District Not Recorded

A former foreign program director of International Adoption Guides Inc. (IAG), an adoption agency, pleaded guilty today to conspiring with others to defraud the United States by paying bribes to foreign officials and submitting fraudulent documents to the State Department for adoptions from Ethiopia.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney William N. Nettles for the District of South Carolina made the announcement. The guilty plea was entered by U.S. District Court Judge Sol Blatt Jr. of the District of South Carolina.

Alisa Bivens, 42, admitted as part of her plea that she and her co-conspirators submitted fraudulent documents to the State Department to facilitate adoptions of Ethiopian children by U.S. parents from 2006 until 2009. In support of U.S. visa applications for the Ethiopian children, Bivens and others submitted false documentation, including contracts of adoption signed by orphanages that could not properly give the children up for adoption because, for example, the child in question was never cared for or never resided at the orphanage.

In entering her guilty plea, Bivens also admitted that she and others paid bribes to two Ethiopian officials so that those officials would help with the fraudulent adoptions. The first of these two foreign officials, an audiologist and teacher at a government school, accepted money and other valuables in exchange for providing non-public medical information and social history information for potential adoptees to the conspirators. The second foreign official, the head of a regional ministry for women’s and children’s affairs, received money and all-expenses-paid travel in exchange for approving IAG’s applications for intercountry adoptions and for ignoring IAG’s failure to maintain a properly licensed adoption facility. Sentencing for Bivens will be scheduled at a later date.

This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney John W. Borchert of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie Lea Schoen for the District of South Carolina.

Today, a federal grand jury in Milwaukee returned a 15-count superseding indictment charging two Milwaukee men, Paul Carter aka “Pimpin’ Paul” and David Moore aka “King David” with conspiracy, sex trafficking and related offenses spanning from the years 2007 to 2013.

Carter, 44, and Moore, 46, both of Milwaukee, were each previously indicted, Carter for two counts of sex trafficking and Moore for sex trafficking, conspiracy and solicitation of a crime of violence. The 15-count indictment returned today charges the two defendants jointly in four additional counts of conspiracy, sex trafficking, and labor trafficking, and charges each defendant with additional sex trafficking offenses, for a total of six additional counts against defendant Carter and eight additional counts against defendant Moore. Both defendants are charged with sex trafficking of both adults and minors.

If convicted, Carter and Moore each face a sentence of up to life imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Human Trafficking Task Force for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, which includes law enforcement officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation and the Milwaukee Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karine Moreno-Taxman of the Eastern District of Wisconsin and Trial Attorney Daniel H. Weiss of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Isabella Geriatric Center (IGC), a nursing home located in New York City, resolving a claim that IGC engaged in a pattern or practice of citizenship discrimination during the employment eligibility reverification process in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

The department’s investigation found that IGC required lawful permanent resident employees to present a new Permanent Resident Card when their prior card expired, even though the Form I-9 and E-Verify rules prohibit this practice. Lawful permanent residents have permanent work authorization in the United States, even after their Permanent Resident Cards expire. The investigation also found that IGC required lawful permanent residents to provide proof of U.S. citizenship if they became naturalized citizens. The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from placing additional documentary burdens on work-authorized employees during the employment eligibility verification process based on their citizenship status.

“The INA protects authorized workers from discrimination in the employment eligibility verification and reverification processes,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Molly Moran for the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that employers follow the law and that they do not impose discriminatory obstacles that prevent work-authorized individuals from working.”

Under the settlement agreement, IGC will pay $14,500 in civil penalties to the United States; undergo training on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA; establish a back pay fund to compensate potential economic victims; revise its employment eligibility reverification policies; and be subject to monitoring of its employment eligibility verification practices for two years.

The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) within the Justice Department is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute prohibits citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee, unfair documentary practices, 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: (1) different documentary requirements based on their citizenship status, immigration status, or national origin; or (2) discrimination based on their citizenship status, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee, should contact OSC’s worker hotline for assistance.

A former employee of a government contracting company was sentenced today to 36 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to bribe public officials at the United States Navy Military Sealift Command in exchange for favorable treatment in connection with U.S. government contract work.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Susan Triesch of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office made the announcement today after McPhail’s sentencing before United States Chief District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith of the Eastern District of Virginia.

Michael P. McPhail, 49, pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with conspiracy to commit bribery on Feb. 19 2014. According to his plea documents, McPhail is a former employee of a Chesapeake, Virginia, government contracting company, referred to as Company A, which sought contracting business from the Military Sealift Command, the leading provider of transportation for the United States Navy. At his plea hearing, McPhail admitted that from March 2005 to January 2007, he contributed approximately $45,000 of his salary toward bribe payments made to two public officials working for the Military Sealift Command to influence them to provide favorable treatment to Company A in connection with United States government contracting work.

Specifically, McPhail and other Company A employees, including Roderic J. Smith, the former president of Company A; Dwayne A. Hardman, the co-founder of Company A; and Adam C. White, a former vice president at Company A provided monthly cash bribes to two Military Sealift Command public officials. The bribery conspiracy resulted in the payment of more than $265,000 in cash bribes, among other things of value, to Kenny E. Toy, the former Afloat Programs Manager for the Military Sealift Command’s N6 Command, Control, Communication, and Computer Systems Directorate, and Scott B. Miserendino, Sr., a former government contractor who performed work for the Military Sealift Command. In addition his prison sentence, McPhail was ordered to forfeit $57,000.

Earlier this year, four other individuals pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme. On Feb. 12, 2014, Toy pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from Company A employees. On Feb. 18, 2014, Hardman pleaded guilty to providing bribes to Toy and Miserendino. On March 5, 2014, Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe public officials. On April 4, 2014, White pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery.

On June 23, 2014, United States District Judge Henry Coke Morgan sentenced Smith to 48 months in prison and ordered him to forfeit $175,000. On July 9, 2014, Judge Smith sentenced Hardman to 96 months in prison and ordered him to forfeit $144,000. On July 11, 2014, Judge Smith sentenced White to 24 months in prison and ordered him to forfeit $57,000. On July 29, 2014, Judge Smith sentenced Toy to 96 months in prison and ordered him to forfeit $100,000.

On May 23, 2014, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted Miserendino and Timothy S. Miller, a businessman whose company sought contracting business from the Military Sealift Command. The indictment charges Miserendino with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, one count of bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit obstruction of criminal investigations and to commit tampering with a witness, and one count of obstruction of criminal investigations. The indictment charges Miller with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of bribery. Trial is set for Sept. 30, 2014, before Judge Smith.

Charges contained in an indictment are merely allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case was investigated by the FBI, NCIS, and DCIS. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie of the Eastern District of Virginia.

WASHINGTON – El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que llegó a un acuerdo con Isabella Geriatric Center (IGC), un asilo de ancianos en la ciudad de Nueva York, por medio del cual se resuelve una acusación que la compañía discriminó por causa del estatus de ciudadanía de empleados durante el proceso de reverificación de elegibilidad de empleo en violación de la Ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA por sus siglas en inglés).

La investigación del departamento reveló que IGC requería que sus empleados que eran residentes permanentes legales presentaran una nueva Tarjeta de Residente Permanente cuando sus tarjetas anteriores se les vencían, aunque esta práctica está prohibida según las reglas del Formulario I-9 y de E-Verify. Los residentes permanentes legales cuentan con autorización permanente en los Estados Unidos aún cuando se les vencen sus Tarjetas de Residente Permanente. La investigación también descubrió que IGC requería que los residentes permanentes legales proporcionaran evidencia de su ciudadanía estadounidense si es que se nacionalizaban. La provisiόn antidiscriminaciόn de la INA prohíbe que los empleadores impongan cargas documentales adicionales a los trabajadores con autorizaciόn de trabajo durante el proceso de verificación de elegibilidad de empleo basado en el estatus de ciudadanía del individuo.

"La INA protege a los individuos de discriminaciόn en los procesos de verificaciόn y reverificaciόn de elegibilidad de empleo," dijo Molly Moran, Sub-Procuradora General Interina para la Divisiόn de Derechos Civiles. "El departamento se compromete a asegurar que los empleadores respeten la ley, y que no impongan obstáculos discriminatorios que impiden el trabajo de los empleados con autorizaciόn."

Según el acuerdo, IGC le pagará $14,500 en sanciones civiles a los Estados Unidos; participará en adiestramiento sobre la provisión antidiscriminaciόn de la INA; establecerá un fondo para compensar a las víctimas que sufrieron daños econόmicos; revisará sus políticas de reverificaciόn de elegibilidad de empleo; y estará sujeto a un período de monitoreo de sus prácticas de verificación de elegibilidad de empleo por dos años.

La Oficina del Consejero Especial para Prácticas Injustas en el Empleo Relacionadas con Inmigración es la oficina responsable por hacer cumplir con la provisión antidiscriminaciόn de la INA. Entre otras cosas, la ley prohíbe discriminación por estatus de ciudadanía o del origen nacional durante la contrataciόn, el despido, el reclutamiento o la referencia por comisiόn, las prácticas injustas de documentación, represalias, e intimidación.

Para más información sobre las protecciones contra discriminación en el empleo según las leyes migratorias, llame a la línea directa de OSC para trabajadores al 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidad auditiva), llame a la línea directa de OSC para empleadores al 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidad auditiva), o para registrarse para un seminario sin costo ofrecido a través de Internet visite www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/webinars.php, envíe un correo electrónico al osccrt@usdoj.gov, o visite el sitio de Internet www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc.

Los solicitantes o empleados que consideren que fueron sujetos a (1) diferentes requisitos de verificación por su estatus de ciudadanía, estatus migratorio u origen nacional, o (2) discriminación por estatus de ciudadanía, estatus migratorio, u origen nacional con relación a la contratación, el despido y el reclutamiento o la referencia por comisión, deberán comunicarse a la línea dedicada a los trabajadores anteriormente citada para poderlos ayudar.

ALICIA A.G. LIMTIACO, U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), was invited to speak at the 4th Annual Micronesia Non-Profit Congress ("Congress") which was held March 31, 2014 to April2, 2014. The theme ofthis year's Congress was 'justice for all."

The Congress was sponsored by Payu-Ta, Inc., "Guam's Umbrella Association of Non-Profit Organizations."  Payu-Ta's mission is to promote and strengthen member organizations' capacity and advocate for a progressive and sustainable Guam community.  Payu-Ta's reach spans between Micronesia, Hawaii, and American Samoa.

U.S. Attorney Limtiaco spoke on the topic of"Preventing Human Trafficking in the Pacific  Region," and shared information on the Pacific Regional Response to Combat Human Trafficking Initiative (the "Initiative"), which is a collaborative effort of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Districts of Guam and the NMI, the National District Attorneys Association, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department ofthe Interior, the Guam Human Trafficking Task Force, the NMI Human Trafficking Intervention Coalition, and other community partners. U.S. Attorney Limtiaco also discussed the intersection and relationship between human trafficking, sexual assault, child abuse, and domestic and family violence, as well as prevention and enforcement efforts in the Pacific region.

U.S. Attorney Limtiaco explained that the Initiative employs a multidisciplinary model, including participation, coordination, and collaboration among law enforcement, prosecution, victim service providers, social services, medical, mental and public health professionals, faith based organizations, educational institutions, Consulates, and other community stakeholders.  She discussed the Initiative's emphasis on the establishment and provision of victim services, investigation and prosecution of human trafficking, training opportunities, community outreach/ public awareness and prevention programs, and creation of human trafficking task forces and coalitions in the Pacific region island communities.  She also remarked that the Initiative provides fundamental training in human trafficking, including victimization, investigation and prosecution,  prevention efforts, and other related topics to law enforcement, prosecution, victim service providers, social services, medical, mental and public health professionals, faith based organizations, educational institutions, Consulates, and other community stakeholders in the Pacific region island communities.

U.S. Attorney Limtiaco also discussed the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood Initiative (PSC) and child sexual exploitation in the Pacific region islands.  She stressed that the threat of sexual predators soliciting children for physical sexual contact is well­ known and serious and that the danger of perpetrators who produce, distribute and possess child pornography is equally widespread.  Both forms of child sexual exploitation have a devastating and destructive effect in our communities.

U.S. Attorney Limtiaco explained that PSC, launched in 2006, aims to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. Through a network of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations, PSC coordinates efforts to protect our children by investigating and prosecuting online sexual predators.  U.S. Attorney Limtiaco closed by emphasizing  that the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney Office are committed to the safety and well-being of every child and have placed combatting sexual exploitation of minors the highest priority.

Front Row L-R: Alicia Limtiaco, U.S. Attorney, District of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands; Diana Calvo,  Executive  Director,  Catholic  Social  Services, Guam;  Lolita  Munoz, Project  Coordinator, WestCare Pacific  Islands, Guam;  Emele Duituturaga,  Executive  Director, Pacific  Islands Association  of Non Governmental Organizations    (PIANGO),   Fiji;   Cathy   Wasem,    Region   IX,   Honolulu,   Hawaii;    Berni Grajek,    Executive Director, Guma   Mami,  Inc.  and  Board  Chair,  Payu-Ta,  Inc.,  Guam;  Sandra   King  Young,  American  Samoa; Marstella Jack, Pohnpei  Women's  Council,  Pohnpei,  FSM;  Liliu Maliu,  Coalition   Against  Sexual  Assault  and Domestic Violence, American Samoa.

Back  Row  L-R: Rosendo  Primo,  Administrative   Officer, Center  for  Micronesian  Empowerment, Guam;  Julian Aguon, attorney, Guam; James Sablan, Guam; Neal Palafox, University of Hawaii; Dick Steinberg, CEO, Westcare Foundation, Nevada; Larry Raegital, Yap, FSM; Sarah Thomas-Nededog, Vice President, WestCare Pacific Islands, Guam;  Frances  Sablan,  Marianas  Association  of  Non  Governmental  Organizations  (MANGO), Saipan,  CNMI; Cathy  Flores, Guam Humanities Council, Guam;  John O. Gonzales, MANGO, Saipan, CNMI; Shirley Lee Untalan, WestCare Pacific Islands, Guam; Kelly Jensen, WestCare Pacific Islands, Guam; Kathleen Tolosa, WestCare Pacific Islands, Guam; Alson Kelen, President, Marshall  Islands Council of Non-Governmental Marshall Islands.

John Gonzales, Executive Director of the Joeten-Kiyu Public  Library  in  Saipan; U.S.  Attorney  Alicia Limtiaco; and  Emele  Duituturaga,  Executive  Director of the Secretariat for the Pacific Islands Association of Non Governmental  Organizations  (PIANGO) based in Suva, Fiji.

U.S. Attorney Limtiaco at the 4111 Annual Micronesia Non Profit Congress.

Attorney General Eric Holder and United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara announced today the completion of the Justice Department’s multi-year civil investigation pursuant to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (“CRIPA”) into the conditions of confinement of adolescent male inmates on Rikers Island. The investigation, which focused on use of force by staff, inmate-on-inmate violence, and use of punitive segregation during the period 2011-2013, concluded that there is a pattern and practice of conduct at Rikers Island that violates the rights of adolescents protected by the Eighth Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The investigation found that adolescent inmates are not adequately protected from physical harm due to the rampant use of unnecessary and excessive force by New York City Department of Correction (“DOC”) staff and violence inflicted by other inmates. In addition, the investigation found that DOC relies too heavily on punitive segregation as a disciplinary measure, placing adolescent inmates in what amounts to solitary confinement at an alarming rate and for excessive periods of time. Many of the adolescent inmates are particularly vulnerable because they suffer from mental illness.

Attorney General Eric Holder said: “The extremely high rates of violence and excessive use of solitary confinement for adolescent males uncovered by this investigation are inappropriate and unacceptable. The Department of Justice is dedicated to ensuring the effectiveness, safety and integrity of our criminal justice systems. Going forward, we will work with the City of New York to make good on our commitment to reform practices that are unfair and unjust, and to ensure that – in all circumstances, and particularly when it comes to our young people – incarceration is used to deter, punish, and ultimately rehabilitate, not merely to warehouse and forget.”

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As our investigation has shown, for adolescents, Rikers Island is a broken institution. It is a place where brute force is the first impulse rather than the last resort; where verbal insults are repaid with physical injuries; where beatings are routine while accountability is rare; and where a culture of violence endures even while a code of silence prevails. The adolescents in Rikers are walled off from the public, but they are not walled off from the Constitution. Indeed most of these young men are pre-trial detainees who are innocent until proven guilty, but whether they are pre-trial or convicted, they are entitled to be detained safely and in accordance with their constitutional rights – not consigned to a corrections crucible that seems more inspired by Lord of the Flies than any legitimate philosophy of humane detention. These young men, automatically charged as adults despite their age under New York law, may be on an island and out of sight, but they can no longer remain out of mind. Attention must be paid immediately to their rights, their safety and their mental well-being, and in the wake of this report we will make sure that happens one way or another.”

In its report to the City of New York, made public today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office notes that “a deep-seated culture of violence is pervasive throughout the adolescent facilities at Rikers, and DOC staff routinely utilize force not as a last resort, but instead as a means to control the adolescent population and punish disorderly or disrespectful behavior.”

The following statistics are illustrative:

· In FY 2012, there were 517 reported staff use of force incidents in an average daily adolescent population of 791 in the Robert N. Davoren Center (RNDC) and Eric M. Taylor Center (EMTC), the two facilities that house the most adolescents. These incidents resulted in 1,059 injuries.

· In FY 2013, there were 565 reported staff use of force incidents in an average daily population at these same two facilities of 682, resulting in 1,057 injuries.

· In FY 2013, there were 845 reported inmate-on-inmate fights involving adolescents in the RNDC and EMTC. This marked an increase from the 795 reported fights in FY 2012.

· During the period April 2012 through April 2013, adolescents sustained a total of 754 visible injuries, according to Department of Health and Mental Health (DOHMH) data.

· Adolescents in RNDC and EMTC sustained a total of 96 suspected fractures from September 2011 through August 2012, according to DOHMH data.

· In FY 2013, adolescents were taken to get emergency medical services 459 times.

· In FY 2013, there were 1,118 emergency alarms in the RNDC and EMTC adolescent housing areas, or on average more than three alarms each day.

The report makes the following specific factual determinations:

· Force is used against adolescents at an alarming rate and violent inmate-on-inmate fights and assaults are commonplace, resulting in a striking number of serious injuries, including broken bones and lacerations requiring stitches;

· Correction officers resort to “headshots,” meaning blows to an inmate’s head or facial area;

· Force is used as punishment or retribution;

· Force is used in response to inmates’ verbal altercations with officers;

· Use of force by specialized response teams within the jails is particularly brutal;

· Correction officers attempt to justify use of force by yelling “stop resisting” even when the adolescent has been completely subdued or was never resisting in the first place; and

· Use of force is particularly common in areas without video surveillance cameras.

The report further identifies the following systemic deficiencies that are largely responsible for the excessive and unnecessary use of force by DOC staff. Many of these systemic deficiencies also lead to the high levels of inmate-on-inmate violence. These deficiencies include:

· Inadequate reporting by staff of the use of force, including false reporting;

· Inadequate investigations into the use of force;

· Inadequate staff discipline for inappropriate use of force;

· An inadequate classification system for adolescent inmates;

· An inadequate inmate grievance system;

· Inadequate supervision of inmates by staff;

· Inadequate training both on use of force and on managing adolescents; and

· General failures by management to adequately address the extraordinarily high levels of violence perpetrated against and among the adolescent population.

Finally, DOC’s use of prolonged punitive segregation for adolescent inmates is excessive and inappropriate. Adolescent inmates, many of whom have mental illnesses, are routinely placed in what amounts to solitary confinement for weeks and sometimes months at a time. On any given day in 2013, 15-25 percent of the adolescent population were in punitive segregation, often for infractions involving non-violent conduct. According to census data for December 16, 2013, well over half the adolescents in punitive segregation on that day were serving sentences for rule infractions of 60 days or more.

The report also sets forth the following 10 categories of remedial measures necessary to address the constitutional violations identified:

1. House adolescent inmates separately in a DOC jail not physically located on Rikers Island;

2. Increase the number of cameras in adolescent areas;

3. Revise use of force policy to clarify prohibited conduct;

4. Ensure that staff submit complete, accurate, and prompt use of force reports, and institute a zero-tolerance policy for failing to report;

5. Ensure that use of force incidents are investigated thoroughly and promptly, and hold staff accountable for biased or incomplete reports and investigations;

6. Ensure that inmates are adequately supervised, intervene to de-escalate fights, and transfer vulnerable or otherwise at risk inmates to alternative housing units;

7. Improve officer training programs on use of force, conflict resolution, reporting use of force, and handling of the adolescent population;

8. Ensure that staff are held accountable and disciplined for the use of excessive and unnecessary force;

9. Develop alternative disciplinary strategies that do not involve lengthy isolation, and prohibit the placement of adolescents with mental health disorders in solitary confinement;

10. Develop and implement a strategic plan to create an institutional culture that does not tolerate violence and holds staff accountable for excessive or unnecessary use of force.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York looks forward to engaging in discussions with the City to make system-wide changes that will safeguard the constitutional rights of adolescents, and prevent them from continuing to suffer unnecessary harm while in City custody.

U.S. Attorney Bharara thanks the Board of Correction for the assistance it provided in connection with the Office’s investigation.

This case is being handled by the Civil Rights Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily E. Daughtry and Jeffrey K. Powell are in charge of the case.

A North Carolina couple pleaded guilty for leading a Costa Rican sweepstakes fraud scheme that defrauded hundreds of elderly Americans.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins of the Western District of North Carolina made the announcement.

Jessica Anne Brown, 39, of Greensboro, North Carolina, pleaded today in federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her husband, Jason Dean Brown, 41, formerly of Burleson, Texas, pleaded guilty on July 30, 2014. The Browns pleaded guilty to wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to the plea agreement, from November 2004 through March 2013, Jessica and Jason Brown owned, operated and worked in sweepstakes call centers located in Costa Rica. The Browns and their co-conspirators placed telephone calls to U.S. residents, many of whom were elderly, and falsely informed them that they had won a substantial cash prize in a sweepstakes. The victims were told that in order to receive the prize, they had to send money to Costa Rica for a purported refundable insurance fee. After receiving the fee, the Browns and their co-conspirators contacted the victims again, and falsely informed them that the prize amount had increased, either because of a clerical error or because another prize winner was disqualified, and therefore the victims had to send additional money to pay for new purported fees, duties and insurance to receive the now larger sweepstakes prize. The attempts to collect additional money from the victims continued until a victim either ran out of money or discovered the fraudulent nature of the scheme. To mask that they were calling from Costa Rica, the Browns and their co-conspirators utilized VoIP phones that displayed a (202) area code, giving victims the false impression that the calls were coming from Washington, D.C. The Browns often falsely claimed that they were calling on behalf of a U.S. federal agency to lure victims into a false sense of security.

The defendants admitted that, along with their co-conspirators, they were responsible for causing more than $840,000 in losses to hundreds of United States citizens.

Jason and Jessica Browns were indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 15, 2012. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Miami Office. This case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Patrick Donley and Trial Attorney William Bowne of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Five alleged members of the violent Almighty Imperial Gangsters Nation gang have been indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida for their roles in multiple murders. A sixth alleged gang member was indicted for unlawfully possessing a firearm.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office made the announcement.

“According to charges unsealed today, members of the Almighty Imperial Gangsters Nation committed multiple murders and racketeering crimes, injecting violence and chaos into communities in Chicago, Miami and Indiana,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Gang violence is a serious, nationwide problem, and the Department pursues a nationwide strategy, working with federal, state, and local law enforcement to dismantle the gangs and stop the bloodshed.”

The indictment returned by a federal grand jury on July 31, 2014, and unsealed today charges Jose Herrera, aka “Spyro,” 27, Leonel Carrera, aka “Leo,” 25, Victor Lopez, aka “Magic,” 28, Ramon Madruga, aka “Porky,” 28 and Alex Enrique Somarriba, aka “A-Rock,” 27, all of Miami, with conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity, including murder. Brandon Foeman, aka “Drama,” 28, of Weston, Florida, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. The six defendants are in custody.

According to the indictment, Herrera, Carrera, Lopez, Madruga and Somarriba are members of the Almighty Imperial Gangsters Nation, which is a nationally-known organized street gang that originated in the northwest side of Chicago and spread to other regions of the United States, including South Florida. Members and associates of the Almighty Imperial Gangsters Nation allegedly engaged in acts of violence, including murder, attempted murder, battery, aggravated battery, and aggravated assault, as well as narcotics distribution and other criminal activities. Specifically, the indictment charges that the gang is responsible for three murders in Miami, one in Chicago and one East Chicago, Indiana, including the murders of Rivky Josma on Aug. 4, 2006,Hockynson Sanchez on Nov. 20, 2007, and Mauricio Waikay on Feb. 25, 2011.

This case is being investigated by the FBI field offices in Miami and Chicago, and the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives field offices in Merrillville, Indiana, along with the Miami-Dade Police Department, the City of Miami Police Department, the Chicago Police Department, the Franklin Park, Illinois, Police Department, and the East Chicago Police Department. The Florida Department of Corrections and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office assisted with this case.

The case is being prosecuted by Joseph A. Cooley and Rebecca A. Staton of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, as well as the Forfeiture Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana and the State Attorneys’ Offices for Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.

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

A federal jury in Omaha, Nebraska, found Donna Marie Kozak guilty on Friday of conspiracy to file and filing false liens against two U.S. District Court judges, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska, two Assistant U.S. Attorneys and an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) special agent, the Justice Department announced.

The federal jury also convicted Kozak of filing a false claim against the United States for $660,000 and for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the due administration of the internal revenue laws. Kozak was remanded into custody pending sentencing. The maximum prison term for each false lien charge is 10 years, five years for the false claim charge and three years for the obstructing the IRS charge. Many of the offenses have an additional 10 years of potential imprisonment because they were committed while Kozak was on pretrial release.

Based on the evidence introduced at trial and court filings, Kozak, a former member of the so-called sovereign citizen group “Republic for the united States of America,” engaged in a conspiracy to retaliate against federal officials involved in the criminal investigation and prosecution of David and Bernita Kleensang, associates of Kozak who were convicted of federal tax crimes in 2012. Kozak initially retaliated against the federal judge who presided over the Kleensang trial by filing a false lien against her for $19 million with the Boyd County, Nebraska, clerk’s office. After a federal grand jury indicted Kozak for filing the false lien and for federal tax crimes, she filed five $18 million false liens against federal officials at the Washington County, Nebraska, register of deeds office while on pretrial release.

The evidence introduced at trial and court filings also showed that since the late 1990s, Kozak has engaged in a long series of fraudulent schemes to obstruct the internal revenue laws. These included placing her property in sham trusts, establishing a sham charitable foundation, sending harassing correspondence to IRS employees and filing bogus tax returns, trust returns, private-foundation returns and other false documents with the IRS. In 2008, she filed a tax return based on fictitious income and tax withholdings on Form 1099-OID statements that claimed a refund of $660,000.

This case was investigated by special agents of the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Brian Bailey and Matthew Hoffman of the department’s Tax Division prosecuted the case.

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

A Beverly Hills, California man was sentenced today in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to serve six months in prison and one year of home confinement for filing a false federal income tax return for tax year 2007, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

According to court documents, Monajem Hakimijoo aka Manny Hakimi, a U.S. citizen, and his brother maintained an undeclared bank account at Mizrahi Bank in Israel in the name of Kalamar Enterprises, a Turks and Caicos entity that was used to conceal their ownership of the account. Hakimijoo and his brother used the funds in the Kalamar account as collateral for back-to-back loans obtained from the Los Angeles branch of Mizrahi Bank. Although Hakimijoo and his brother claimed the interest paid on the back-to-back loans as a business deduction for federal tax purposes, they failed to report the interest income earned in their undeclared account in Israel as income on their tax returns. In total, Hakimijoo failed to report interest income of approximately $282,000. The highest balance in the Kalamar Enterprises account was approximately $4.03 million. Hakimijoo has agreed to pay a civil penalty to the IRS in the amount of 50 percent of the highest balance of his one-half interest in the Kalamar account. Hakimijoo is also ordered to pay a $30,000 fine.

According to court documents, in March 2013, Hakimijoo was scheduled to be interviewed by Justice Department attorneys and IRS special agents. Prior to the interview, Hakimijoo, through counsel, provided the attorneys and special agents with copies of his amended tax returns for 2004 and 2005. When asked if the amended tax returns had been filed with the IRS, Hakimijoo indicated that the returns had been filed. Shortly thereafter, the IRS determined there was no record of the amended returns being filed with the IRS. When Hakimijoo was asked to provide copies of cancelled checks to prove that the taxes reflected on the amended returns had been paid, none were provided.

U.S. citizens and residents who have an interest in, or other authority over, a financial account in a foreign country with assets in excess of $10,000 are required to disclose the existence of such account(s) on Schedule B, Part III, of their individual income tax returns. They must also file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Reports with the U.S. Treasury disclosing the aforementioned financial account(s).

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ronald A. Cimino of the department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr.for the Central District of California thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, Senior Litigation Counsel John E. Sullivan and Assistant Chief Elizabeth C. Hadden for the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra A. Brown for the Central District of California, who assisted with the prosecution.

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

The Justice Department announced today that Community Health Systems Inc. (CHS), the nation’s largest operator of acute care hospitals, has agreed to pay $98.15 million to resolve multiple lawsuits alleging that the company knowingly billed government health care programs for inpatient services that should have been billed as outpatient or observation services. The settlement also resolves allegations that one of the company’s affiliated hospitals, Laredo Medical Center (LMC), improperly billed the Medicare program for certain inpatient procedures and for services rendered to patients referred in violation of the Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly known as the Stark Law. CHS is based in Franklin, Tennessee, and has 206 affiliated hospitals in 29 states.

“Charging the government for higher cost inpatient services that patients do not need wastes the country’s health care resources,” said Assistant Attorney General Stuart F. Delery for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “In addition, providing physicians with financial incentives to refer patients compromises medical judgment and risks depriving patients of the most appropriate health care available. This department will continue its work to stop this type of abuse of the nation’s health care resources and to ensure patients receive the most appropriate care.”

The United States alleged that from 2005 through 2010, CHS engaged in a deliberate corporate-driven scheme to increase inpatient admissions of Medicare, Medicaid and the Department of Defense’s (DOD) TRICARE program beneficiaries over the age of 65 who originally presented to the emergency departments at 119 CHS hospitals. The government further alleged that the inpatient admission of these beneficiaries was not medically necessary, and that the care needed by, and provided to, these beneficiaries should have been provided in a less costly outpatient or observation setting. CHS agreed to pay $89.15 million to resolve these allegations. The settlement does not include hospitals that CHS acquired from Health Management Associates (HMA) in January 2014.

In addition, the government alleged that from 2005 through 2010, one of CHS’s affiliated hospitals, LMC in Laredo, Texas, presented false claims to the Medicare program for certain cardiac and hemodialysis procedures performed on a higher cost inpatient basis that should have been performed on a lower cost outpatient basis. The government also alleged that from 2007 through 2012, LMC improperly billed Medicare for services referred to LMC by a physician who was offered a medical directorship at LMC, in violation of the Stark Law. The Stark Law prohibits a hospital from submitting claims for patient referrals made by a physician with whom the hospital has an improper financial relationship, and is intended to ensure that a physician’s medical judgment is not compromised by improper financial incentives, and is instead based on the best interests of the patient. CHS agreed to pay $9 million to resolve the allegations involving LMC.

“This is the largest False Claims Act settlement in this district and it reaffirms this office’s commitment to investigate and pursue health care fraud that compromises the integrity of our health care system,” said U.S. Attorney David Rivera for the Middle District of Tennessee. “This office is committed to ensuring that all companies billing government healthcare programs are responsible corporate citizens and that hospital providers do not engage in schemes to increase medically unnecessary in-patient admissions of government healthcare program beneficiaries in order to increase profits.”

“This settlement demonstrates our commitment to working with our law enforcement partners and with the Department of Justice to protect the integrity of our nation’s health care system,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas. “Put simply, these types of fraudulent practices will not be tolerated and the investigation and resolution of such claims will continue to be a high priority of this office.”

“Health care providers should make treatment decisions based on patients’ medical needs, not profit margins,” said U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins for the Western District of North Carolina. “We will not allow this type of misconduct to compromise the integrity of our health care system.”

As part of today’s agreement, CHS entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), requiring the company to engage in significant compliance efforts over the next five years. Under the agreement, CHS is required to retain independent review organizations to review the accuracy of the company’s claims for inpatient services furnished to federal health care program beneficiaries.

“In an effort to ensure the company’s fraudulent past is not its future, CHS agreed to a rigorous multi-year Corporate Integrity Agreement requiring that the company commit to compliance with the law,” said Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “The dedicated work of OIG’s investigators, auditors, and attorneys, in concert with our law enforcement partners, has again resulted in the recovery of taxpayer dollars and better protection against fraud in the future.”

The settlement resolves lawsuits filed by several whistleblowers under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to file suit on behalf of the government and obtain a portion of the government’s recovery. Those relators are Kathleen Bryant, former Director of Health Information Management at CHS’s Heritage Medical Center in Shelbyville, Tennessee; Rachel Bryant, former nurse at CHS’s Dyersburg Hospital in Dyersburg, Tennessee; Bryan Carnithan, former Emergency Medical Services Coordinator at CHS’ Heartland Hospital in Marion, Illinois; Amy Cook-Reska, former coder for CHS’ LMC in Laredo; Sheree Cook, former nurse at CHS’s Heritage Medical Center in Shelbyville; James Doghramji, former internal medicine and emergency room physician at CHS’s Chestnut Hill Hospital in Philadelphia; Thomas Mason, former emergency room physician at Lake Norman Regional Medical Center in Mooresville, North Carolina; Scott Plantz, former emergency room physician at CHS’s Longview Regional Medical Center in Longview, Texas; and Nancy Reuille, former nurse and Supervisor of Case Management at CHS’s Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The relators’ share of the settlement has not yet been determined.

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 Attorney General Eric Holder 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 $20.2 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $14 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.

This settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Middle District of Tennessee, Southern District of Texas, Northern and Southern Districts of Illinois, Northern District of Indiana and Western District of North Carolina; the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch; HHS-OIG; DOD’s Defense Health Agency - Program Integrity Office and the FBI.

The lawsuits are captioned United States ex rel. Bryant v. Community Health Systems, Inc., et al., Case No. 10-2695 (S.D. Tex.); United States ex rel. Carnithan v. Community Health Systems, Inc., et al., Case No. 11-cv-312 (S.D. Ill.); United States ex rel. Cook-Reska v. Community Health Systems, Inc., et al., Case No. 4:09-cv01565 (S.D. Tex.); United States ex rel. James Doghramji; Sheree Cook; and Rachel Bryant v. Community Health Systems Inc., et al., Case No. 3-11-cv-00442 (M.D. Tenn.); United States ex rel. Mason v. Community Health Systems, Inc., et al., Case No. 3:12-cv-817 (W.D.N.C.); United States ex rel. Plantz v. Community Health Systems, Inc., et al., Case No. 10C-0959 (N.D. Ill.); United States ex rel. Reuille v. Community Health Systems Professional Services Corporation, et al., Case No. 1:09-cv-007RL (N.D. Ind.). The claims resolved by this agreement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

Michael D. Hayden, 41, and William J. Lednum, 42, both of Tilghman Island, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to violate the Lacey Act and to defraud the United States through their illegal harvesting and sale of striped bass, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division Sam Hirsch, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Superintendent of the Maryland Natural Resources Police Colonel George F. Johnson IV and Regional Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Honora Gordon.

“These defendants admitted to systematically plundering the Chesapeake Bay of an important and protected natural resource, and at the expense of the many honest fishermen who play by the rules,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Hirsch. “The Justice Department is committed to enforcing environmental laws that protect our shared natural resources and sustain the vital marine life of the Chesapeake Bay for future generations.”

According to their plea agreements, Hayden and Lednum were “captains” on fishing vessels owned by them, William J. Lednum Fisheries d/b/a Michael D. Hayden Jr. and Michael D. Hayden, Jr., Inc. The defendants also employed numerous “helpers” as part of this scheme, including co-defendant Kent Sadler.

From at least 2007 to 2011, Hayden and Lednum illegally harvested, possessed, falsely labeled and/or sold at least 185,925 pounds of striped bass. They used illegally weighted and/or anchored gill nets, left the nets in the water overnight, and set the nets during times when the commercial striped bass gill-netting season was closed. The defendants exceeded their maximum daily vessel limit of striped bass and either unloaded the surplus onto an anchored vessel or paid others a fee to check-in fish for them. Hayden and Lednum falsified the permit allocation cards and daily catch records for their striped bass fishing trips to over-report the numbers of striped bass caught and under-report the weights. This allowed them to request additional state tags under false pretenses and therefore harvest additional striped bass illegally.

Hayden and Lednum shipped and sold $498,293 worth of striped bass to wholesalers in New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. None of the fish was properly reported at check-in stations or on the permit allocation cards of daily catch records submitted to the state of Maryland. Maryland in turn submits such paperwork to numerous federal and interstate agencies responsible for setting harvest levels all along the eastern seaboard.

The investigation in this case started in February 2011 when the Maryland Department of Natural Resources found tens of thousands of pounds of striped bass snagged in illegal, anchored nets before the season officially reopened. The conspirators were seen on the water in the vicinity of the illegal nets. The subsequent investigation unveiled a wider criminal enterprise to which Hayden and Lednum pleaded guilty today. Co-defendant Kent Conley Sadler, 31, also of Tilghman Island, previously pleaded guilty to his participation in the conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 21, 2014.

Hayden and Lednum face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The defendants have agreed to pay restitution to the state of Maryland of between $498,293 and $929,625. The defendants have further agreed to forfeit the monetary equivalent of 80 percent of the value of the vessel primarily used during the conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett scheduled sentencing for Hayden and Lednum on Nov. 4 and Nov. 5, 2014 respectively.

This case was investigated by investigators from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and special agents with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Cunningham, of the District of Maryland, and Todd W. Gleason and Shennie Patel of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Justice Department announced today that Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) has agreed to pay $32.5 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that HP overcharged the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for products between October 2001 and December 2010. HP is a manufacturer and vendor of information technology products and services headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

“Protecting the federal procurement process from false claims is central to the mission of the Department of Justice,” said Assistant Attorney General Stuart F. Delery for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to ensure that when the government purchases commercial products, it receives the prices to which it is entitled.”

The United States alleged that under a contract between HP and the USPS, HP overcharged USPS by failing to comply with pricing terms of the contract, including a requirement that HP provide prices that were no greater than those offered to HP customers with comparable contracts. The United States also alleged that HP made misrepresentations during the negotiation of the contract regarding its pricing and its plans to ensure it would provide the required most favored customer pricing.

“The Major Fraud Investigations Division (MFID) within the Postal Service Office of Inspector General fully investigates those contractors who wrongly take advantage of the Postal Service,” said Thomas Frost, MFID's Special Agent in Charge. “The Postal Service and the public must have complete confidence in the procurement process and MFID will continue to work diligently to make that happen.”

This matter was jointly investigated by the U.S. Postal Service, Office of the Inspector General and the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

On July 31, 2014, a federal jury in Los Angeles found that the former owner of a durable medical equipment (DME) supply company located in Carson, California, was guilty of health care fraud charges relating a 10-year scheme in which Medicare was fraudulently billed more than $8 million for DME that was not medically necessary.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. of the Central District of California, Special Agent in Charge Glenn R. Ferry of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Los Angeles Region, Assistant Director in Charge Bill L. Lewis of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Erick Martinez of the IRS-Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.

Olufunke Ibiyemi Fadojutimi, 42, of Carson, California, is a registered nurse and the former owner of Lutemi Medical Supply. He was found guilty after trial of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, seven counts of health care fraud and one count of money laundering. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.

The trial evidence showed that between September 2003 and January 2013, Fadojutimi and others paid cash kickbacks to patient recruiters and physicians for fraudulent prescriptions for DME, such as power wheelchairs, that the Medicare patients did not actually need. Fadojutimi and others then used these prescriptions to bill Medicare for the power wheelchairs and other DME. Approximately $8.3 million in false and fraudulent claims were submitted to Medicare, and Medicare paid almost $4.3 million on those claims.

The case is being investigated by HHS-OIG Los Angeles Region, the FBI and IRS-CI Los Angeles Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Fred Medick and Blanca Quintero of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and was previously prosecuted by the Fraud Section’s Jonathan T. Baum.

The case was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations are part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative announced in May 2009, between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,900 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG , are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers. To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov .

Marcellus Williams, aka “Math,” “P-Shooter” and “Manny,” 27, of Newport News, Virginia, was sentenced today to serve 30 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for engaging in numerous gang-related crimes as a ranking member of the Black P-Stones, including shootings of rival gang members, robberies and drug dealing.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office made the announcement after sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen.

According to a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Williams was a “First Superior” in the Black P-Stones, a violent street gang also referred to as the P-Stone Bloods and Cobra Stones. The Black P-Stones operated primarily in the Beechmont, Courthouse Green and Woodview neighborhoods in the Denbigh area of Newport News, Virginia, and its members engaged in various criminal activities including murders, robberies, drug trafficking and obstruction of justice. As a First Superior, Williams directed and participated in the gang’s criminal activities, including robberies, attempted murder and marijuana sales.

According to the statement of facts, on April 27, 2008, Williams and other Black P-Stones members participated in a broad-daylight shooting on Warwick Boulevard in Newport News targeting a rival gang member. The rival was shot twice and injured in his mouth, neck and shoulder.

Additionally, on Dec. 10, 2008, Williams and other Black P-Stones members retaliated against a rival gang member who exhibited disrespect toward Williams’s girlfriend. Approximately seven to eight bullets were fired at the rival gang member’s home in Williamsburg, Virginia, with bullets ripping through the living room and front door while two people were inside.

Further, on March 9, 2009, Williams and other Black P-Stones members shot at the home of a rival gang member in retaliation for a previous altercation. The rival gang member and another individual were inside of the home during the shooting, and one bullet nearly struck one of the people inside.

Williams was charged in a superseding indictment on Dec. 9, 2013, and pleaded guilty on April 15, 2014, to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of possessing and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

The investigation was led by the FBI’s Safe Streets Peninsula Task Force, with the assistance of the Newport News Police Department, James City County Police Department, and the Virginia State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Louis A. Crisostomo and Marianne Shelvey of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric M. Hurt of the Eastern District of Virginia.

The Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that a Durham, North Carolina, woman was sentenced today to serve 30 months in federal prison for conspiring to defraud the IRS.

Tasha Renee Smith was sentenced in Greensboro, North Carolina, by U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles, who ordered her to serve three years of supervised release and to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $375,578. Smith pleaded guilty on April 8 to the conspiracy charge.

According to court documents, Smith was employed by Nothing But Taxes (NBT), a tax return preparation business with branches throughout North Carolina, for parts of the filing seasons for tax years 2005, 2006 and 2007. While working at NBT’s Durham location, Smith intentionally falsified tax returns for many clients. Common techniques she employed include the addition of false dependents to tax returns and inflating the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income clients by adding additional, fictitious income.

According to court documents, during her second and third seasons preparing returns at NBT, Smith made extensive efforts to solicit and purchase the names, dates of birth and social security numbers of individuals in the community. Smith used the identities she purchased as false dependents on returns she prepared at NBT later that tax year. Smith charged clients a side cash payment in exchange for a false dependent, in addition to the flat return preparation fee charged by NBT.

According to court documents, during the 2008 tax filing season, Smith and two business partners opened their own tax return preparation business, Tax Wizards, with branches in Durham and Roxboro, North Carolina. Smith owned and operated the business, and hired her own return preparers. Like NBT, Tax Wizards became a center of tax fraud. Smith encouraged return preparers she hired at Tax Wizards to keep any falsifications on tax returns they prepared modest, in the $1,200 to $1,500 range, to avoid IRS scrutiny. Smith knew that return preparers she employed at Tax Wizards were falsifying returns for clients because she had cautioned the return preparers to keep any falsifications modest and because she witnessed some falsifications occur on the premises. Smith intentionally tried to avoid being physically present at Tax Wizards, in part to avoid the hassle of day-to-day management, but also because she did not want to be present while she knew fraud was occurring.

Court documents state that Smith and another person opened a tax return preparation business during the 2009 tax filing season called Keystone Tax Services, also in Durham. Keystone also became a hotbed of tax fraud. Smith also intentionally tried to avoid being physically present at Keystone for the same reasons as with Tax Wizards. Around April 2011, Smith closed down Tax Wizards and Keystone. Smith became aware that return preparers at her businesses were falsifying returns by creating fictitious Form W-2’s ostensibly issued by non-existent businesses. The falsification was so rampant and involved so much money that Smith feared IRS detection, so she shuttered Tax Wizards and Keystone.

According to court documents, during filing season for tax year 2011, in January to April 2012, Smith and other investors opened a business called Tax Solutions. Tax Solutions had four branches throughout North Carolina, specifically, in Roxboro, Durham, Burlington and Kinston. Smith was hired in exchange for a share of the business’s profits and was charged with hiring managers for the various Tax Solutions branches. She hired at least one manager whom she knew to be complicit in the fraudulent practices at Tax Wizards and Keystone. Return preparers at Tax Solutions also falsified numerous tax returns for their clients.

The case against Smith was investigated by Special Agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Chut for the Middle District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney Jonathan Marx of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

A former Northfield, New Hampshire, man was indicted on three counts of tax evasion for tax years 2008, 2009 and 2010, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

Ronald W. Martin was indicted July 23 by a federal grand jury in the District of New Hampshire. The indictment was unsealed today.

The indictment alleges that Martin evaded federal income taxes from 2008 through 2010 on approximately $400,000 of income by directing earned income to be paid to a third party and depositing only a fraction of his income into his business bank account in an effort to conceal the source of this income. According to the indictment, Martin operates the company Martin Construction.

This case was investigated by special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Zuckerman and Senior Litigation Counsel Corey J. Smith of the department’s Tax Division.

Gregory King, 28, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today in connection with contacting a 13-year-old girl over the Internet and traveling across state lines to engage in sexual activity with her.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein of the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the FBI’s Baltimore Division made the announcement.

King pleaded guilty to one count of coercion of a minor to engage in sexual activity and one count of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual contact with a minor. He was initially charged by indictment on Feb. 14, 2014.

According to King’s plea agreement, on Oct. 9, 2013, he initiated a chat with a girl on a social networking site whose profile indicated that she was 13 years old. Throughout October and November 2013, King and the victim exchanged sexually explicit photographs and engaged in sexually explicit conversations. On Oct. 30, 2013, King chatted with the victim about coming to her house in Maryland, telling her that he would take a bus from Washington, D.C. The victim provided King with her address, but King was not able to get to the victim’s house that night. King continued to chat with the victim and on Nov. 21, 2013, shortly after the victim’s 14 th birthday, again discussed coming to her home. King took a bus from Washington, D.C. on the same date and met the victim at her home, where he spent the night. King was arrested on Jan. 19, 2014.

As part of his plea agreement, King must register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 15, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “resources” tab on the left of the page.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Laurel Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney LisaMarie Freitas of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristi O’Malley of the District of Maryland.

The Justice Department announced today that the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana has approved its settlement with the Louisiana State Bond Commission resolving the department’s housing discrimination lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged that the commission violated the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act by adopting a moratorium on affordable housing financing in 2009. The moratorium blocked financing for a proposed 40-unit affordable housing project known as the “Esplanade.” Twenty of these units would provide permanent supportive housing to persons with disabilities.

Prior to the entry of the settlement by the court, the commission voted to approve financing for the Esplanade project and lifted the moratorium on affordable housing projects. Under the settlement, the commission agrees to refrain from further obstructing or delaying financing for the Esplanade and from adopting any future policy that would prevent consideration of affordable housing in New Orleans, including affordable housing for persons with disabilities. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status. Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits governments from discriminating on the basis of disability in administering their zoning laws.

“We are very pleased to have worked with the Louisiana State Bond Commission to reach an agreement that will not only enable the Esplanade to be built, but that will also ensure that other affordable housing projects that include housing for persons with disabilities in New Orleans will not be subject to any moratorium,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division.

“Nondiscriminatory housing is a fundamental right of the citizens of New Orleans, and this settlement agreement continues the efforts to rebuild and improve a housing inventory ravaged by Hurricane Katrina,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite Jr. for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The City of New Orleans was previously named as a defendant. In April 2014, the department and the city reached a settlement resolving the department’s claims. Approved by the court, the settlement determines that the city must permit the Esplanade project to proceed and must provide all appropriate permits for the project. The settlement also required that the city develop 350 additional permanent supportive housing units, amend its Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance to allow permanent supportive housing, continue its work to prepare and implement a reasonable accommodation policy approved by the United States, conduct fair housing training for key city officials and be subject to reporting requirements.

More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at this website .

The Justice Department today announced the payment of more than $1.5 million in damages under a consent decree previously reached with QuikTrip Corporation. The payments were made by QuikTrip to compensate 47 individuals with disabilities who experienced discrimination at QuikTrip gas stations and convenience stores across the country, in violation of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

QuikTrip owns and operates nearly 700 gas stations, convenience stores, travel centers and truck stops throughout the Southern, Midwestern and Southwestern United States. The consent decree, which was entered by the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska in July, 2010, required QuikTrip to make all of its facilities accessible, adopt accessibility policies and pay a $55,000 civil penalty to the United States. QuikTrip has made all changes required in the consent decree to make their properties ADA accessible. “Today is an important milestone in making whole individuals with disabilities who experienced repeated and extensive accessibility barriers at QuikTrip facilities across the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “QuikTrip should be commended for working diligently with the department to overhaul its gas stations, stores and policies to comply with the ADA.”

“Ensuring access to QuikTrip facilities by individuals with disabilities is a significant step by QuikTrip and a win-win resolution,” said United States Deborah R. Gilg for the District of Nebraska. “Individuals with disabilities will no longer encounter barriers to access at these facilities and QuikTrip can profit by providing services to this segment of our population.”

The consent decree was reached under Title III of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities by certain businesses that are open to the public, including gas stations, convenience stores and other retailers, both large and small. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at the website www.justice.gov/crt. More information about this Consent Decree with QuikTrip may be found at www.ada.gov or by calling the toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TTY).

An executive of Japanese auto parts maker G.S. Electech Inc. pleaded guilty and was sentenced today to serve 13 months in a U.S. prison for his role in an international conspiracy to rig bids and fix prices on auto parts used on antilock brake systems installed in U.S. cars, the Department of Justice announced.

Shingo Okuda, the former Engineering and Sales Division Manager for G.S. Electech, pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in Covington, to a one count charge of bid rigging and price fixing.

As part of his plea agreement, Okuda also agreed to cooperate with the department’s ongoing investigation and to pay a $20,000 criminal fine.

On Sept. 11, 2013, a federal grand jury in Covington, Kentucky, returned an indictment against Okuda, charging him with conspiring to rig bids and fix prices of speed sensor wire assemblies, which are installed in automobiles with an antilock brake system (ABS), sold to Toyota Motor Corp. and Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America Inc., in the United States and elsewhere.

According to the indictment, Okuda and his co-conspirators carried out the conspiracy by, among other things, agreeing during meetings and discussions to coordinate bids and fix prices of automotive parts submitted to Toyota. The indictment charged Okuda with participating in the conspiracy beginning at least as early as January 2003 until at least February 2010.

“Today’s guilty plea is a victory for consumers, who deserve to know that the essential parts used in their automobiles are not subject to anticompetitive agreements,” said Brent Snyder, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program. “The Antitrust Division remains committed to holding executives accountable for behavior that undermines the competitive marketplace.”

G.S. Electech manufactures, assembles and sells a variety of automotive electrical parts, including speed sensor wire assemblies. The speed sensor wire assemblies connect a sensor on each wheel to the ABS to instruct it when to engage. On May 16, 2012, G.S. Electech pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and agreed to pay a $2.75 million criminal fine.

Okuda is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine for individuals. The maximum fine for an individual may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

Including Okuda, 36 individuals have been charged in the department’s ongoing investigation into price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry. Okuda is the first individual in the investigation to plead guilty following an indictment. Additionally, 27 companies have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty and have agreed to pay a total of nearly $2.3 billion in fines.

Today’s guilty plea arose from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry, which is being conducted by each of the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement sections and the FBI. Today’s guilty plea was brought by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal I Section, with the assistance of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, with the assistance of the FBI headquarters’ International Corruption Unit. Anyone with information on price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to other products in the automotive parts industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html or call the FBI’s Detroit Field Office at 313-965-2323.

Kelvin L. Brown, aka “Doom,” 34, of Newport News, Virginia, was convicted yesterday by a federal jury of participating in a drug conspiracy in the Newport News area, from the early 2000’s through September 2013. Brown was also convicted of distribution of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, two counts of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and felon in possession of a firearm.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office and Chief Richard W. Myers of the Newport News Police made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar of the Eastern District of Virginia.

During trial, evidence was presented of various drug transactions and firearms possession by Brown and co-conspirators to protect the drug conspiracy and its proceeds, and threats made by Brown against a cooperating witness during the course of the case. On Sept. 13, 2013, officers of the Newport News Police Department seized a firearm, a scale and cocaine in a barricaded apartment occupied by Brown.

This investigation was led by FBI and the Safe Streets Task Force, with assistance from the Newport News Police, the Virginia State Police and the Newport News Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Joseph K. Wheatley of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard J. Zlotnick of the Eastern District of Virginia.

The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), in partnership with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), today released a seminal model policy regarding police interaction with children who are impacted when a parent is arrested and law enforcement carries out its investigative and arrest responsibilities. Reflecting the collective input of a wide range of subject-matter experts and stakeholders, and understanding that interactions between children and law enforcement create lasting impressions, the resulting model policy, Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents , provides strategies for law enforcement to improve their procedures and positively impact the communities they serve.

“Limiting a child’s exposure to potentially traumatic events is an operationally sound and necessary law enforcement strategy,” said Deputy Attorney General James Cole. “It is also consistent with law enforcement’s duty to serve the community as a whole. It is an important part of the principles of community policing, problem solving, and conflict resolution.”

Funded through OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents is an important resource for law enforcement. Law enforcement agencies will find the information contained in this document highly instructive as they seek to enhance their policies and procedures and gain understanding about the trauma children experience when law enforcement carries out its investigative and arrest responsibilities.

“Trauma associated with the arrest of a parent can have devastating and long term effects on the life of a child,” said Cecilia Muñoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. “This administration is committed to advancing policies and programs that support the children of incarcerated parents and ensure that their futures remain bright with possibility. Implementation of this new protocol, first announced in 2013 during a White House Champions of Change event, will help limit these children's exposure to trauma and encourage positive interactions between members of law enforcement and the communities that they serve.”

In addition to the development of the model policy, IACP is developing a training curriculum that will be delivered through webinars and a number of training sessions at conferences around the country.

“Police officers are confronted with significant challenges and responsibilities when children are present or in need of care and supervision following the arrest of a parent,” said BJA Director Denise E. O’Donnell. “We are pleased to partner with IACP on a new model policy that provides sound, practical, and child-focused guidance on how police can join with their community partners to best meet the needs of children in these difficult circumstances.”

A copy of the report can be found by visiting the BJA website at www.bja.gov/Publications/IACP-SafeguardingChildren.pdf

Ivan Soto-Barraza, who is charged with the first degree murder of United States Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, was extradited to the United States from Mexico today, announced Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy of the Southern District of California.

Agent Terry was fatally shot on Dec. 14, 2010, when he and other Border Patrol agents encountered Soto-Barraza and others in a rural area north of Nogales, Arizona. Of six defendants charged so far, two have pleaded guilty and two are awaiting trial.

“This marks another step forward in our aggressive pursuit of those responsible for the murder of Agent Brian Terry, who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving his country,” said Attorney General Holder. "We will never stop seeking justice against those who do harm to our best and bravest."

“This extradition is another major development in the pursuit of justice for Agent Terry and his family,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. “As we continue to make significant progress in this case, we are constantly motivated by the memory of Agent Terry and his sacrifice for our country.”

Soto-Barraza is scheduled to be arraigned in federal district court in Tucson, Arizona, on August 1, 2014. The indictment charges Soto-Barraza and others with first degree murder, second degree murder, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, attempted interference with commerce by robbery, use and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer. In addition to the murder of Agent Terry, the indictment alleges that the defendants assaulted Border Patrol Agents William Castano, Gabriel Fragoza and Timothy Keller, who were with Agent Terry during the firefight.

On July 20, 2012, in order to seek the public’s assistance, Department of Justice officials announced a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the arrest of four fugitives: Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, Lionel Portillo-Meza and Soto-Barraza. Portillo-Meza was captured in Mexico in September 2012 and extradited to the U.S. from Mexico on June 17, 2014. Soto-Barraza was captured in Mexico in September 2013. Favela-Astorga and Osorio-Arellanes are fugitives.

A fifth defendant, Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, pleaded guilty to first degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison in February 2014. A sixth defendant, Rito Osorio-Arellanes, who was in custody at the time of Agent Terry’s murder, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and was sentenced to eight years in prison in January 2013.

This case is being prosecuted in federal court in Tucson by attorneys from the Southern District of California, Special Attorneys Todd W. Robinson, David D. Leshner, and Fred Sheppard. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona is recused. This case is being investigated by the FBI. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance with the extradition.

The public is reminded that an indictment is a formal charging document and defendants are presumed innocent until the government meets its burden in court of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

In a new memorandum released Friday, Attorney General Eric Holder urged federal law enforcement agencies to identify, train and equip personnel who may interact with a victim of a heroin overdose with the drug naloxone. This latest step by the Attorney General will pave the way for certain federal agents -- such as emergency medical personnel -- to begin carrying the potentially life-saving drug known for effectively restoring breathing to a victim in the midst of a heroin or opioid overdose.

According to the most recent study, 110 Americans on average die from drug overdoses every day, outnumbering even deaths from gunshot wounds or motor vehicle crashes. More than half of these drug overdose deaths involve opioids such as heroin and prescription pain relievers. Between 2006 and 2010, heroin overdose deaths dramatically increased by 45 percent.

“The shocking increase in overdose deaths illustrates that addiction to heroin and other opioids, including some prescription painkillers, represents nothing less than a public health crisis,” said Attorney General Holder. “I am confident that expanding the availability of naloxone has the potential to save the lives, families and futures of countless people across the nation.”

The Justice Department wants federal law enforcement agencies, as well as their state and local partners, to review their policies and procedures to determine whether personnel in those agencies should be equipped and trained to recognize and respond to opioid overdose by various methods, including the use of naloxone. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have amended their laws to increase access to naloxone, resulting in over 10,000 overdose reversals since 2001.

“ The heroin and prescription painkiller epidemic knows no boundaries--anyone can be affected, and we have already lost far too many lives,” said Acting Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Michael Botticelli. “We have moved aggressively against this epidemic and we know that the actions of law enforcement officers at the scene of an overdose can mean the difference between life and death. Attorney General Holder's leadership in this arena will help prevent future overdose deaths and we look forward to working closely with his office and other partners to get naloxone to law enforcement professionals across the nation. ”

As the department continues to address escalating and rapidly-evolving challenges that lead to opioid abuse and drug trafficking, the Attorney General cautioned members of Congress to protect critical enforcement tools like Immediate Suspension Orders (ISOs). A recently passed House bill would “severely undermine” a critical component of our efforts to prevent communities and families from falling prey to dangerous drugs.

The Attorney General announced the new memorandum at a day-long conference on law enforcement and naloxone convened by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Today’s announcement follows up on the Attorney General’s call to action in March, when he urged local law enforcement authorities, who are often the first to respond to possible overdoses, to routinely carry naloxone.

The Attorney General’s full remarks to the law enforcement conference, as prepared for delivery appear below:

“Thank you, Mary Lou Leary, for those kind words – and thank you all for being here today. I’d particularly like to thank Director Denise O’Donnell, Deputy Director Kristen Mahoney, and their colleagues from the Bureau of Justice Assistance – as well as Acting Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Michael Botticelli, Administrator Michele Leonhart, Deputy Assistant Administrator Joe Rannazzisi, and the dedicated men and women of the Drug Enforcement Administration – for bringing us together this morning. And I want to recognize all of the distinguished panelists – representing fields ranging from law enforcement, to public policy, to public health and drug treatment – who have taken the time to lend their voices to this important discussion. Every day, you stand on the front lines of our fight to confront an urgent – and growing – threat to our nation and its citizens. And we’re proud to count you as colleagues and partners.

“As the leaders in this room know all too well, in the five years between 2006 and 2010, this country witnessed a dramatic, 45-percent increase in heroin-related deaths. And 110 people die every day from overdoses, primarily driven by prescription drugs. The shocking increase in overdose deaths illustrates that addiction to heroin and other opioids, including some prescription painkillers, represents nothing less than a public health crisis. It’s also a public safety crisis. And every day, this crisis touches – and devastates – the lives of Americans from every state, in every region, and from every background and walk of life.

“That’s why this Administration, and this Department of Justice in particular, have taken aggressive steps to fight back at every point of intervention – and with every tool at our disposal. In recent years, we have worked to prevent opioid diversion and abuse by targeting the illegal supply chain, by disrupting pill mills, and by thwarting doctor-shopping attempts by drug users and distributors. We have developed innovative public health programs to educate the public, to monitor the problem, and to rigorously enforce applicable federal laws. And we have stepped up our investigatory efforts – opening more than 4,500 heroin-related investigations since 2011 and increasing the amount of heroin seized along America’s southwest border by 320 percent between 2008 and 2013.

“From our rigorous scrutiny of new pharmacy applications to prevent illicit storefront drug trafficking – to our sponsorship of “Drug Take Back” events that provide opportunities for safe and responsible prescription drug disposal – with your help and expert guidance, the department has pursued a comprehensive strategy to keep pharmaceutical controlled substances from falling into the hands of non-medical users. We can all be proud of the steps forward we’ve taken, and the considerable results we’ve achieved, over the last few years alone. But we continue to face escalating and rapidly-evolving challenges in our efforts to prevent opioid abuse and intercept illicit drugs.

“These challenges illustrate the need to preserve important law enforcement tools like Immediate Suspension Orders, which allow DEA to immediately shut down irresponsible distributors, pharmacies, and rogue pain clinics that flood the market with pills prescribed by unethical or irresponsible doctors. These Immediate Suspension Orders, or ISOs, are used to take action in instances where irresponsible behavior places the public at risk - and do so without interrupting the legitimate flow of prescription drugs or preventing patients from receiving necessary medications.

“Particularly now – at a time when our nation is facing a heroin and prescription drug abuse crisis – law enforcement tools like ISOs could not be more important. And if Congress were to take them away, or weaken our ability to use them successfully, it would severely undermine a critical component of our efforts to prevent communities and families from falling prey to dangerous drugs.

“Of course, I recognize – as you do – that we cannot prevent every individual instance of heroin or prescription painkiller abuse. And that is why, beyond these efforts, we must also take additional steps to ensure that we can respond quickly and effectively in the event of acute heroin- or prescription drug-related emergencies that are encountered in the field.

“In March, I urged local law enforcement authorities, who are often the first to respond to possible overdoses, to routinely carry naloxone – a drug that’s extremely effective at restoring breathing to a victim in the midst of a heroin or other opioid overdose. At that time, seventeen states and the District of Columbia had amended their laws to increase access to naloxone, resulting in over 10,000 overdose reversals since 2001. During one of my regular meetings with the leaders of national law enforcement organizations – many of whom I see here today – they identified the need for technical assistance so that jurisdictions with an interest in equipping officers and first responders may do so effectively. Today’s meeting fulfills that request. The result of this convening will be a set of guidelines to assist law enforcement and public health providers who wish to be equipped and trained in the use of this potentially life-saving remedy.

“In addition, this morning, I can announce that, for the first time ever, I have issued a memorandum urging federal law enforcement agencies – including the DEA, the ATF, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service – to review their policies and procedures to determine whether personnel within their agencies should be equipped and trained to recognize and respond to opioid overdose, including with the use of naloxone. In the coming days, I expect each of these critical agencies to determine whether and which members of their teams should be trained to use and carry naloxone in the performance of their duties.

“Although, like you, I recognize that there are numerous challenges involved in naloxone implementation – from acquisition and replenishment, to training, medical oversight and liability issues – I am confident that expanding the availability of this tool has the potential to save the lives, families, and futures of countless people across the nation. I am certain that the leaders in this room – together with our colleagues and counterparts far beyond it – possess the knowledge, the skill, and the determination to forge workable solutions to these pressing concerns. The ultimate goal of today’s conference is to harness your insights, to channel your expertise, and to mine your collective experience in order to make real and lasting progress on behalf of those who are in desperate need of our assistance. Through extensive collaboration and shared wisdom, we can overcome persistent challenges and set a new course for the future.

“So long as I have the privilege of serving as Attorney General, I am determined to keep working with you – and with leaders and stakeholders from around the country – to help break new ground, to develop new solutions, and to forge new paths to the safer, brighter, and more just futures that all Americans deserve. I want to thank each of you, once again, for your commitment to this initiative; for your devotion to this cause; and for your partnership in the considerable work that lies before us. I look forward to all that we must, and surely will, accomplish together in the months and years to come. And I wish you all a most productive conference.”

# # #

The Justice Department announced today that it has asked a federal court in Detroit to permanently bar Brandon Lee and Tamika Lee, a husband and wife who do business as Quick Money Tax & Loan Center, from preparing federal tax returns. The civil injunction suit alleges that the Lees falsify income on customers’ tax returns in order to claim false and inflated earned income tax credits (EITC).

The EITC is a refundable credit available to people who work and earn less than $51,567 per year. The maximum credit in 2010 was $5,666. Due to the method used to calculate the EITC, some people are entitled to a larger credit with a higher annual income. Some tax preparers refer to the range of earned income generating a maximum EITC as the “sweet spot.” According to the complaint, the Lees reported fabricated “Household Help” income and reported fake business income and expenses on their customers’ tax returns to report income in the EITC sweet spot on some returns they prepared. The complaint alleges that 99 percent of the returns identified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as having been prepared by the Lees and their business in 2010 and 2011 claimed a refund, which is an extremely high rate.

The complaint also alleges that the Lees prepare returns for customers that falsely claim education credits, even though the customers did not attend school or have qualifying education-related expenses, and were thus ineligible for the credit.

Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS's Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2014. 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 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.

Related Materials:

United States v. Brandon T. Lee, et al.
Complaint for Permanent Injunction and Other Relief

The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Landmark Aviation to divest fixed base operator assets (FBOs) used to provide flight support services to general aviation customers at Scottsdale Municipal Airport, in Arizona, in order to proceed with its $330 million acquisition of Ross Aviation. The department said that without the required divestiture, the transaction would have combined the only two FBOs serving general aviation customers at Scottsdale Municipal Airport, resulting in higher prices and lower quality of services.

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

“Today’s proposed settlement will help ensure that FBO general aviation customers at Scottsdale Municipal Airport will continue to receive the benefits of vigorous competition,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division. “Without the divestiture secured by the Antitrust Division, the proposed acquisition would have eliminated competitive constraints at the Scottsdale airport and likely would have resulted in higher prices for consumers.”

FBOs provide fuel and related support services to general aviation customers, which include charter, private and corporate aircraft operators. Landmark and Ross are the only two providers of FBO services at Scottsdale Municipal Airport. The proposed transaction would have resulted in a monopoly for FBO services at Scottsdale Municipal Airport, and that loss of competition likely would have resulted in higher prices and a lower quality of services.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Landmark must divest Ross’s FBO assets at Scottsdale Municipal Airport to either Signature Flight Support Corp. or another buyer approved by the Antitrust Division.

LM U.S. Corp Acquisition Inc. (doing business as Landmark Aviation), a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Houston, is owned by The Carlyle Group. Landmark Aviation operates more than 40 FBO facilities in the United States, including its FBO operations at Scottsdale Municipal Airport.

Ross, a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Denver, is a subsidiary of Genossenschaft Constanter, a Swiss company. Ross owns and operates 19 FBO facilities in the United States, including its FBO operations at Scottsdale Municipal Airport.

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 William H. Stallings, Chief, Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 5th Street, N.W., Suite 8000, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia may enter the proposed final judgment upon finding that it is in the public interest.

A former project manager of a U.S. construction company working on U.S. government contracts in Afghanistan who solicited a $60,000 kickback from an Afghan subcontractor pleaded guilty today in federal court in Tucson, Arizona.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney John S. Leonardo of the District of Arizona made the announcement.

Robert L. Bertolini, 67, of Arivaca, Arizona, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and receive an illegal kickback. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 8, 2014.

According to court documents, Bertolini worked for a construction company that received a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contract to build a forward operating base for the Afghan National Army in Kabul Province, Afghanistan. The company for which Bertolini worked entered into a subcontract with an Afghan construction company. Shortly after the subcontract was awarded in the spring of 2011, Bertolini solicited personal financial benefits from the subcontractor, including a $60,000 kickback and employment for his son. On May 11, 2011, the subcontractor’s vice president wired approximately $59,975 from Afghanistan to Bertolini’s son’s bank account in Ohio. In return, Bertolini approved two modifications on the subcontract – for which Bertolini did not have actual approval from his company – that were worth $980,000 and $680,000 respectively.

This case is being investigated by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, the FBI, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command Major Procurement Fraud Unit. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Daniel Butler of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Zipps of the District of Arizona.

The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have extended the deadline for submitting comments on their recent Conditional Pricing Practices Workshop from Aug. 22, 2014, to Sept. 22, 2014.

The workshop, held June 23, 2014, explored the economics and legal policy implications of certain pricing practices, such as loyalty and bundled pricing. Interested parties may submit public comments online. Submitted comments and additional information about the workshop can be found on the Department of Justice and FTC websites.

Nicholaus J. Rodgers, 31, of Shady Cove, Oregon, pleaded guilty in federal court in Denver to a felony conspiracy charge stemming from the assistance he provided to an outfitter who sold illegal mountain lion and bobcat hunts in Colorado and Utah, the Justice Department announced.

Rodgers pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act. The Lacey Act is a federal law that makes it illegal to knowingly transport or sell in interstate commerce any wildlife that has been taken or possessed in violation of state laws or regulations.

According to an indictment returned by the grand jury for the District of Colorado on Jan. 7, 2014, and the plea agreement, Rodgers conspired with others to provide numerous illegal hunts of mountain lions and bobcats in Colorado and Utah from 2007 to 2009. In particular, Rodgers and his confederates trapped, shot and caged mountain lions and bobcats prior to hunts in order to provide easier chases of the cats for clients. Rodgers also admits that he and his partners guided several hunters that did not possess a Utah mountain lion or bobcat license on mountain lion or bobcat hunts in Utah. The outfitter for whom Rodgers guided, Christopher W. Loncarich, was also indicted on Jan. 7, 2014. Loncarich is based in Mack, Colorado, which is approximately five miles from the Utah-Colorado border. Loncarich sold mountain lion hunts for between $3,500 and $7,500 and bobcat hunts for between $700 and $1,500 and shared a portion of the proceeds from successful hunts with Rodgers.

Three of Loncarich’s assistant guides have previously pleaded guilty to Lacey Act violations in connection with their guiding activities with Loncarich.

The maximum penalty for conspiring to violate the Lacey Act is up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Under the terms of the plea agreement, the prosecution agreed to a sentencing calculation pursuant to the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines but did not agree on a term of imprisonment, an amount of fines or an amount of restitution. A sentencing hearing for Rodgers is set for Nov. 7, 2014.

The case was investigated by the United States Fish & Wildlife Service, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. The case is being prosecuted by the Environmental Crimes Section of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the Justice Department has submitted filings in voting rights cases in Wisconsin and Ohio. The department’s involvement in these two cases represents its latest steps to enforce the remaining parts of the Voting Rights Act against restrictive state laws, following up on the department’s lawsuits last year against similar measures in Texas and North Carolina.

In the Wisconsin case, the department filed an amicus brief in Frank v. Walker and LULAC v. Deininger, supporting an earlier ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin that struck down Wisconsin’s strict photo voter identification requirement due to its effects on minority voters under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and because it unduly burdens a substantial number of voters in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. In the Ohio case, the department filed a statement of interest in NAACP v. Husted, a challenge by a civil rights group to a state law curtailing early voting and same day registration. The department’s brief contests the state of Ohio’s incorrect interpretation of the standards set forth by Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

“These filings are necessary to confront the pernicious measures in Wisconsin and Ohio that would impose significant barriers to the most basic right of our democracy,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “These two states’ voting laws represent the latest, misguided attempts to fix a system that isn’t broken. These restrictive state laws threaten access to the ballot box. The Justice Department will never shrink from our responsibility to protect the voting rights of every eligible American. And we will keep using every available tool at our disposal to guard against all forms of discrimination, to prevent voter disenfranchisement, and to secure the rights of every citizen.”

In the amicus brief filed today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the department argues that the district court reached the correct decision by finding that Wisconsin’s voter ID law, known as Act 23, violated the Fourteenth Amendment, because it imposes unjustified burdens on a significant number of voters, and violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, because it has a discriminatory result on African-American and Hispanic voters. In addition to finding that Act 23 would result in minority voters having less opportunity to participate in the political process relative to other members of the electorate, the court found that the state’s claimed interests in combating voter fraud and promoting electoral confidence did not justify the significant burdens Act 23 imposes on substantial numbers of voters who lack a qualifying ID.

In the statement of interest filed today in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the department makes clear that Section 2 prohibits the state of Ohio from imposing any voting qualification, prerequisite to voting, or any standard, practice or procedure that would result in the denial or abridgement of the right to vote on account of a person’s race, color or membership in a language minority group. The filing also makes clear that in its own filings in the case the state of Ohio has incorrectly interpreted its requirements under Section 2. The department did not take a position on any of the other claims in the case.

“The United States Department of Justice today affirms its clear position that, under Wisconsin’s Act 23, minority voters have less opportunity to participate in the political process,” said James L. Santelle, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. “The amicus brief that we are filing not only supports the trial court’s findings but also reflects the department’s continuing focus on ensuring that the franchise remains fully available to all qualified voters.”

“Wisconsin's proud history is one of expanding the opportunity to vote,” said John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin. “I'm honored to file this brief with the United States Department of Justice seeking to ensure that this great Wisconsin tradition is reaffirmed, and that every Wisconsin citizen has an equal opportunity to participate in democracy.”

“This office remains committed to preserving the rights of every Ohio voter,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. “Making sure that courts continue to carefully examine voting restrictions, such as the ones recently imposed in this state, is an important part of that effort.”

In the year since the Supreme Court struck down the coverage formula that determined which jurisdictions were subject to preclearance underthe Voting Rights Act in Shelby v. Holder, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act remains one of the department’s most powerful tools to protect voting rights. Last year the department used Section 2 to file two lawsuits against the state of Texas to stop the newly enacted discriminatory voter ID law and and to obtain a ruling that the state engaged in intentional discrimination in adopting its 2011 redistricting plans. In North Carolina, the department used Section 2 to sue to stop a number of provisions in an election law that imposes strict voter ID requirements, restricts early voting, eliminates same-day registration and refuses to count otherwise valid provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct. The suit alleges that the challenged law was motivated by a racially discriminatory purpose and will result in African-American voters having less opportunity than other citizens to participate in the political process. All three cases are ongoing.

Related Materials:

Amicus Brief
Statement of Interest

On the second day of his federal jury trial, a Las Vegas Playboy Bloods street gang member pleaded guilty today to racketeering and drug charges, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada and Leslie R. Caldwell, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

“We will use federal resources to prosecute street gang members who commit cowardly and horrible crimes in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “I commend the many law enforcement officers who worked on this investigation and assisted us in ensuring a conviction in this case.”

Markette Tillman, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of RICO conspiracy and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, and is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson on Oct. 28, 2014. Tillman faces up to 20 years in prison on each count, as well as fines of up to $1 million. The jury trial began yesterday, July 28, 2014, and the government had called seven witnesses to testify. Tillman is the remaining gang member to be convicted out of 10 charged in a RICO indictment filed in 2008.

According to the guilty plea agreement and evidence produced at trial, the Bloods are a nationally-known criminal street gang whose members engage in drug trafficking and acts of violence. The Playboy Bloods is a local “set” or affiliate of the Bloods, with local control and operation within the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Playboy Bloods operate primarily in the Sherman Gardens Annex, a public housing complex, located at the corner of Doolittle and H Streets in Las Vegas, and commonly called the “Jets.” On or about Jan. 20, 2004, Tillman aided and abetted the murder of a security guard at the Jets. The guard approached Tillman and several other Playboy Bloods and told them to leave the property. An argument ensued, and the guard rode away on his bicycle to get help. One of the Playboy Bloods fired a gun at the guard, hitting him two times and killing him. Tillman admitted that he aided and abetted the murder of the guard and acted deliberately and intentionally with extreme disregard for human life. Tillman further admitted that he agreed with other members of the Playboy Bloods to manufacture and distribute narcotics, primarily crack cocaine, and to operate drug houses within the Playboy Bloods’ turf. Tillman specifically admitted to distributing in excess of 280 grams of crack cocaine. Tillman also admitted that he distributed crack cocaine to another person on about Jan. 3, 2007, at one of the drug houses.

Nine other defendants who have been convicted and sentenced, as follows:

· Jacorey Taylor, aka “Mo-B,” 31, convicted by a jury of engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, committing violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity, using a firearm during a crime of violence, participating in a drug conspiracy, and possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute and sentenced to life in prison Oct. 21, 12013.

· Steven Booth, aka “Stevie-P,” 27, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy involving two murders and was sentenced to 20 years in prison on April 10, 2013

· Reginald Dunlap, aka “Bowlie,” 30, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy involving one murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison on April 9, 2013

· Demichael Burks, aka “Mikey P,” 29, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy and was sentenced to 6½ years in prison on Dec. 3, 2010

· Anthony Mabry, aka “Akim Slim,” 43, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy and was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Oct. 20, 2010

· Delvin Ward, aka “D-Luv,” 37, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy and was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Sept. 17, 2010

· Terrence Thomas, aka “Seven,” 40, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and was sentenced to 10 years in prison on June 16, 2010

· Sebastian Wigg, aka “Rock,” 36, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and was sentenced to five years in prison on March 29, 2010

· Fred Nix, aka “June P,” 36, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and was sentenced to five years in prison on March 29, 2010

The cases were investigated by the FBI’s Las Vegas Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which includes officers from the North Las Vegas Police Department and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas D. Dickinson and Phillip N. Smith, Jr., and Kevin L. Rosenberg, Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice Organized Crime and Gang Section.

The Justice Department announced the filing of a lawsuit today against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania State Police, alleging that the defendants are engaged in a pattern or practice of employment discrimination against women in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the lawsuit challenges the state police’s use of two physical fitness tests to screen and select entry-level state troopers.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, alleges that the physical fitness tests used by the state police between 2003 and the present excluded qualified women from consideration for hire as entry-level state troopers by testing for physical skills that are not required to perform the job. The department also alleges that, during the relevant time period, the defendants’ use of physical fitness tests as part of a multi-step employment selection process disproportionately screened out female applicants, resulting in a disparate impact against those applicants.

Title VII prohibits both intentional discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin and religion as well as employment practices that result in a disparate impact upon a protected group, unless the practices are job-related and consistent with business necessity. The department alleges that the defendants’ use of the challenged physical fitness tests violates Title VII because that use does not meet this standard and does not identify the best qualified applicants for entry-level state trooper jobs.

“The Department of Justice is deeply committed to eliminating artificial barriers that keep qualified women out of public safety work,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to challenge discriminatory hiring practices that unnecessarily exclude qualified applicants on account of sex.”

In the lawsuit, the department seeks a court order that would require the Pennsylvania State Police to stop using the challenged physical fitness tests, develop hiring procedures that comply with Title VII and provide make-whole relief, including offers of hire, retroactive seniority, and back pay to individual women who have been harmed as a result of the defendants’ use of the challenged physical fitness tests.

Additional information about Title VII and other federal employment laws is available on the Civil Rights Division’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/.

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Complaint

Kenny E. Toy, 54, the former Afloat Programs Manager at the United States Navy Military Sealift Command, was sentenced today to serve 96 months in prison for receiving bribes.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, United States Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office, Acting Executive Assistant Director Charles T. May Jr. of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Atlantic Operations and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office made the announcement today after sentencing by United States Chief Judge Rebecca Beach Smith of the Eastern District of Virginia.

On Feb. 12, 2014, Toy pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with one count of bribery. According to the statement of facts filed with Toy’s plea agreement, Toy was employed as the Afloat Programs Manager in the N6 Command, Control, Communication, and Computer Systems Directorate at the Military Sealift Command, which is the leading provider of transportation for the United States Navy. In approximately November 2004, Toy joined an extensive bribery conspiracy that spanned five years, involved multiple co-conspirators, including two different companies, and resulted in the payment of more than $265,000 in cash bribes, among other things of value, to Toy and to Scott B. Miserendino Sr., a former government contractor who performed work for the Military Sealift Command.

At his plea hearing, Toy admitted that he accepted monthly cash bribes of approximately $3,000, as well as a flat screen television and a paid vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina, from co-conspirators Dwayne A. Hardman, Roderic J. Smith, Michael P. McPhail and Adam C. White, all of whom were employed at a government contracting company referred to as Company A in court documents. Toy also admitted that he accepted a $50,000 cash bribe in May 2009 from Hardman and another co-conspirator, Timothy S. Miller, both of whom were employed at a government contracting company referred to as Company B in court documents. In exchange for the bribes, Toy provided favorable treatment to Company A and Company B in connection with Military Sealift Command related business.

As part of his guilty plea, Toy also admitted to engaging in a scheme to conceal his criminal activity. Toy admitted to causing more than $88,000 to be paid to Hardman in an attempt to prevent Hardman from reporting the bribery scheme to law enforcement authorities.

Toy was also ordered to serve a supervised release term of three years following his prison sentence, and ordered to forfeit $100,000.

Earlier this year, four other individuals pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme. On Feb. 18, 2014, Hardman, the co-founder of Company A and Company B, pleaded guilty to providing bribes to Toy and Miserendino. On Feb. 19, 2014, McPhail, a former employee at Company A, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery. On April 4, 2014, White, a former vice president at Company A, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery. On March 5, 2014, Smith, the former president of Company A, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe public officials. On June 23, 2014, United States District Judge Henry Coke Morgan sentenced Smith to serve 48 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release and ordered him to forfeit $175,000.

On May 23, 2014, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted Miserendino and Timothy S. Miller, a businessman whose company sought contracting business from the Military Sealift Command. The indictment charges Miserendino with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, one count of bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit obstruction of criminal investigations and to commit tampering with a witness, and one count of obstruction of criminal investigations. The indictment charges Miller with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of bribery. Trial is set for Sept. 30, 2014, before Chief Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.

Charges contained in an indictment are merely allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case was investigated by the FBI, NCIS and DCIS. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie of the Eastern District of Virginia.

A former director of nursing pleaded guilty today in connection with a health care fraud scheme involving Anna Nursing Services Corp. (Anna Nursing), a defunct home health care company in Miami.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan Lynch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Miami office made the announcement.

Armando Buchillon, 42, of Hialeah, Florida, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard in the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 6, 2014, before Judge Lenard.

According to court documents, Buchillon was a director of nursing at Anna Nursing, a Miami home health care agency that purported to provide home health and therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries. The owners and operators of Anna Nursing agreed to and actually did operate Anna Nursing for the purpose of billing the Medicare Program for, among other things, expensive physical therapy and home health care services that were not medically necessary and/or were not provided.

As part of the fraudulent scheme, Buchillon and his co-conspirators regularly falsified patient documentation in order to make it appear that beneficiaries qualified for and received home health care services, when, in fact, many of the beneficiaries did not actually qualify for or receive such services. In addition, Buchillon paid kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters, in return for the recruiters providing patients to Anna Nursing for home health care and therapy services that were medically unnecessary and/or were not provided. Buchillon also worked as a patient recruiter for Anna Nursing and was paid kickbacks and bribes by the owner of Anna Nursing. Buchillon and his co-conspirators caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare on behalf of these beneficiaries.

From approximately October 2010 through approximately April 2013, Anna Nursing was paid by Medicare approximately $7 million for fraudulent claims for home health care services that were medically unnecessary and/or were not provided.

The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys A. Brendan Stewart and Anne P. McNamara of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 1,900 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov .

Canadian antiques dealer Xiao Ju Guan, aka Tony Guan, 39, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Manhattan today for conspiring to smuggle wildlife, including rhinoceros horn, elephant ivory and coralannounced Acting Assistant Attorney General Sam Hirsch for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for the Southern District of New York and Director Dan Ashe of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS).

Guan, the president and owner of an antiques business in Richmond, British Columbia, was arrested on March 29, 2014, after flying from Vancouver to New York and purchasing two endangered black rhinoceros horns from undercover special agents with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at a storage facility in the Bronx. After purchasing the horns in a storage pod, Guan had the undercover agents drive him and a female accomplice acting as his interpreter to a nearby express mail store where he mailed the horns to an address in Point Roberts, Washington, less than a mile from the Canadian border and 17 miles from his business. Guan labeled the box of black rhino horns as containing “handicrafts” worth $200, even though he had just paid $45,000 for them. Guan indicated that he had people who could drive the horns across the border and that he had done so many times before.

Guan and his co-conspirators allegedly smuggled more than $500,000 of rhino horns and sculptures made from elephant ivory and coral from various U.S. auction houses to Canada by the same method or by having packages mailed directly to Canada with false paperwork and without the required declaration or permits. One part of the criminal scheme was to falsely describe the wildlife in order to conceal Guan’s wildlife smuggling. In the case of a rhino horn purchased in Florida, the Customs paperwork claimed it was a “Wooden Horn” worth $200.

At the same time that Guan was being arrested in New York, wildlife enforcement officers with Environment Canada executed a search warrant at Guan’s antique business in Canada. Environment Canada and Justice Canada are working cooperatively with U.S. investigators and prosecutors. The Guan case is part of “Operation Crash,” a U.S. Fish & Wildlife and Justice Department crackdown on illegal trafficking in rhinoceros horns.

“Illegal wildlife trafficking is a multibillion-dollar business that must be stopped,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Hirsch. “The Justice Department is working vigorously to uphold the laws designed to protect rhinos and elephants and other threatened species from extinction and is working alongside our international partners to bring black-market wildlife traders to justice. We are also very grateful here for the assistance from Canadian authorities.”

“ There is an ever-expanding black market for objects made from endangered species that fuels the devastating and senseless slaughter of noble animals,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara. “The charges levied today are designed to deal a heavy blow to those that are deliberately profiting from the trade in rare and endangered species. ”

“As this case illustrates, the United States plays a key role in the illegal wildlife trade – often as the source of, or transit country for, poached and smuggled wildlife products headed elsewhere in the world,” said Director Ashe. “This makes coordination vital with our international partners as we work together to halt the slaughter of rhinos, elephants and many other imperiled species. We have a long history of collaboration with Environment Canada on wildlife trafficking and other issues, and we appreciate the invaluable assistance they’ve provided in this case.”

Rhinoceros are an herbivore species of prehistoric origin and one of the largest remaining mega-fauna on earth. They have no known predators other than humans. All species of rhinoceros are protected under U.S. and international law. Since 1976, trade in rhinoceros horn has been regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty signed by over 170 countries around the world to protect fish, wildlife and plants that are or may become imperiled due to the demands of international markets.

Operation Crash is a continuing investigation by the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), in coordination with the Department of Justice. A “crash” is the term for a herd of rhinoceros. Operation Crash is an ongoing effort to detect, deter and prosecute those engaged in the illegal killing of rhinoceros and the unlawful trafficking of rhinoceros horns. The Guan case was investigated by FWS, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Complex Frauds Unit and the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section with assistance from Environment Canada’s Wildlife Enforcement Directorate. Assistant U.S. Attorney Janis M. Echenberg and Senior Counsel Richard A. Udell of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section are in charge of the prosecution.

An indictment is an allegation based upon a finding of probable cause. A defendant is presumed innocent until convicted. If convicted, Guan faces up to five years in prison for the conspiracy and wildlife charges and up to ten years in prison for the crime of smuggling. Guan could be fined up to $200,000 per count or up to twice the gross gain from the criminal conduct.

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Indictment

Gregory Slaton pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to file false claims for his involvement in a Stolen Identity Tax Refund (SIRF) scheme, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ronald A. Cimino of the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. for the Middle District of Alabama announced.

According to the court documents and court proceedings, Gregory Slaton conspired with his wife, Jacqueline Slaton, of Montgomery, Alabama, his brother-in-law, Harvey James, of Birmingham, Alabama, and a U.S. Postal Service employee, Vernon Harrison, also of Montgomery, to file false tax returns using stolen identities. James and Jacqueline Slaton obtained stolen identities, including identities of inmates, and used those identities to file the false tax returns. They directed the fraudulently claimed tax refunds to prepaid debit cards and checks. Gregory Slaton recruited Harrison into the conspiracy, who then provided Gregory Slaton with mailing addresses on his postal route to which they could mail the fraudulently claimed prepaid debit cards. James and Jacqueline Slaton then directed the tax refunds issued via debit cards and checks to be sent to specified addresses on Harrison’s mail route. Gregory Slaton would then collect the cards and checks from Harrison and pay Harrison.

Harrison was previously convicted at trial for conspiracy to file false claims and multiple counts of mail fraud, theft of mail and aggravated identity theft, and was sentenced to serve 111 months in prison. James pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, and was sentenced to serve 110 months in prison. Jacqueline Slaton pleaded guilty to filing a false claim and aggravated identity theft, and was sentenced to serve 70 months in prison. A sentencing date has not been scheduled for Gregory Slaton.

The case was investigated by special agents of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of the Inspector General. Trial Attorneys Jason Poole and Michael Boteler of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Brown of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama.

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

Vascular Solutions Inc. (VSI) has agreed to pay $520,000 to resolve allegations that it caused false claims to be submitted to federal health programs by marketing a medical device for the ablation (or sealing) of perforator veins without FDA approval and despite the failure of its own clinical trial, the Justice Department announced today. VSI is a medical device company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“The FDA approval process and clinical studies serve an important role in ensuring that federal health care participants receive devices that are medically appropriate and necessary,” said Assistant Attorney General Stuart F. Delery for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will not permit companies to circumvent that process and put profits over patient safety.”

VSI markets and sells medical devices that treat varicose veins by sealing the veins with laser energy (endovenous laser ablation). Their products include consoles, which generate the laser energy, and accessory kits. Kits include needles to access the veins, laser fibers that carry the laser energy, and sheaths that guide the laser fiber to the area to be ablated and protect the parts of veins not being ablated. In particular, VSI marketed and sold the “Vari-Lase Short Kit” medical device. The kit contained a sheath that was shorter than other kits, which made it easier to treat vein segments that were shorter in length.

VSI’s “Short Kit” was approved only for the treatment of surface or superficial veins in the leg, which run near the surface of the body, and not for perforator veins, which connect the surface veins to deeper veins in the leg muscle. The government alleged that VSI knowingly promoted the “Short Kit” for the ablation of perforator veins even though VSI had attempted to and failed to get FDA marketing clearance for ablation of this particular type of vein, and VSI had conducted a clinical trial of the “Short Kit” for ablating perforator veins that failed to meet both safety and efficacy benchmarks. As a result of this conduct, the government alleged that VSI knowingly caused physicians and other purchasers of the “Short Kit” to submit false claims to federal health care programs for uses of the “Short Kit” that were not reimbursable.

“The settlement announced today should make it clear that the Department of Justice will pursue companies that knowingly promote medical devices for unapproved uses, causing federal health care programs to pay for services that cannot be reimbursed,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman for the Western District of Texas.

“Medical device manufacturers that ignore rules designed to protect patients in order to boost profits will be held accountable for their actions,” said Special Agent in Charge Mike Fields for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Dallas region. “We will continue to work with the Department of Justice to root out all forms of waste, fraud, and abuse in our federal health care programs.”

The allegations resolved by today’s settlement were raised in a lawsuit filed against VSI by DeSalle Bui, a former sales representative at VSI, under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private citizens with knowledge of false claims to bring civil actions on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. Mr. Bui’s share of the settlement has not been determined.

The case was handled by the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas. Assistance was provided by the Defense Health Agency, the Office of Personnel Management, and the HHS-OIG and Office of General Counsel.

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 $20.2 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $14 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.

The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. DeSalle Bui v. Vascular Solutions, Inc., No. A10CA883-SS (W.D. Tex.).

A federal jury in Miami today convicted a physician assistant and a certified nursing assistant, both South Florida residents, for their participation in a Medicare fraud scheme involving approximately $200 million in fraudulent billings by American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC), a mental health care company headquartered in Miami.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Reginald France of the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) region including all of Florida made the announcement.

Roger Bergman, 65, a physician assistant licensed in Florida, and Rodolfo Santaya, 55, a certified nursing assistant licensed in Florida, were each charged in an indictment on Jan. 28, 2014. Today, Bergman was found guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and conspiracy to make false statements relating to health care matters. Santaya was found guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive bribes and kickbacks, and two counts of receiving bribes and kickbacks in connection with a federal health care benefit program.

ATC, Medlink Professional Management Group Inc. – a management company associated with ATC – and multiple individuals, including ATC’s owners, have all previously pleaded guilty or have been convicted at trial in connection with the fraud scheme. ATC operated purported partial hospitalization programs (PHPs) in seven locations throughout Orlando and south Florida. A PHP is a form of intensive treatment for severe mental illness.

According to evidence presented at trial, Bergman, Santaya and their co-conspirators caused the submission of fraudulent claims to Medicare through ATC seeking reimbursement for mental health services that were not provided or were provided to patients who were not eligible to receive the services. Bergman, who worked at ATC’s Miami and Homestead, Florida, offices, created, falsified and signed fraudulent medical documentation to make it appear to Medicare that ATC’s patients qualified for, and received, PHP services, even though they did not. Santaya received hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal kickback payments in exchange for delivering ineligible Medicare beneficiaries to ATC’s Homestead office.

Throughout the course of the conspiracy, ATC and its employees paid tens of millions of dollars in kickbacks in exchange for the names and identification numbers of Medicare beneficiaries so that ATC could fraudulently bill Medicare for PHP services that it never provided or that it purportedly provided to beneficiaries who were not eligible to receive PHP treatment.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Robert A. Zink and Trial Attorneys Nicholas E. Surmacz and Kelly Graves of the Criminal Division.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 1,900 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

Lloyds Banking Group plc has entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to pay an $86 million penalty for manipulation of submissions for the London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR), a leading global benchmark interest rate.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Snyder of the Antitrust Division, and Assistant Director in Charge Valerie Parlave of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.

A criminal information will be filed today in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut that charges Lloyds as part of a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA). The information charges Lloyds with wire fraud for its role in manipulating LIBOR. In addition to the $86 million penalty, the DPA requires the bank to admit and accept responsibility for its misconduct as described in an extensive statement of facts. Lloyds has agreed to continue cooperating with the Justice Department in its ongoing investigation of the manipulation of benchmark interest rates by other financial institutions and individuals.

“For more than three years, traders at Lloyds manipulated the bank’s LIBOR submissions for three currencies to benefit the trading positions of themselves and their friends, to the detriment of the parties on the other side of the trades,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Because investors and consumers rely on LIBOR’s integrity, rate-rigging fundamentally undermines confidence in financial markets. Lloyds is the fifth major financial institution that has admitted LIBOR manipulation and paid a criminal penalty, and nine individuals have been criminally charged by the Justice Department. Our active investigation continues, as we work to restore trust in the markets.”

“Lloyds manipulated benchmark rates, allowing its traders to increase their profits unfairly and fraudulently,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Snyder of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Lloyds’s conduct undermined financial markets domestically and abroad, and today’s charges send a clear message that we will continue to bring those responsible to justice."

“Manipulating financial trading markets to create an unfair advantage is against the law,” said Assistant Director in Charge Parlave. “Today’s agreement further underscores the FBI’s ability to investigate complex international financial crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice. The Washington Field Office has committed significant time and resources including the expertise of Special Agents, forensic accountants and analysts to investigate this case along with our Department of Justice colleagues. Their efforts send a clear message to anyone contemplating financial crimes: think twice or you will face the consequences.”

Together with approximately $283 million in criminal and regulatory penalties imposed by other agencies in actions arising out of the same conduct – $105 million by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and approximately $178 million by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – the Justice Department’s $86 million criminal penalty brings the total amount to be paid by Lloyds to almost $370 million.

According to signed documents, LIBOR is an average interest rate, calculated based upon submissions from leading banks around the world and reflecting the rates those banks believe they would be charged if borrowing from other banks. LIBOR serves as the primary benchmark for short-term interest rates globally and is used as a reference rate for many interest rate contracts, mortgages, credit cards, student loans and other consumer lending products. The Bank of International Settlements estimated that as of the second half of 2009, outstanding interest rate contracts were valued at approximately $450 trillion.

At the time relevant to the conduct in the criminal information, LIBOR was published by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), a trade association based in London. LIBOR was calculated for 10 currencies at 15 borrowing periods, known as maturities, ranging from overnight to one year. The LIBOR for a given currency at a specific maturity was the result of a calculation based upon submissions from a panel of banks for that currency (the Contributor Panel) selected by the BBA. From at least 2006 through the present, Lloyds (through its subsidiaries) has been a member of the Contributor Panel for a number of currencies, including United States Dollar LIBOR, Pound Sterling LIBOR, and Yen LIBOR.

According to the statement of facts accompanying the agreement, between at least as early as 2006 and at least as late as July 2009, Lloyds’s LIBOR submitters for Dollar LIBOR, Yen LIBOR, and Pound Sterling LIBOR submitted LIBOR contributions intended to benefit their own trading positions or the trading positions of others , rather than rates that complied with the definition of LIBOR. When Lloyds LIBOR submitters contributed LIBOR submissions to benefit trading positions, the manipulation of the submissions affected the fixed rates on occasion.

According to signed documents, on May 19, 2009, a money markets trader who was a former Dollar LIBOR submitter at a subsidiary of Lloyds wrote to the then-current Dollar LIBOR submitter: “have 5 yard [billion] 3 month liability rolls today so would be advantageous to have lower 3month libor setting if doesn’t conflict with any of your fix’s.” Later that day, the Dollar LIBOR submitter told the money markets trader in a phone call: “obviously we got the Libors down for you.”

In another example, on March 6, 2009, a money markets trader who was a former Pound Sterling LIBOR submitter for a subsidiary of Lloyds told the then-current Pound Sterling LIBOR submitter: “Um, I’m paying on 12 yards [billions] of 1s today, . . . so if there is any way of making 1s relatively low it would just be helpful for us all.” That day, the Pound Sterling LIBOR submitter contributed a rate that was ten basis points lower than the previous day’s submission.

Also according to the statement of facts, a Yen LIBOR submitter and a former submitter at Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. (Rabobank) who traded money-markets and derivatives products had an agreement to submit Yen LIBOR contributions that benefitted their respective trading positions, rather than submissions that complied with the definition of LIBOR.

For example, on July 28, 2006, the Rabobank submitter wrote to the Yen LIBOR submitter: “morning skipper.....will be setting an obscenely high 1m again today...poss 38 just fyi.” The Yen LIBOR submitter responded: “(K)...oh dear..my poor customers....hehehe!! manual input libors again today then!!!!” Both banks’ submissions on July 28 moved up one basis point, from 0.37 to 0.38.

This ongoing investigation is being conducted by special agents, forensic accountants, and intelligence analysts of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. The prosecution of Lloyds is being handled by Trial Attorney Patrick Pericak of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Trial Attorney Michael T. Koenig of the Antitrust Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chris Mattei and Michael McGarry of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, along with the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, have provided valuable assistance in this matter.

The investigation leading to these cases has required, and has greatly benefited from, a diligent and wide-ranging cooperative effort among various enforcement agencies both in the United States and abroad. The Justice Department acknowledges and expresses its deep appreciation for this assistance. In particular, the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement referred this matter to the department and, along with the FCA, has played a major role in the investigation. Various agencies and enforcement authorities from other nations are also participating in different aspects of the broader investigation relating to LIBOR and other benchmark rates, and the department is grateful for their cooperation and assistance. In particular, the Securities and Exchange Commission has played a significant role in the LIBOR investigation, and the department expresses its appreciation to the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office for its assistance and ongoing cooperation.

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 Las Vegas-based former Department of Defense contractor has been extradited from Iraq to the United States to face fraud and conspiracy charges for attempting to bribe U.S. officials in order to secure government contracts for his companies. Metin Atilan, 54, is the first person extradited from Iraq to the United States pursuant to the U.S.-Iraq extradition treaty signed on June 7, 1934 and entered into force in 1936.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Carter M. Stewart of the Southern District of Ohio, Special Agent in Charge Kevin Cornelius of the FBI’s Cincinnati Office and Resident Agent in Charge Bret Flinn of the Defense Criminal Investigation Service (DCIS) made the announcement.

“This historic extradition from Iraq to the United States is an example of our cooperation with law enforcement worldwide to bring fugitives to justice,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Atilan’s return to the United States, after more than six years on the run, sends a clear message to fugitives: no matter where in the world you try to hide, we will find you, and we will prosecute you.”

“ This case is a tremendous example of a successfully organized and cooperative law enforcement effort put forth by the FBI, DCIS, Interpol and the Iraqi government,” said Special Agent in Charge Cornelius. “I commend the work of the FBI’s Legal Attaché Office and the U.S. Embassy Country Team in Iraq. They have garnered a superior level of law enforcement cooperation between the FBI and Iraqi officials. Without their support, this extradition would not have been possible.”

Atilan, a dual U.S. and Turkish citizen, is scheduled to appear today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael R. Merz of the Southern District of Ohio.

Atilan was charged by indictment on June 10, 2008, with conspiracy to engage in contract fraud, conspiracy to engage in wire fraud, and wire fraud. According to court documents, Atilan is p resident and chief executive officer of PMA Services Ltd. of Las Vegas and Kayteks Ltd. of Adna, Turkey. In 2006 through 2008, Atilan offered bribes and kickbacks in order to secure contracts for businesses he owned in connection with services and construction associated with U.S. military operations in Iraq. Some of the Defense Department contracting officials who Atilan is accused of trying to bribe were stationed in Dayton at the time.

Atilan was first arrested in Las Vegas on May 23, 2008. Atilan was placed on electronic monitoring pending his formal hearing before a federal judge in Dayton, Ohio. On June 15, 2008, Atilan allegedly violated the terms of his pretrial release by cutting off his electronic bracelet and fleeing the country. The government sought his extradition, and Atilan arrived in Dayton, Ohio on July 27, 2014.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case was investigated by the FBI and DCIS. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dwight Keller of the Southern District of Ohio with assistance from Trial Attorney Dan E. Stigall of the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and Department of Justice Attaché Ellen Endrizzi. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a Clean Water Act settlement requiring the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) and seven East Bay communities to conduct extensive system repairs aimed at eliminating millions of gallons of sewage discharges into San Francisco Bay. Under today’s agreement, EBMUD and the communities will assess and upgrade their 1,500 mile-long sewer system infrastructure over a 21-year period. The work is expected to cost approximately $1.5 billion. The entities will pay civil penalties of $1.5 million for past sewage discharges that violated federal environmental law.

Since 2009, EPA, state and local regulators and environmental groups have worked to reduce sewage discharges from East Bay communities. During that period, interim actions required EBMUD and the East Bay communities to improve their sewer maintenance practices and gather information to identify priorities for investment.

The San Francisco Bay covers 1,600 square miles and is the largest Pacific estuary in the Americas, a host for millions of migratory birds and a hub of commerce and recreation for more than 7 million Bay Area residents. Unfortunately, the bay is under threat from many sources of pollution, including crumbling wastewater infrastructure that allows sewage to escape from the system. During rainstorms, in particular, older sewer systems can be overwhelmed, releasing rivers of sewage before fully treated.

In addition to polluting waterways , raw and partially treated sewage can spread disease-causing organisms, metals, and nutrients that threaten public health. Sewage can also deplete oxygen in the bay, threatening fish, seals and other wildlife.

“For many years, the health of San Francisco Bay has been imperiled by ongoing pollution, including enormous discharges of raw and partially treated sewage from communities in the East Bay,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Many of these discharges are the result of aging, deteriorated sewer infrastructure that will be fixed under the EPA order.”

Today’s settlement is the result of a Clean Water Act enforcement action brought by the EPA, U.S. Department of Justice, State Water Resources Control Board, San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board, San Francisco Baykeeper and Our Children’s Earth Foundation.

“This settlement will result in major reductions of sewage discharges into the San Francisco Bay,” said W. Benjamin Fisherow, Chief of Environmental Enforcement in the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “These improvements will help reach our goal of eliminating pollution in the neighborhoods in these cities and in the bay so that citizens may rest assured that they reside in a safe, clean environment.”

The seven East Bay communities in the EBMUD settlement are:

- City of Alameda

- City of Albany

- City of Berkeley

- City of Emeryville

- City of Oakland

- City of Piedmont

- Stege Sanitary District (serving El Cerrito, Kensington, and a portion of Richmond)

“The public has been required to repair their own sewer laterals for over two years now, so it is past time that the local agencies aggressively repair their sewer systems,” said Bruce Wolfe, Executive Officer of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board. “This settlement spells out how the agencies will work with the public over the next 21 years to do just that and protect the bay.”

“Baykeeper will be watching the progress of these repairs closely to ensure that pollution of San Francisco Bay is reduced and eventually eliminated, and we will take action if the repairs fall short,” said Baykeeper Executive Director Deb Self.

On an annual basis, hundreds of millions of gallons of raw and partially treated sewage are discharged directly to San Francisco Bay. Also, as much as 600,000 gallons of raw sewage from community sewer systems is first discharged onto streets and other public areas—through outlets such as manhole covers—before it drains to the bay.

As part of the agreement, EBMUD and the seven communities will:

- repair and rehabilitate old and cracked sewer pipes;

- regularly clean and inspect sewer pipes to prevent overflows of raw sewage;

- identify and eliminate illegal sewer connections;

- continue to enforce private sewer lateral ordinances; and

- ensure proactive renewal of existing sanitary sewer infrastructure.

EBMUD will also immediately begin work to offset the environmental harm caused by the sewage discharges, which are expected to continue until these sewer upgrades are completed, by capturing and treating urban runoff and contaminated water that currently flows to the bay untreated during dry weather.

Keeping raw sewage and contaminated storm water out of the waters of the United States is one of EPA’s National Enforcement Initiatives. The proposed settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. Read the settlement at: www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html

Learn more about EPA’s national wastewater enforcement initiative at: http://go.usa.gov/5pak

EPA is working to restore San Francisco Bay, learn more at: http://www2.epa.gov/sfbay-delta

A federal jury in Detroit convicted a Commerce Township, Michigan, woman of criminal contempt based on violating an injunction that required her to comply with various legal tax obligations, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

Doreen Hendrickson was convicted of criminal contempt based on her violation of an injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds in May 2007. Hendrickson failed to file amended tax returns or repay the tax refunds as ordered by the judge, and filed an additional false tax return for 2008 on which she falsely claimed that wages she earned as a movie extra were not taxable. For more information about the injunction, please see the previously issued press release . She will be sentenced on Nov. 20.

According to court filings and evidence presented at trial, Hendrickson and her husband, Peter Hendrickson, filed federal income tax returns for the years 2002 and 2003 on which they falsely claimed they earned zero wages. Based on these false returns, the IRS issued the Hendricksons more than $20,000 in income tax refunds that they were not entitled to receive. In 2006, the department’s Tax Division sued the Hendricksons to recover these refunds. As part of that case, Judge Edmunds ordered the Hendricksons to file corrected amended tax returns for 2002 and 2003 that reported all of their income, and to repay their fraudulently obtained refunds to the IRS. Judge Edmunds also barred the Hendricksons from filing additional false tax returns.

The Hendricksons’ false 2002 and 2003 income tax returns were the subject of a prior criminal prosecution. In 2009, Hendrickson’s husband, Peter Hendrickson, was convicted of filing multiple false income tax returns, including the 2002 and 2003 returns that he filed jointly with his wife. According to evidence presented at trial, these tax returns were based on the false and frivolous theories that Peter Hendrickson promoted in his book, “Cracking the Code,” and on his website, Lost Horizons. Doreen Hendrickson filed her false 2008 income tax return while her husband was indicted for filing false tax returns.

The case was investigated by special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, and prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind, Jeffrey B. Bender and Jeffrey A. McLellan of the Tax Division.

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

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the owners and operators of Woodland Garden Apartments in Fremont, California, to settle allegations of discrimination against families with children. Under the consent order, which must still be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the defendants are required to pay $77,500 to the victims of their discrimination and an additional $2,500 to the government as a civil penalty. The settlement resolves a complaint filed by the department on Oct. 25, 2013.

The lawsuit alleged that the apartment complex maintained rules that discriminated against families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act. Specifically, the lawsuit challenged a rule that prohibited children from playing outside in the common grassy areas of the complex and provided that families would be evicted if they violated this rule. The lawsuit also alleged that the actions of the defendants constituted a pattern or practice of discrimination.

The lawsuit arose as a result of complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by five families who lived at Woodland Garden Apartments and by Project Sentinel, a fair housing organization operating in Northern California. After an investigation of the complaints, HUD issued a charge of discrimination and the complainants were referred to the department.

“Federal law guarantees families with children the right to equal access to housing, including full access to their homes’ amenities and facilities,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “Settlements such as this one help ensure that all families can enjoy that right.”

“An apartment complex may not impose conditions on families with children that they do not impose on other residents,” said HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Gustavo Velasquez . “HUD and DOJ remain committed to enforcing fair housing laws that ensure all people share the same rights to use and enjoy their homes.”

In addition to monetary payments, the consent order requires defendants to implement a nondiscrimination policy, establish new enforcement procedures for rule violations and undergo training on the Fair Housing Act.

Fighting illegal housing discrimination is a top priority of the department. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability.

More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at the division's website . Persons who believe they have experienced or witnessed unlawful housing discrimination may call the Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743, e-mail the Justice Department at fairhousing@usdoj.gov , or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777. More information about the Fair Housing Act can also be found at the department website or the HUD website .

The Justice Department announced today that Attorney General Eric Holder has signed a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Title III regulation for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to require movie theaters to provide closed movie captioning and audio description in order to give persons with hearing and vision disabilities access to movies.

"This proposed rule will allow all Americans, including those with disabilities, to fully participate in the moviegoing experience. With this proposal, the Justice Department is taking an important step to ensure consistent access for people with vision and hearing disabilities," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "Twenty-four years after its passage, the Americans with Disabilities Act remains a critical tool for extending the promise of opportunity and inclusion for everyone in this country."

Closed movie captioning refers to captions that are delivered to the patron’s seat and are visible only to that patron. Audio description enables individuals who are blind or have low vision to enjoy movies by providing a spoken narration of key visual elements of a movie, such as actions, settings, facial expressions, costumes and scene changes. Audio description is transmitted to a user’s wireless headset. The department is proposing to provide a consistent nationwide standard for movie theaters to exhibit movies that are available with closed movie captioning and audio description for all showings. The department is also proposing to require theaters to provide a specific number of closed captioning and audio description devices. Theaters need not comply with the proposed rule if doing so would cause an undue burden or fundamental alteration. The department is not proposing to require movie theaters to add captions or audio description to movies that are not already produced and distributed with these features.

The department is proposing a six-month compliance date for movie theaters’ digital movie screens and is seeking public comment on whether it should adopt a four-year compliance date for movie theaters’ analog movie screens or should defer rulemaking on analog screens until a later date.

“As we celebrate the 24th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on Saturday, we are reminded that people with disabilities still do not have full access to all aspects of American cultural life,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. “Although some movie theaters are making strides towards meeting their ADA obligations, there is a good deal of inconsistency among theaters across the United States. This proposed rule is intended to ensure that, regardless of where a person with a hearing or vision disability lives, that person will be able to attend movies with their friends and family and fully enjoy this important social and cultural activity.”

On July 26, 2010, the department published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) asking how requirements for movie captions and audio description should be implemented. The ANPRM sought public comment regarding the type of accessibility requirements for captioning and video [audio] description the department should consider, particularly in light of the industry’s conversion to digital cinema technology. The department received more than a thousand comments in response to the ANPRM and these comments were taken into consideration when developing the proposed rule.

The department intends to publish the proposed rule in the Federal Register in the near future, and public comments on the NPRM will be due 60 days from the date the rule is published.

The NPRM is available for review on the ADA website .

Those interested in finding out more about the ADA may call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TTY 800-514-0383) or visit the ADA website.

Frederic Cilins, a 51-year old French citizen, was sentenced today in the Southern District of New York to 24 months in prison for obstructing a federal criminal investigation into alleged bribes to obtain mining concessions in the Republic of Guinea.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York and Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos of the FBI’s New York Field Office made the announcement. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge William H. Pauley III.

“Cilins offered to bribe a witness in an FCPA investigation to stop the witness from talking to the FBI,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Today’s sentence holds Cilins accountable for his effort to undermine the integrity of our justice system, and sends a message that those who interfere with federal investigations will be prosecuted and sent to prison.”

“Frederic Cilins went to great lengths to thwart a Manhattan federal grand jury’s investigation into an alleged bribery scheme in the Republic of Guinea,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara. “In an effort to prevent the federal authorities from learning the truth, Cilins paid a witness for her silence and to destroy key documents. Today, Cilins learned that no one can manipulate justice.”

“Cilins obstructed the efforts of the FBI during the course of this investigation,” said Director in Charge Venizelos. “His guilty plea and sentence demonstrate our shared commitment with the department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney’s Office to hold accountable those who seek to interfere with the administration of justice. This case should be a reminder to all those who try to circumvent the efforts of a law enforcement investigation: the original crime and the cover-up both lend themselves to prosecution.”

According to court documents, Cilins obstructed an ongoing federal investigation concerning potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other crimes. Federal law enforcement was investigating whether a particular mining company with which Cilins was affiliated paid bribes to officials of a former governmental regime in the Republic of Guinea to obtain and retain valuable mining concessions in the Republic of Guinea’s Simandou region. During monitored and recorded phone calls and face-to-face meetings, Cilins agreed to pay substantial sums of money to induce a witness to the alleged bribery scheme to leave the United States to avoid questioning by the FBI, as well as to give documents to Cilins for destruction that had been requested by the FBI as part of the investigation. Cilins also sought to induce the witness to sign an affidavit containing false statements regarding matters under investigation by the grand jury. That witness was the former wife of a now-deceased Guinean government official who held an office in Guinea that allowed him to influence the award of mining concessions.

Cilins pleaded guilty on March 10, 2014 to a one-count superseding information charging him with obstruction of a federal investigation. In addition to his sentence, he was ordered to pay a fine of $75,000 and forfeit $20,000.

The case was investigated by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Tarek Helou of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant United States Attorney Elisha J. Kobre of the Southern District of New York. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and Office of Enforcement Operations provided valuable assistance in the investigation.

Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa .

Brian Prokes, 28, a former office manager in the U.S. House of Representatives, pleaded guilty today for causing the House of Representatives to pay more than $19,000 in excess salary and unauthorized travel expenses, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

According to court documents, Prokes worked as the office manager for a U.S. Congressman. Prokes’s responsibilities included transmitting salary and bonus information to the House of Representatives’ Office of Payroll and Benefits in order to adjust the pay of employees in the Congressman’s office. Prokes admitted that, between April 2012 and March 2013, he submitted unauthorized paperwork to the Office of Payroll and Benefits to pay himself larger salary and bonus than he had been approved to receive.

In addition, Prokes admitted that, between February 2012 and December 2012, he charged unauthorized, personal travel expenses for himself and an acquaintance to a government credit card used by the Congressman’s office. The excess salary payments and unauthorized travel expenses amounted to more than $19,000.

Prokes, of Atlanta, Georgia, is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 14, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras in the District of Columbia.

This case was investigated by the FBI. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Kevin O. Driscoll and Sean F. Mulryne of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.

The Justice Department today announced it has signed a joint statement of principles with the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, that reflects the good-faith intent of both sides to enter into a court-enforceable agreement to reform the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). The joint statement of principles publicly specifies the measures that the department and the city are undertaking in order to resolve the findings resulting from the department’s investigation into use of force by APD. On April 10, 2014, following an extensive investigation, the department found reasonable cause to believe that APD engages in a pattern or practice of use of excessive force, including unreasonable deadly force.

Following the release of the findings letter the department and the city each separately reached out to numerous stakeholders across Albuquerque to hear their ideas and concerns about the reform of APD. Attorneys and staff of the department have spoken to police officers, city officials, mental health service providers, advocacy organizations, individuals who have been personally affected by APD’s past conduct and other community members. The department has held dozens of meetings and met with hundreds of people across the city. Through these efforts, both sides have gained important insights into officers’ and the community’s concerns that will shape the final agreement. The department is encouraged by the feedback it has received and is committed to sustainable reforms that will ensure APD delivers services in a manner that respects the rights of residents, promotes mutual confidence between the police and the community and improves public and officer safety.

“This agreement marks an important step forward in addressing the unreasonable use of deadly force uncovered in our investigation into the Albuquerque Police Department," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "The residents of Albuquerque depend on their police department to serve their community with honor and integrity. In the overwhelming majority of cases, our dedicated local law enforcement officials – who put their lives on the line every day— do just that. But when misconduct does occur, we will never hesitate to act in order to secure the civil rights of everyone in this country. As a result of our ongoing action, I am confident that the Albuquerque Police Department will be able to correct troubling practices, restore public trust, and better protect its citizens against all threats and dangers - while providing the model of professionalism and fairness that all Americans deserve.”

“We commend the city for engaging in good-faith negotiations to reach a court-enforceable agreement that will ensure sustainable reforms of APD,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “The joint statement of principles provides the community with our commitment to work expeditiously with the city to craft a durable agreement that will resolve our findings and will ensure that APD provides effective and constitutional policing to the people of Albuquerque.”

“Since the release of DOJ’s findings letter, we have asked for and received valuable ideas and insights from officers, members of the community, representatives of many organizations, and others who have a stake in the future of our community,” said U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez for the District of New Mexico. “We are thankful to everyone who has spoken to us. The anticipated final court-enforceable agreement, which we hope to enter into with the city of Albuquerque, is already stronger because of the input we have received.”

The department and city have released the joint statement of principles to inform APD officers and the Albuquerque community that their concerns and ideas have been heard and that their ongoing participation will be critical to achieving sustainable reform. Specifically, the joint statement of principles announces that the department and the city expect to develop reforms in the eight areas outlined in the department’s findings letter: use of force policies, interactions with individuals with mental illness and other disabilities, tactical units, training, internal investigations and civilian complaints, management and supervision, recruitment and selection of officers, and community engagement and oversight. The joint statement of principles also indicates that the goal is to reach a court-enforceable agreement that will be overseen by an independent monitor.

During the negotiation process, the department remains interested in obtaining recommendations and information related to reforms from the public. The department continues to monitor the APD community hotline, which is available for both English and Spanish speakers, 1-855-544-5134 and the APD community email address.

The department’s full report on its investigation of APD and other related information can be found at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico website and at the department website . For more information about the Civil Rights Division, please visit the division website .