a failure to maintain equipment in an acceptable condition through appropriate cleaning and sanitizing. 

As alleged in the complaint, L. mono thrives in moist environments, such as food-manufacturing environments.  Unless proper precautions are taken, L. mono may become established and grow and it is difficult to eliminate once it becomes established in a food-manufacturing environment.  It is capable of surviving and growing at refrigerated temperatures and in high-salt environments.  The complaint alleges that L. mono is a significant public health risk in RTE refried beans and sauces. 

The government is represented by Trial Attorney Heide L. Herrmann of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Metzger of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas, with the assistance of Associate Chief Counsel for Enforcement Sonia W. Nath of the Food and Drug Division, 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 District of Kansas, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ks.

Defendants Submitted False Information to the IRS and Social Security Administration

Two Bedford, Virginia, residents were sentenced to prison today for criminal offenses arising out of a four-year scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Social Security Administration, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. of the Western District of Virginia.

Edgar Foxx, 50, and Contina Foxx, 42, were sentenced to prison terms of 41 months and 30 months, respectively, by U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon of the Western District of Virginia following their convictions by a Lynchburg, Virginia, jury for criminal tax offenses.  Judge Moon also ordered the defendants to pay $147,708 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release following their release from prison.

“Our nation’s tax system relies upon citizens to truthfully, accurately and timely report their income to the IRS,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo.  “When people like Mr. Foxx fail to file their income tax returns or file false tax returns and fail to pay the taxes they owe, and when individuals like Mrs. Foxx submit false information to government agencies in order to obtain benefits, they take advantage of, and plane an undue burden on, honest taxpayers who pay their fair share.  The Justice Department stands ready to prosecute these offenders and hold them accountable for their crimes.”

“Every year, millions of Americans file their taxes and fulfill their civic obligation,” said U.S. Attorney Fishwick.  “They must be able to do this knowing the process is safe and reliable.  When individuals fail to pay their obligations the entire system suffers.  We are proud to work with the Tax Division on holding accountable those who attempt to defraud the tax system.”

“Federal income tax compliance should be equally shared among all Americans,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas Jankowski for IRS-Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Washington DC Field Office.  “IRS-CI will continue focusing investigative efforts on individuals who contribute to the tax gap and do not comply with the law.  Today’s sentencing is a reminder that there are detrimental consequences for this type of criminal behavior.”

Edgar and Contina Foxx were convicted on Nov. 6, 2015, following a four-day trial before Judge Moon. Edgar Foxx was convicted of filing a false 2008 income tax return, failing to file his 2009 through 2011 tax returns and theft of government money.  Contina Foxx was also convicted of theft of government money as well as providing a false statement for health care benefits.  According to evidence introduced at trial and witness testimony, the Foxxes, who are married to one another, owned and operated a metal recycling business between 2008 and 2012.  They gathered scrap metal materials including junk cars and old appliances and sold them to recycling facilities in Southwest Virginia and Tennessee.  During the 2008 through 2011 time period, the Foxxes received over $500,000 in payments from several metal recycling companies, and failed to report any of this income on their 2008 through 2011 individual income tax returns.  At the same time, Contina Foxx provided false information to the Social Security Administration by failing to disclose the income earned from the metal recycling business.  As a result, the Foxxes unlawfully received approximately $80,000 in Medicaid benefits between 2010 and 2012.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Fishwick commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Office of Inspector General for the Social Security Administration, the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, the Bedford Department of Social Services and the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office, who investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Hogeboom and Charlene Day of the Western District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Joseph M. Giannullo of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

More information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts can be found on the Division’s website.