District Not Recorded

On World AIDS Day 2022, the Justice Department reaffirms its commitment to protecting the rights of people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Since passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) more than 30 years ago, the department has worked vigorously to protect and advance the rights of the more than one million Americans living with HIV and AIDS.

“The Department of Justice vigorously safeguards the rights of all Americans, including people living with HIV and AIDS,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “On World AIDS Day, we reaffirm our commitment to using civil rights laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, to address the unlawful treatment of people living with HIV and AIDS and stem the spread of stereotypes and misinformation about the disease.”

Over the past year, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has prioritized the enforcement of the ADA to seek equal opportunity for and combat discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDS.

• In October, the department issued a letter finding that a Pennsylvania county correctional facility violated the ADA by preventing an inmate from working in the facility’s kitchen because he has HIV. This exclusion deprived the inmate of benefits including monetary compensation, special housing, extra privileges and eligibility for sentence reduction. 
• In September, the department entered a consent decree resolving a lawsuit against the Town of Clarksville, Indiana. The lawsuit alleged that the Town’s police department prevented a qualified applicant from becoming a police officer based on his HIV diagnosis. The agreement requires Clarksville to pay monetary damages to the complainant, revise its policies and train its personnel.
• In September, the department secured a settlement agreement with an in-home caregiving agency to resolve allegations that the company refused to provide in-home services to an individual with HIV. The agreement requires the agency to pay monetary damages to the individual, adopt a non-discrimination policy and train its staff.
• In June and July, the department secured settlement agreements with two tattoo studios to resolve complaints that clients were refused services after informing the studios of their HIV-positive status. The agreements require the tattoo studios to pay monetary damages to the complainants, develop a non-discrimination policy, and train their employees. 
• In February, the department entered consent decrees resolving two cases alleging that doctors in California refused to provide routine medical care to a patient on the basis of her HIV status. One lawsuit alleged that when the patient tried to make an appointment, she was told that the doctor could not see her because she had HIV, and the second lawsuit alleged that another doctor denied the patient a Pap smear, a regular preventative procedure, because he deemed her a “high risk” patient. The consent decrees require each doctor to pay monetary damages to the complainant and a civil penalty to the United States, to receive training on the ADA and the care of patients with HIV, and to implement a non-discrimination policy.

In addition to its enforcement efforts, the department continues to engage in outreach to educate people living with HIV and AIDS, businesses, state and local governments, and other covered entities on their rights and responsibilities under the ADA. The department also provides technical assistance and responds to questions from individuals and covered entities through our ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (voice) or 833-610-1264 (TTY).

To learn more about the Civil Rights Division’s work, please visit Civil Rights Division | Department of Justice and archive.ADA.gov/HIV Home Page.

Jose Gonzalez-Valencia, aka Chepa, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today to international cocaine trafficking.

In December 2017, Brazilian authorities arrested Gonzalez-Valencia, 47, at the request of the United States. He was extradited from Brazil to the United States in November 2021.

According to court documents, between 2006 and October 2016, Gonzalez-Valencia was a leader of the Los Cuinis, an international drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for importing large quantities of cocaine from Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, and elsewhere into the United States.

As noted in court documents, Los Cuinis is closely aligned with the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), which is based in the State of Jalisco in Mexico. Together, Los Cuinis and CJNG form one of the largest, most dangerous, and prolific drug cartels in Mexico. They are responsible for trafficking significant quantities of illegal drugs into the United States and employing extreme violence to further that objective. Gonzalez-Valencia is the brother of Los Cuinis leaders Abigael Gonzalez-Valencia and Gerardo Gonzalez-Valencia, and the brother-in-law of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, aka Mencho, the leader of CJNG. 

“Gonzalez Valencia worked with Los Cuinis and the CJNG to bring thousands of kilos of drugs into the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This case sends a clear message that the Criminal Division is committed to protecting our communities, dismantling the drug trafficking organizations that prey on them for profit, and holding traffickers like Gonzalez Valencia accountable.”

“CJNG is responsible for vast quantities of deadly illegal drugs that are being distributed across the United States,” said Administrator Anne Milgram of the DEA. “Today’s guilty plea reflects the men and women of the DEA’s unwavering commitment to hold all drug traffickers accountable that seek to profit from CJNG’s violent and deadly drug trafficking network.”

Gonzalez-Valencia pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, knowing and intending that it would be imported into the United States. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 7, 2023 and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

This case is supported by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). 

The DEA Los Angeles Field Division is investigating the case.

Acting Assistant Deputy Chief Kaitlin Sahni and Trial Attorneys Kate Naseef and Kirk Handrich of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance.  

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs thanks Brazilian authorities for their assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Gonzalez-Valencia.

A Nevada man was sentenced Nov. 30 to 13 years and three months in prison for filing false tax returns, aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, money laundering and impersonating an FBI agent.

According to court documents and statements made in court, King Isaac Umoren, 41, owned and operated Universal Tax Services (UTS), a tax preparation business based in Las Vegas. Umoren used that business to engage in two separate fraud schemes.

First, from 2012 through 2016, Umoren prepared and filed with the IRS tax returns for clients that included false deductions and fictitious businesses in an effort to generate larger refunds than the clients were entitled to receive. At times, Umoren used the names and the IRS Preparer Tax Identification Numbers (PTINs) of other UTS employees without their knowledge or consent, making it seem as if they, not he, had prepared the false returns. Umoren also required his clients to use a refund anticipation check program, which he then utilized to secretly take fees out of the clients’ tax refunds without their knowledge. On Feb. 7, 2016, Umoren posed as an FBI agent, wearing a fake badge and tactical gear, and drove to a client’s house with police lights attached to his vehicle to demand payment of a tax preparation fee.

Second, in May 2016, Umoren attempted to sell UTS. To induce potential buyers to purchase the company at an inflated price, he provided fraudulent documents – including forged bank statements, fabricated return preparation fee reports, false personal tax returns and other tax forms that had never actually been filed with the IRS – as well as the stolen tax and personal identifying information of approximately 12,000 taxpayers who were not UTS clients. Eventually, Umoren succeeded in inducing a victim to purchase UTS for approximately $3.8 million. He used the sale proceeds to purchase land in Henderson and an automobile.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon ordered Umoren to serve three years of supervised release and pay $9,699,887 in restitution to the United States and the other victims of his fraud schemes.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and the FBI investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Sarah A. Kiewlicz and Patrick Burns of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.

The Justice Department announced today resources to help Afghans and Ukrainians in the United States understand their employment rights. These resources explain the workplace protections that Afghan and Ukrainian immigrants have under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which prohibits employment discrimination based on citizenship, immigration status and national origin. Generally, employers are not allowed to discriminate against workers who have permission to work based on their citizenship or immigration status when hiring, firing or recruiting. Federal law also protects workers from discrimination based on their national origin.

“Preventing unlawful discrimination includes making sure that workers know their rights,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division is ready to assist Afghans and Ukrainians in the United States, and will use all available tools to ensure they are not unlawfully discriminated against in the workplace.”

Afghans and Ukrainians in the U.S. may have a variety of immigration statuses. Some have arrived through Operation Allies Welcome and Uniting for Ukraine. These fact sheets include information for asylees, refugees, lawful permanent residents, individuals with Temporary Protected Status and those granted parole under Operation Allies Welcome or Uniting for Ukraine. As explained in these resources, the INA also protects workers from discrimination when an employer is checking their permission to work, often referred to as the employment eligibility verification process. The fact sheets provide examples of documentation that these workers may show during this process and emphasize that workers have the right to choose which valid documentation they can show to demonstrate their identity and permission to work.

Finally, the fact sheets provide information on how Afghans and Ukrainians in the United States can get help with a work-related issue through the worker hotline operated by the division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER). This worker hotline is free and is available to all workers who have questions about discrimination in the workplace based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin.

Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify), or subjected to retaliation, may file a charge. The public also can contact IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688; call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); email IER@usdoj.gov; sign up for a free webinar; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe to GovDelivery to receive updates from IER. 

View Russian translation here.

View Ukranian translation here.

View Pashto translation here.

View Dari translation here.

During remarks at the 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit today, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced that the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) signed an agreement to establish guidelines to provide for the effective and efficient administration of criminal investigations in Indian Country. This is the first update since the early 1990s to a memorandum of understanding between the agencies.

The announcement is being discussed during a panel featuring Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta at the Summit. The Summit provides an opportunity for Administration and Tribal leaders from the 574 federally recognized Tribes to discuss ways the federal government can invest in and strengthen nation-to-nation relationships as well as ensure that progress in Indian Country endures for years to come.

“This agreement is a crucial step to advancing public safety for American Indian and Alaska Native communities,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “The Department of Justice is committed to working with the Department of the Interior to investigate Indian Country crimes, including reports of missing or murdered Indigenous people, quickly, effectively and respectfully. We are grateful to the Tribes that provided input into this new policy.”  

“The FBI is committed to ongoing and continued collaboration with the Bureau of Indian Affairs,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI has a crucial role in successfully addressing matters in the nation’s Indian Country communities and this updated MOU affirms our dedication to the mission of protecting all Americans. The FBI will not waver in its support of our Tribal law enforcement agency partners and our coordination with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.”

“Interagency coordination is absolutely critical given the complexities of jurisdiction in Tribal communities. This agreement supports an all-of-government approach to addressing federal responsibilities and Tribal needs in Indian Country,” said Assistant Secretary Bryan Newland for Indian Affairs. “All federal agencies share a treaty and trust responsibility to protect Tribal sovereignty and revitalize Tribal communities. This partnership will further support our efforts to keep Native people safe in their homes and communities.”

Under the agreement, the BIA Office of Justice Services and the FBI will cooperate on investigations and share information and investigative reports. The agencies will also establish written guidelines outlining jurisdiction and investigative roles and responsibilities for investigators from the BIA, FBI and Tribal law enforcement agencies. The agreement also requires that all BIA, FBI and Tribal law enforcement officers receive training regarding trauma-informed, culturally responsive investigative approaches.

This agreement will support the unified response to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples crisis, and the Missing and Murdered Unit launched by Secretary Haaland. It defines responsibilities for FBI, BIA and Tribal investigators to ensure that missing person cases are entered into the National Crime Information Center, National Incident-Based Reporting System and other appropriate federal criminal databases, and that DNA is submitted to the National Missing Person DNA Database when appropriate and available.

The agreement also specifies that the FBI will take an initial primary role in the investigation of any BIA or Tribal law enforcement officer-involved shootings and in-custody death incidents. The BIA will concurrently conduct separate internal administrative investigations of any BIA or Tribal law enforcement officer-involved shootings and in-custody death incidents.

The mission of the BIA Office of Justice Services is to uphold Tribal sovereignty and provide for the safety of Indian communities by ensuring the protection of life and property, enforcing laws, maintaining justice and order, and by ensuring sentenced American Indian offenders are confined in safe, secure, and humane environments. Ensuring public safety and justice is arguably the most fundamental of government services provided in Tribal communities.

The mission of the Department of Justice is to uphold the rule of law, to keep our country safe, and to protect civil rights. Read more about the Department’s work to strengthen public safety in American Indian and Alaska Native communities here.

The United States and State of Wisconsin announced a settlement with Container Life Cycle Management LLC (CLCM) today that addresses Clean Air Act (CAA) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) violations at the company’s container reconditioning facilities in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area. The company will pay a $1.6 million civil penalty to be split evenly between the United States and the State.

In a complaint filed with the proposed settlement, the United States alleged violations of the CAA, most notably at CLCM’s St. Francis facility, for failure to control emissions of volatile organic compounds as required by the EPA-approved Wisconsin state implementation plan. The complaint also alleges RCRA violations related to storage and handling of hazardous waste at the company’s facilities in St. Francis and Oak Creek, Wisconsin and its then-operating facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“Today’s settlement benefits public health and the environment by ensuring proper handling of hazardous wastes at Container Life Cycle Management’s container reconditioning facilities and will significantly limit harmful emissions of volatile organic compounds,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

“Today’s settlement will help us protect nearby residents and improve the region’s air quality,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield of the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This is a good example of EPA working cooperatively with our state partners to ensure environmental compliance and secure emissions reductions.”

Highlights of the settlement include:

• The company has installed and must continuously operate a regenerative thermal oxidizer to control air emissions of volatile organic compounds at the St. Francis facility. The company will also construct additional emissions capture systems within the facility and conduct performance testing.
• At the Oak Creek facility, the company must install and continuously operate a new digital data recorder to record the temperature of the drum reclamation furnace afterburner. The company must maintain the afterburner temperature at or above 1,650 degrees and conduct performance testing.
• The company must implement a container management plan, or CMP, for a two-year period established by the consent decree. The CMP provides for storage of heavy and non-empty containers in RCRA-compliant hazardous waste storage areas. Certain reporting requirements continue beyond the initial two-year period.

The proposed settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. To view the consent decree or to submit a comment, visit https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.

Two Kentucky real estate professionals pleaded guilty today for their roles in a conspiracy to rig bids at an estate auction for farmland and timber rights.

According to a plea agreement filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Barry Dyer and Mackie Shelton pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to rig bids at a 2018 auction for hundreds of acres of farmland and a tract of timber rights. Dyer and Shelton demanded and accepted a $40,000 payoff from competing auction participants to stop bidding, artificially suppressing the sales price of the farmland.

“The farming industry is vital to the nation’s economy and relies on competitive pricing for the land where crops are grown. Today’s guilty pleas help ensure the integrity of farmland auctions,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “With support from our law enforcement partners, the Antitrust Division will continue to hold accountable anyone who conspires to line their own pockets at the expense of this competitive process.” 

“American farmers are part of the backbone of our country’s economy, and they deserve to run their businesses in a fair market, untainted by corruption,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners are dedicated to protecting the farming industry from bid rigging and other schemes that undermine the success of others and the spirit of competition.”  

Dyer and Shelton were charged with a single-count violation of the Sherman Act. A criminal violation of the Sherman Act carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. A federal district court judge will determine the defendants’ sentences after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case was investigated and prosecuted by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal I Section, with the assistance of the FBI’s International Corruption Unit and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky. Anyone with information in connection with this investigation should contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.

The Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector, aka Team Telecom or the Committee, today recommended that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) deny an application by ARCOS-1 USA Inc. and A.SurNet Inc. subsea cable system (ARCOS-1 Cable System) to modify the system by adding an additional segment directly connected to the United States through a new landing station in Cojimar, Cuba.

“The United States supports an open, interoperable, secure, and reliable internet around the world, including in Cuba. Unfortunately, the Cuban government does not share that view,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “As long as the Government of Cuba poses a counterintelligence threat to the United States, and partners with others who do the same, the risks to our critical infrastructure are simply too great.”

As submitted to the FCC, the ARCOS-1 Cable System application would have allowed for the only direct, commercial subsea cable connection between the United States and Cuba. This raised national security concerns, as the cable-landing system in Cuba would be owned and controlled by Cuba’s state-owned telecommunications monopoly, Empresa de Telecommunicaciones de Cuba S.A. (ETECSA). The Government of Cuba – which the United States recognizes as authoritarian and a foreign adversary of the United States – could access sensitive U.S. data traversing the new cable segment through its control of ETECSA.

The Committee’s recommendation was based on factors including the following:

• The Government of Cuba has long represented a significant counterintelligence threat to the United States by virtue of its espionage and other intelligence activities targeting the United States. Directly connecting an undersea cable from the United States to Cuba, where a Cuban state-owned company would have exclusive use of the cable, control over that cable’s Cuban landing station, and remote access to traffic on it, could advance the Cuban government’s intelligence objectives by giving it direct access to the U.S. persons’ communications and sensitive data traversing the cable.
• This risk of access is not limited to U.S. traffic destined for Cuba. There are several ways in which traffic destined for places outside Cuba, which otherwise would not traverse Cuban networks, could nonetheless be misrouted by ETECSA or otherwise re-routed over this cable into Cuban territory and the Cuban government’s hands. 
• These risks are exacerbated by the Cuban government’s relationships with other foreign adversaries, including the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation. The Cuban government could share any information collected from this cable with those foreign adversaries – thereby advancing additional counterintelligence efforts by foreign adversaries against the United States.

Subsea fiber optic cable systems are a critical national security asset and carry most of the world’s internet, voice and data traffic between continents. Although the United States supports the Cuban people’s access to an open, interoperable, secure, and reliable internet, the Committee found that this particular license application pertains to a cable landing that presents unacceptable risks to U.S. national security and law enforcement interests that cannot be mitigated.

The Committee was established pursuant to Executive Order 13913 and is led by the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Foreign Investment Review Section. The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense are fellow members of the Committee. The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration filed the recommendation on behalf of the Executive Branch.

More information concerning the Committee’s recommendation is available on the FCC’s International Bureau Filing System (IBFS), under Docket Number SCL-MOD-20210928-00039

A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment that was unsealed today charging a former District of Columbia Department of Corrections officer with using unreasonable force.

According to court documents, former D.C. corrections officer Marcus Bias, 26, pushed a handcuffed pre-trial detainee’s head into a metal doorframe while escorting him within the Department of Corrections on June 12, 2019, causing injury to the detainee.

Bias faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison for his use of unreasonable force, a term of supervised release, and fines. 

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division and Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono of the FBI Washington Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Anna Gotfryd and Rebekah Bailey of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Truscott for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case.

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

A former agent with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was charged in a superseding indictment, unsealed today, in the District of Arizona with three counts: a civil rights violation for sexually assaulting and kidnapping a minor victim, kidnapping a minor victim, and misleading state investigators.

According to the superseding indictment, on April 25, 2022, Aaron Mitchell, 27, was employed as a CBP agent. The alleged minor victim, referred to in the indictment as M.V., was 15-years-old when the defendant allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted them. Mitchell is also charged with making a misleading statement to investigators regarding his conduct related to the sexual assault and kidnapping. 

If convicted, Mitchell faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, a minimum of 20 years imprisonment, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. 

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Gary M. Restaino for the District of Arizona, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division and Special Agent in Charge Akil Davis of the FBI Phoenix Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI’s Sierra Vista resident agency investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carin Duryee for the District of Arizona and Trial Attorney MarLa Duncan of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

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

Today, the United States filed a proposal in federal court that — if approved by the court — would appoint an Interim Third Party Manager to stabilize the city of Jackson, Mississippi’s public drinking water system, and build confidence in the system’s ability to supply safe drinking water to the system’s customers. The city and the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) have signed this order and agreed to its terms. At the same time, the Justice Department, on behalf of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), filed a complaint against the city alleging that the city has failed to provide drinking water that is reliably compliant with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to the system’s customers. 

The proposal, which was called a “proposed stipulated order” in court filings, is meant to serve as an interim measure while the United States, the city, and MSDH attempt to negotiate a judicially enforceable consent decree to achieve long-term sustainability of the system and the city’s compliance with the SDWA and other relevant laws.  

“Today the Justice Department is taking action in federal court to address long-standing failures in the city of Jackson’s public drinking water system,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Department of Justice takes seriously its responsibility to keep the American people safe and to protect their civil rights. Together with our partners at EPA, we will continue to seek justice for the residents of Jackson, Mississippi. And we will continue to prioritize cases in the communities most burdened by environmental harm.”

“Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege to spend time with people on the ground in Jackson – many who’ve struggled with access to safe and reliable water for years," said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “I pledged that EPA would do everything in its power to ensure the people of Jackson have clean and dependable water, now and into the future. While there is much more work ahead, the Justice Department’s action marks a critical moment on the path to securing clean, safe water for Jackson residents. I’m grateful to the Attorney General for his partnership and commitment to this shared vision.”

“Every American — regardless of where they live, their income, or the color of their skin — deserves access to safe, reliable drinking water,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “For many years now, the people of Jackson have lived in uncertainty — uncertainty about whether, on any given day, the water that flows from their taps will be safe to drink. With our court filings today, we have taken an important step towards finally giving the people of Jackson the relief they so desperately deserve.”

“It is vital that providers of drinking water comply with federal and state laws designed to ensure the safety of the water,” said U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca for the Southern District of Mississippi. “Through this litigation, we will act to ensure that the city of Jackson’s water system will be compliant with the Safe Drinking Water Act and other state and local regulations so that those serviced by the system can have confidence that the water they are consuming is safe. The proposed agreed interim order is a critical first step.” 

The proposal seeks the court’s appointment of an Interim Third Party Manager that would have the authority to, among other things:

• Operate and maintain the city’s public drinking water system in compliance with SDWA, the Mississippi Safe Drinking Water Act, and related regulations;
• Take charge of the Water Sewer Business Administration, the arm of the city responsible for billing water users;
• Implement capital improvements to the city’s public drinking water system, in particular, a set of priority projects meant to improve the system’s near-term stability, including a winterization project meant to make the system less vulnerable to winter storms; and
• Correct conditions within the city’s public drinking water system that present, or may present, an imminent and substantial endangerment to the health of the city’s residents. 

This court filing marks the latest efforts to address Jackson’s drinking water crisis, but there is much work still to be done to solve the myriad problems plaguing Jackson’s public drinking water system. On July 29, MSDH issued a boil-water notice for Jackson’s public drinking water system. The next month, the city proclaimed an emergency after excessive rainfall and extreme flooding prevented the system from delivering any water to the approximately 160,000 persons living within the city and in certain areas of nearby Hinds County who rely on the system. That meant that many of those residents had no running water to drink, or to use for basic hygiene and safety purposes like washing hands, showering, flushing toilets, fighting fires, or washing dishes. The water pressure was not restored until Sept. 6, and the boil-water notice remained in effect until Sept. 15.

Learn more information about EPA’s efforts in Jackson to date here.

Members of the public can help protect our environment by identifying and reporting environmental violations. Learn more here.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland met yesterday in Washington, D.C. with Dutch Minister of Justice and Security Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius.

In the meeting, Attorney General Garland and Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius renewed their commitment to the close law enforcement partnership between the United States and the Netherlands. This partnership includes cooperation aimed at combating cybercrime, organized crime, drug trafficking, money laundering, and terrorism, among other law enforcement matters. Both leaders agreed that the cross-border nature of criminal organizations requires enhanced cross-border cooperation.

“Our international partnerships are force-multipliers in the Justice Department’s work to keep our country safe, defend democracy, and uphold the rule of law,” said Attorney General Garland. “We are grateful for the assistance and collaboration of our Dutch law enforcement partners, and we will continue to strengthen our shared efforts to disrupt and combat the most urgent threats facing both of our nations.”

Attorney General Garland thanked Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius for the Netherlands’ assistance to the United States’ efforts, through Task Force KleptoCapture, to hold accountable Russian oligarchs and others who seek to evade U.S. sanctions. They also discussed their joint commitment to uphold the rule of law and seek justice for victims of Russia’s continued aggression in Ukraine.

The Justice Department announced today that it has secured a settlement agreement with New York-based Lady M Confections Co. Ltd. and its West Coast affiliate, Lady M West Third LLC (together, Lady M), companies that operate bakeries and retail boutiques selling confections under the Lady M brand. The settlement resolves the department’s determination that Lady M violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by discriminating against non-U.S. citizens when checking their permission to work in the United States.

“Employers must verify that their employees have permission to work in the United States but cannot discriminate against them based on citizenship, immigration status or national origin when doing so,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will continue to fight to remove unlawful barriers in the workplace.”

The department’s investigation began when a non-U.S. citizen complained that Lady M refused to accept his valid documentation proving his permission to work and requested additional unnecessary documentation. The department determined that for at least two years starting in January 2020, Lady M discriminated against non-U.S. citizens by demanding that they present specific documentation to prove they had permission to work in the United States. In particular, the department found that Lady M demanded lawful permanent residents show their permanent resident cards (sometimes known as “green cards”) to prove they could work, instead of allowing them to choose from among various acceptable documents to demonstrate their permission to work, as the company did with U.S. citizens.

Federal law allows all workers to choose which valid, legally acceptable documentation to present to demonstrate their identity and permission to work, regardless of citizenship, immigration status or national origin. The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from asking for specific documents because of a worker’s citizenship, immigration status or national origin. Indeed, many non-U.S. citizens, including lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylees, are eligible for several of the same types of documents to prove their permission to work as U.S. citizens (such as driver’s licenses and unrestricted Social Security cards). Employers must allow workers to present whatever acceptable documentation the workers choose and cannot reject valid documentation that reasonably appears to be genuine.

The settlement requires Lady M to pay civil penalties to the United States, train staff on the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, change its policies and be subject to departmental monitoring for a period of two years.

The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation; and intimidation. 

Find more information on how employers can avoid discrimination when verifying permission to work on IER’s website. Learn more about how IER protects workers’ rights in this video. For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar; email IER@usdoj.gov; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe to GovDelivery to receive updates from IER.

Applicants or employees who believe they were subjected to discrimination based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; or discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify) based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin; or retaliation can file a charge or contact IER’s worker hotline for assistance.

The Department of Justice announced today that PowerSecure, Inc. (PowerSecure), located in Durham, North Carolina, has agreed to pay $8.4 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act arising from its failure to provide certified cost or pricing data when negotiating rates with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in connection with a sole source contract for the repair and restoration of Puerto Rico’s power grid following the damage caused by Hurricane Maria in September 2017.

The Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA) was enacted in 1962 to help level the playing field in sole source contracts – where there is no price competition – by making sure that government negotiators have access to the cost or pricing data that the offeror used when developing its proposal. Here, the United States alleged that PowerSecure violated the False Claims Act by knowingly failing to disclose cost or pricing data, as required by the TINA, regarding the rates that PowerSecure had used for “basecamp services” on a recent restoration project in Florida and Georgia following Hurricane Irma. The United States further alleged that PowerSecure failed to disclose cost or pricing data relating to labor and equipment costs in violation of TINA. The settlement resolves allegations that PowerSecure’s failures to disclose this information caused USACE to agree to inflated rates for labor, equipment and basecamp services. 

“Where government contractors seek the award of a sole source contract, they have an obligation to be fully transparent with the government regarding the basis for their proposed pricing,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This settlement demonstrates the department’s commitment to holding accountable those who knowingly violate this important safeguard against the misuse of taxpayer funds.”

“With the recent passage and destruction of Hurricane Fiona serving as a backdrop, this settlement demonstrates our resolve to ensure that individuals and companies fully comply will all laws and regulations relating to the provision of disaster relief,” said U.S. Attorney Stephen Muldrow for the District of Puerto Rico. “This settlement also underscores the Justice Department’s use of all enforcement remedies at its disposal, including not only criminal and administrative penalties, but also civil enforcement actions as reflected by the settlement in this case.”

“This settlement is an example of the need for transparency and accountability in proposed pricing when negotiating sole source contracts,” said Acting Inspector General Sean O’Donnell for the Department of Defense. “Our auditors and investigators are committed to protecting the integrity of the procurement process through cooperation with our partners at the Department of Justice.”

“I appreciate the continued partnership with our law enforcement partners and the Justice Department’s Civil Division,” said Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “DHS OIG is committed to robust oversight of the federal acquisition process, and this settlement sends a strong message to individuals intent on procurement fraud.”

“DCAA appreciates the opportunity to support the Justice Department and our law enforcement partners by providing expert financial assistance regarding enforcement of the Truth in Negotiations Act,” said Defense Contract Audit Agency Investigative Support Division Chief Michael Mandolfo. “This interagency cooperation provides a strong safeguard for the warfighter and taxpayer.”

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, with assistance from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, and the Defense Contract Audit Agency.

The matter was handled by Trial Attorney Jason M. Crawford of the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney David O. Martorani-Dale for the District of Puerto Rico.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

A Michigan business owner pleaded guilty today to willful failure to collect and pay over employment taxes on behalf of his employees.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Yigal Ziv owned and operated Multinational Technologies, Inc. (MTI), a software developer based in Walled Lake. Ziv was responsible for filing MTI’s quarterly employment tax returns and collecting and paying to the IRS payroll taxes withheld from employees’ wages. From the first quarter of 2014 through the first quarter of 2018, Ziv collected approximately $691,000 in employment taxes from MTI’s employees, but did not file employment tax returns or pay the withheld taxes to the IRS. Even after learning of the IRS’s ongoing criminal investigation in May 2018, Ziv did not file MTI’s employment tax returns from the 4th quarter of 2019 through the 4th quarter of 2020 and did not pay over to the IRS approximately $199,000 in payroll taxes withheld from MTI’s employees. During the same period he did not pay over taxes to the IRS, Ziv caused MTI to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for his personal benefit, including home mortgage payments, luxury auto lease payments and department store purchases.

Ziv is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 22, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release, monetary penalties and restitution. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison for the Eastern District of Michigan, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Charles Miller of IRS-Criminal Investigation Detroit Field Office made the announcement.

IRS Criminal-Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Kenneth C. Vert and George Meggali of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

A Miami business owner pleaded guilty today to willfully failing to pay over employment taxes to the IRS. The proceeding was held before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis. A sentencing date will be set by U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Ari Weingrad owned and operated two car rental companies, Rent Max Miami, Inc. and Rent Max North, Inc., both of which had locations throughout Florida. As the sole owner and CEO of Rent Max Miami, and as the co-owner and president of Rent Max North, Weingrad knew he was responsible for collecting, accounting for and paying over payroll taxes withheld from his employees’ wages to the IRS. Between 2011 and 2016, however, Weingrad withheld from his employees but did not pay over more than $850,000 in employment taxes owed to the IRS. Instead, he caused Rent Max Miami to spend corporate funds to pay discretionary expenses, including a $50,000 cashier’s check to himself, a $45,000 in cashier’s checks payable to his wife, and expenses related to a 55-foot yacht.

Weingrad faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for willful failure to pay over employment taxes. He also faces, as well as a period of supervised release restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Tax Division,  and U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of IRS-Criminal Investigation Miami Field Office made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Patrick Elwell of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana Maria Martinez of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

A Kentucky man pleaded guilty today to a negligent violation of the Clean Water Act. The charge stems from a 2018 discharge of oil and brine water into a small creek near an oil tank battery and eventually into other downstream creeks.

According to court documents, Joshua M. Franklin, 33, of Columbia, was an operator at an oil lease tank battery in Columbia. His duties included ensuring that brine water, a waste product from oil production, was separated from the oil before it was sold to customers. On Aug. 22, 2018, the oil/water separator at the tank battery used to remove brine water from a tank holding oil ready for sale was not functioning. To separate the brine water from the oil tank, Franklin instead attached a conduit to the oil tank’s discharge valve, opened the valve and left the site. As a result, approximately 100 barrels (4,000 gallons) of oil were discharged into a nearby tributary, which led to other creeks. The oil could be seen in a downstream creek, Brush Creek, over a mile away from the tank battery.

“This prosecution sends a clear and deterrent message to those who would cut corners and cause significant pollution of our nation’s waters,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

“The Clean Water Act was designed to protect our nation’s waters from pollution that can damage the environment and threaten human health,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This case shows that those who violate the law can expect to be held accountable by EPA and our law enforcement partners.”

The Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection (KDEP) conducted the initial cleanup immediately after the oil spill. The EPA then assumed cleanup tasks for the spill, which took until April of 2019.

Franklin entered a plea agreement where he agrees to pay a restitution of $10,000 to the EPA and KDEP, based on a limited ability to pay. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 1, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a fine of $100,000. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The EPA Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case.

Senior Trial Attorneys Ryan Connors and Daniel Dooher of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section prosecuted the case.

A San Francisco-area doctor pleaded guilty on Nov. 22 in connection with the use of unapproved products she sold as genuine Botox and Juvederm.

Dr. Lindsay Clark, 45, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) by receiving and delivering misbranded drugs and misbranded and adulterated devices. Her medical practice, Lindsay Clark, M.D., Medical Corporation, also pleaded guilty to one felony count of receiving and delivering misbranded drugs and misbranded and adulterated devices.

Clark specialized in procedures using injectable drugs and devices for cosmetic purposes. In pleading guilty, Clark admitted that, from 2016 through 2020, she obtained and used with patients prescription drugs and devices that were not the subject of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licenses or approvals, and that she took steps to conceal this conduct from patients, the FDA, and the authorized corporate distributor of the products. Clark further admitted that she and her practice obtained these products from sources outside of the United States. Specifically, the defendants purchased unapproved and unlicensed injectable botulinum toxin drugs and hyaluronic acid filler devices from online “pharmacies” outside the United States. Clark admitted that she then sold these products to patients, falsely representing the products to be the more expensive, FDA-approved products Botox and Juvederm. Clark’s practice received more than $1,069,880 in connection with the sale and use of misbranded and adulterated products.

“Consumers must have confidence that the prescription drugs and devices they use are authentic and safe,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute doctors who mislead patients for their own profit.”

“Health care professionals who dispense and administer misbranded and adulterated prescription drugs and devices of unknown origin put the health of their patients at significant risk,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert M. Iwanicki of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Los Angeles Field Office. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who choose to subvert the safeguards of the legitimate drug and device regulatory regime and supply chain and jeopardize the public health.”

Clark and Lindsay Clark, M.D., Medical Corporation pleaded guilty before District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco. Sentencing is scheduled for April 7, 2023.  

The case is being investigated by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Tartakovsky and Kaitlin Paulson for the Northern District of California and Trial Attorney Rachael Doud of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting this case.

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.  

Hagatña, Guam – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant Jeffrey B. Baldonado, age 38 from Mangilao, Guam, was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment by the District Court of Guam.  He was charged with Attempted Possession of More than 50 Grams of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1).  The Court also ordered three years of supervised release and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.  In addition, defendants convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits. 

On July 18, 2019, a United States Postal Service package was intercepted by law enforcement.  It contained 1,783 grams of methamphetamine with a purity of 97 percent.  On July 24, the package was delivered to a residence in Mangilao.  Baldonado accepted delivery.  He later admitted being paid to receive and deliver the package to the intended recipient, James Damaso. Baldonado also admitted he was instructed by Damaso to get rid of the package after “sham” was discovered.  Damaso recruited Baldonado by offering him $5,000 for each drug package received.

“While Baldonado had a lesser role in this offense than Damaso, this case shows that any involvement in federal drug crimes can result in substantial penalties,” stated U.S. Attorney Anderson.  “Baldonado’s reduced sentence was due to his testimony at trial against Damaso.  Offenders are encouraged to admit their criminal activity and cooperate with law enforcement at the earliest opportunity.”

“HSI will continue to bring our investigative capabilities to those who conspire to distribute narcotics,” said Special Agent in Charge John F. Tobon. “This sentence holds Baldonado accountable for his crime and serves as a warning that we partners will work diligently to keep this highly addictive drug out of our community.”

This investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations with the support of the United States Postal Inspection Service.  The case was prosecuted by Laura C. Sambataro and Rosetta L. San Nicolas, Assistant United States Attorneys in the District of Guam.

A federal jury convicted a Tennessee man on Nov. 21 of filing false tax returns that omitted income he earned from his business. 

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, David Haley, 65, of Clarksville, owned Haley & Associates Mechanical Contractors, a heating and plumbing business. From 2014 through 2017, Haley & Associates was hired as the subcontractor on commercial projects in middle Tennessee and was paid more than $1,000,000 for each year. The contractors that hired Haley & Associates generally paid via check and reported the payments to the IRS on Forms 1099-MISC as non-employee compensation. Even though Haley personally received a portion of the company’s earnings as business income and nonemployee compensation, he reported earning no income on his 2014-2017 tax returns. By not reporting income on his tax returns for tax years 2015 through 2017, Haley caused the IRS a loss of approximately $186,290.

Haley was convicted of three counts of filing false tax returns for tax years 2015, 2016, and 2017. The jury acquitted Haley of one count of filing a false tax return relating to his 2014 tax filing.

Haley will be sentenced at a later date. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each of three counts of filing false tax returns. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Mark H. Wildasin for the Middle District of Tennessee made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn W. Booth and Trial Attorney Mitchell T. Galloway of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

A Florida man was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the IRS in connection with his ownership and operation of illegal gambling businesses in the Canton, Ohio area.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2009 through 2018, Larry Dayton, along with other co-conspirators, owned and operated two illegal gambling businesses, Skilled Shamrock and Redemption. As part of his guilty plea, Dayton admitted to conspiring with the other owners to defraud the IRS by filing false tax returns that omitted the cash income he received from illegal gambling. In 2013, Dayton stopped participating in the daily operation of the illegal gambling businesses. Between 2013 and 2018, Dayton nonetheless continued to receive his share of the profits from the businesses, in cash, even though he no longer was a declared owner of the enterprises. Dayton also admitted to fraudulently placing the gambling businesses in the names of others to conceal the true ownership interests of the other co-conspirators and himself. In total, Dayton did not report to the IRS more than $2 million in income.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent ordered Larry Dayton to serve three years of supervised release and pay $938,000 in restitution to the United States.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of the Inspector General, the Ohio Casino Control Commission, and the Ohio Casino Control Commission investigated the case. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations provided substantial assistance in the investigation.

Trial Attorneys Richard M. Rolwing and Sam Bean of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Patton and David Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio prosecuted the case.

A former Key West resident pleaded guilty today to an immigration conspiracy related to the operation of several Key West labor staffing companies.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from January 2016 through at least January 2021, Oleksandr Morgunov, formerly of Key West, helped operate Paradise Choice LLC, Paradise Choice Cleaning LLC, Tropical City Services LLC and Tropical City Group LLC, all of which were labor staffing companies in southern Florida. The staffing companies facilitated the employment of individuals in hotels, bars and restaurants in Key West and other locations, even though the employees were not authorized to work in the United States. 

Morgunov acknowledged that he and his co-conspirators defrauded the IRS out of more than $7.9 million in employment taxes.

Morgunov is scheduled to be sentenced on January 31, 2023. He faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison for conspiring to harbor aliens and induce them to remain in the United States. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida made the announcement.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations and IRS-Criminal Investigation are investigating the case.

Senior Litigation Counsel Sean Beaty and Trial Attorneys Jessica A. Kraft and Nicholas J. Schilling, Jr., of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Clark of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the State of Wisconsin, today announced a civil enforcement action against 16 defendants for allegedly using deceptive sales practices nationally to sell timeshare “exit services” to senior citizens.

The defendants include five individuals – Christopher Carroll, George Reed, LouAnn Reed, Scott Jackson and Eduardo Balderas –  and 11 related companies and trusts they run and operate – Consumer Law Protection LLC, Consumer Rights Council, Premier Reservations Group LLC, Resort Transfer Group LLC, Square One Development Group Inc., Square One Group LLC, Timeshare Help Source LLC, Farmington Allegiance LLC, Mainline Partners LLC, the Jake and Avery Irrevocable Trust dated Sept. 11, 2019, and the Maggie and Lucy Irrevocable Trust dated Sept. 11, 2019. 

According to a complaint filed in the Eastern District of Missouri, the defendants promised to assist consumers in exiting their timeshare contracts in exchange for large fees, but usually failed to deliver on their promises. The complaint alleges that the defendants, at high-pressure sales presentations at hotels and restaurants in multiple states, convinced consumers to sign up for timeshare exit services by falsely claiming that consumers could not exit timeshare contracts on their own, that the defendants were affiliated with legitimate companies, and that the consumers’ heirs would be stuck with large fees unless they signed defendants’ contracts. The complaint further alleges that the defendants failed to notify consumers of their rights under federal and state law to cancel their contracts with defendants within three business days. According to the complaint, the defendants deceived consumers – who were mostly seniors – into paying more than $90 million to the defendant companies for services that were not delivered. The complaint states that, through these actions, the defendants violated the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair and deceptive conduct, the FTC’s rule concerning cooling-off period for sales made at home or other locations, which requires disclosures about the right to cancel purchases, and certain Wisconsin state laws concerning fraudulent misrepresentations and direct marketing.

The complaint seeks monetary relief, civil penalties and injunctive relief to stop defendants from continuing to make deceptive claims in connection with the sale of timeshare exit services. The defendants’ timeshare exit services are also the subject of lawsuits filed by the Alaska and Missouri Attorneys General in June 2022.

This matter is being handled by Trial Attorneys Ellen Bowden McIntyre and Amy Kaplan and Assistant Director Lisa K. Hsiao of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Samantha Denny and William Hodor of the FTC. Lewis W. Beilin represents the State of Wisconsin.

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Information about the Department of Justice’s Elder Fraud Initiative is available at www.justice.gov/elderjustice. For more information about the FTC, visit its website at https://www.FTC.gov.

주: 본 보도 자료는 여러 언어로 번역되었습니다. 아래 첨부물을 참고하십시오.

미 연방법무부는 각 기관들로 하여금 영어능력이 미숙한 (LEP) 사람들이 보다 쉽게 서비스를 접하도록 하는 각종 언어장벽 완화 노력과 규정들을 재검토 해 달라는 요청공문을 오늘 보내었습니다.

메릭 갈랜드 법무부 장관은 “우리나라의 모든 사람들은 무슨 언어를 쓰는지에 불구하고 연방기관이 운영하거나 지원하는 프로그램과 활동에 실제적으로 접하여 사용할 수있는 자격을 가진다”라며 “법무부는 개개인이 공공 서비스 이용할 때, 경제, 사회 및 시민생활 참여면에서 언어장벽이 개인들에게 완전한 기회를 제공하지 못하는 문제를 개선하도록 연방 파트너들과 함께 맞서 해결해 나갈 것”이라고 약속했습니다.

이 각서는 행정명령 13166, 즉 “영어 미숙자들에 대한 서비스 접근 개선 방침”에 근거하여 각 연방기관들이 언어 장벽 완화를 위한 관련 제도 개선을 노력함에 있어, 어떻게 개선하고, 현대화하며, 이를 시행하는가 하는 행동 방침을 제시합니다. 이 각서가 설명하듯 미 법무부 민권국은 사법접근성보장국 사무실의 지원을 받아 (1) 각 기관들이 그들의 언어 접근 정책과 계획에 추가적인 검토가 필요할른지, (2) 각 기관들이 연방 자원, 프로그램 및 서비스들에 대한 정보를 발표할 때 영어 미숙자들에게도 효율적으로 전달하고 있는지, (3) 1964년 공민권법 제6장의 요건과 그 법령 시행에 따라 실질적인 언어 접근성을 제공해야 하는 의무에 대한 일환으로 각 기관들이 연방 경제보조 수령자들을 위한 지침의 갱신 또는 수정을 고려하였는지, 그리고 (4) 각 기관들이 영어 미숙자들도 쉽게 사용할 수 있도록 디지털 통신매체를 조정할 수 있는지 등을 파악하는 공동노력에 앞장설 것입니다.

이 각서는 법무부의 2022년 – 2026년도 전략적 계획에서 언어 장애 완화을 위한 노력을 확대하려는 데에 새로운 초점을 두고 있는 점을 포함하여, 영어 미숙자들을 돕고자 하는 기존의 노력을 더욱 진전시킵니다. 메릭 갈랜드 법무부 장관은 2022년 5월에 아나 폴라 노게즈 머카도 씨를 사법접근성보장국 내의 언어접근성 조정관으로 임명하여 본 부서가 솔선수범하고 있음을 보여주도록 하였습니다. 이 후 사법접근성보장국은 언어 접근팀을 확장하였고 부서의 언어 접근성 실무그룹을 통해 기술지원 및 연수를 많은 조직 부서에 제공함으로서 모든이의 언어 접근성 향상을 끊임없이 추구하고 있습니다. 민권국은 연방법의 지침에 따라  www.LEP.gov 웹사이트를 지속적으로 운영하고 있는데 이를 통하여 영어 미숙자들에게 언어지원 서비스를 확장, 향상하는 데 도움되는 각종 자원과 정보를 제공하고 있습니다.

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Memorandum

注：本新闻稿被翻译成多种语言，请参阅以下附件。

司法部今天发布一份备忘录，要求联邦机构审查其提供的语言支援操作和政策，以便加强联邦政府与英语能力有限人士的接触。

“所有在这个国家的人，无论他们讲什么语言，都应该获得参与联邦机构开展或支持的计划和活动的实质机会。”司法部长梅里克·加兰 (Merrick B. Garland) 表示，“司法部致力于与我们的联邦伙伴合作，解决政府服务中的语言障碍问题，这些语言障碍剥夺了个人完全参与经济、社会和公民生活的机会。”

根据行政令13166号《改善英语能力有限人士获得服务的机会》，该备忘录概述了联邦机构改进、现代化和履行其语言支援职责的行动方案。如备忘录所述，在司法支援办公室的协助下，民权司将带头开展协作工作以确定：(1) 各机构能否进一步更新其语言支援政策和计划；(2) 各机构能否有效地把有关联邦资源、计划和服务的信息发送到英语能力有限人士；(3) 各机构能否就1964年《民权法》第六章及其实施条例规定下有关提供实质性语言协助的职责，而考虑更新或修改其对联邦财政援助受益人的指引；和(4) 各机构能否调整其数字通讯以便开放予英语能力有限人士。

该备忘录是建立于司法部现有与英语能力有限人士接触的工作上，其中包括司法部 2022-2026年战略计划中对扩大获取语言支援的新重点。2022年5月，司法部长加兰任命安娜·保拉·诺格斯·梅尔卡多 (Ana Paula Noguez Mercado) 为司法支援办公室的司法部语言支援协调员，确保司法部能以身作则。此后，司法支援办公室更扩大了其语言支援团队，并带领司法部的语言支援工作组，在各部门继续改善对所有人士的语言支援的同时，亦提供了跨部门的技术协助和培训。民权司会依从联邦法继续维护 www.LEP.gov网站以提供资源和信息帮助扩大和改善对英语能力有限人士的语言支援服务。

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注：本新聞稿已翻譯成多種語言，請參閲以下附件。

司法部今天發佈一份備忘錄，要求聯邦機構審查其提供的語言支援操作和政策，以便加強聯邦政府與英語能力有限人士的接觸。

“所有在這個國家的人，無論他們講甚麼語言，都應該獲得參與聯邦機構開展或支持的計劃和活動的實質機會。”司法部長梅裏克·加蘭 (Merrick B. Garland)  表示，“司法部致力於與我們的聯邦夥伴合作，解決政府服務中的語言障礙問題，這些語言障礙剝奪了個人完全參與經濟、社會和公民生活的機會。”

根據行政令13166號 《改善英語能力有限人士獲得服務的機會》，該備忘錄概述了聯邦機構改進、現代化和履行其語言支援職責的行動方案。如備忘錄所述，在司法支援辦公室的協助下，民權司將帶頭開展協作工作以確定：(1) 各機構能否進一步更新其語言支援政策和計劃；(2) 各機構能否有效地把有關聯邦資源、計劃和服務的信息發送到英語能力有限人士； (3) 各機構能否就1964年《民權法》第六章及其實施條例規定下有關提供實質性語言協助的職責，而考慮更新或修改其對聯邦財政援助受益人的指引；和(4) 各機構能否調整其數字通訊以便開放予英語能力有限人士。

該備忘錄是建立於司法部現有與英語能力有限人士接觸的工作上，其中包括司法部 2022-2026年戰略計劃中對擴大獲取語言支援的新重點。2022年5月，司法部長加蘭任命安娜·保拉·諾格斯·梅爾卡多 (Ana Paula Noguez Mercado) 為司法支援辦公室的司法部語言支援協調員，確保司法部能以身作則。此後，司法支援辦公室更擴大了其語言支援團隊，並帶領司法部的語言支援工作組，在各部門繼續改善對所有人士的語言支援的同時，亦提供了跨部門的技術協助和培訓。民權司會依從聯邦法繼續維護 www.LEP.gov 網站以提供資源和信息幫助擴大和改善對英語能力有限人士的語言支援服務。

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ملاحظة: تمت ترجمة هذا البيان الصحفي إلى لغات مختلفة.  راجع المرفقات أدناه.

أصدرت وزارة العدل الأمريكية اليوم مذكرة تطلب من الوكالات الفيدرالية مراجعة ممارساتها وسياساتها الخاصة بإتاحة الوصول إلى مُساعدات لغوية، وذلك لتعزيز تعامل الحكومة الفيدرالية مع الأفراد ذوي القدرات المحدودة في اللغة الإنجليزية .

قال وزير العدل ميريك ب. غارلند: "كل الناس في هذا البلد، بغض النظر عن اللغة التي يتحدثون بها، يستحقون فرصًا حقيقيةً للوصول إلى البرامج والأنشطة التي تديرها أو تدعمها الوكالات الفيدرالية". وأضاف الوزير: "إنّ وزارة العدل ملتزمة بالعمل مع شركائنا الفيدراليين لمواجهة الحواجز اللغوية في الخدمات الحكومية والتي من شأنها حرمان الأفراد من فرص كاملة للاشتراك في الحياة الاقتصادية والاجتماعية والمدنية."

وتحدد هذه المذكرة مسار عمل الوكالات الفيدرالية لتحسين وتحديث وتنفيذ مسؤولياتها فيما يتعلق بإتاحة الوصول إلى مُساعدات لغوية بموجب الأمر التنفيذي 13166، "تحسين فرص الوصول إلى الخدمات للأشخاص محدودي الكفاءة في اللغة الإنجليزية." وكما ورد في المذكرة، ستقود شعبة الحقوق المدنية، بمساعدة من مكتب الوصول إلى العدالة، مجهودا مشتركا لتحديد: (1) ما إذا كان بإمكان الوكالات مواصلة تحديث سياساتها وخططها المتعلقة بإتاحة الوصول إلى مُساعدات لغوية؛ (2) ما إذا كانت الوكالات تصل بشكل فعال إلى الأفراد ذوي الكفاءة المحدودة في اللغة الإنجليزية عند نشر المعلومات عن الموارد والبرامج والخدمات الفيدرالية؛(3) ما إذا كانت الوكالات قد نظرت في شأن إدخال تحديثات أو تعديلات على التوجيهات المقدمة إلى الجهات المتلقية للمساعدة المالية الفيدرالية فيما يتعلق بالتزاماتها بتوفير فرص حقيقية للوصول إلى مُساعدات لغوية، بموجب شروط الباب السادس من قانون الحقوق المدنية لعام 1964 ولوائحه التنفيذية؛ و(4) ما إذا كانت الوكالات قادرة على تكييف اتصالاتها الرقمية للترحيب بالأفراد ذوي الكفاءة المحدودة في اللغة الإنجليزية. 

وتستند هذه المذكرة إلى الجهود المبذولة من قِبَلِ وزارة العدل للتعامل مع الأفراد محدودي الكفاءة في اللغة الإنجليزية، بما في ذلك التركيز الجديد على توسيع نطاق تسهيل الوصول إلى مُساعدات لغوية، في إطار المخطط الاستراتيجي للوزارة للفترة 2022-2026. وفي مايو 2022، عين وزير العدل غارلاند السيدة آنا باولا نوغيز ميركادو كمُنسّقة في مجال إتاحة الوصول إلى مُساعدات لغوية لدى مكتب الوصول إلى العدالة، في حرص على أن تكون الوزارة نموذجا يُحتذى به. وقد قام مكتب الوصول إلى العدالة منذ ذلك الحين بتوسيع نطاق فريق إتاحة الوصول إلى مُساعدات لغوية التابع له،  كما أنه يقود فريق العمل المعني بإتاحة الوصول إلى مُساعدات لغوية التابع للوزارة لتقديم المساعدة التقنية والتدريب للمكوِّنات التي تواصل تحسين وصول الجميع إلى المُساعدات اللغوية. وتُواصل شعبة الحقوق المدنية إدارة الموقع www.lep.gov  الذي يوفر الموارد والمعلومات للمساعدة في توسيع وتحسين خدمات المساعدة اللغوية للأفراد محدودي الكفاءة في اللغة الإنجليزية ، وفقا للقانون الفيدرالي.

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Ghi Chú: Thông cáo báo chí này đã được dịch sang nhiều ngôn ngữ khác nhau.  Xem những bản đính kèm dưới đây.

Bộ Tư pháp hôm nay đã đưa ra một bản ghi nhớ yêu cầu các cơ quan liên bang xem lại việc thực hành và các chính sách tiếp cận ngôn ngữ của họ để tăng cường sự tương tác của chính phủ liên bang với những người có trình độ Anh ngữ hạn chế (LEP).

"Tất cả mọi người trên đất nước này, dù nói bất kỳ ngôn ngữ nào, đều được hưởng sự tiếp cận có ý nghĩa đối với các chương trình và hoạt động được thực hiện hoặc hỗ trợ bởi các cơ quan liên bang," Tổng chưởng lý Merrick B. Garland cho biết. “Bộ Tư pháp cam kết sẽ cùng làm việc với các đối tác liên bang để giải quyết những rào cản ngôn ngữ trong các dịch vụ của chính phủ đã không cho mọi người đủ cơ hội để tham gia vào đời sống kinh tế, xã hội và dân sự.”

Bản ghi nhớ này phác thảo một phương hướng hành động để các cơ quan liên bang cải tiến, hiện đại hóa và thực hiện trách nhiệm của mình trong vấn đề tiếp cận ngôn ngữ theo Sắc Lệnh Hành Pháp 13166, "Cải Thiện Khả Năng Tiếp Cận Các Dịch Vụ dành cho Những Người Có Trình Độ Anh Ngữ Hạn Chế." Như đã nêu trong bản ghi nhớ, Ban Dân quyền, với sự hỗ trợ của Văn Phòng Tiếp Cận Công Lý, sẽ đi đầu trong nỗ lực hợp tác để xác định: (1) liệu các cơ quan có thể cập nhật thêm các chính sách và kế hoạch về tiếp cận ngôn ngữ hay không; (2) liệu các cơ quan có đang tiếp cận các cá nhân LEP một cách hữu hiệu khi phổ biến thông tin về tài nguyên, chương trình và các dịch vụ của liên bang hay không; (3) về mặt nghĩa vụ cung cấp sự tiếp cận ngôn ngữ có ý nghĩa, theo những yêu cầu trong Tiêu đề VI của Đạo Luật Dân Quyền năm 1964 và các quy định thực hiện, liệu các cơ quan đã suy xét đến việc cập nhật hoặc sửa đổi hướng dẫn dành cho những người nhận hỗ trợ tài chính của liên bang hay không; và (4) liệu các cơ quan có thể thay đổi truyền thông kỹ thuật số của họ cho phù hợp với việc chào đón các cá nhân LEP hay không. 

Bản ghi nhớ này được soạn thảo dựa trên những nỗ lực hiện tại của Bộ Tư Pháp để tương tác với các cá nhân LEP, bao gồm mục tiêu mới là tăng cường hỗ trợ cho việc tiếp cận ngôn ngữ trong Kế Hoạch Chiến Lược 2022-2026 của Bộ. Vào tháng Năm năm 2022, Tổng Chưởng Lý Garland đã bổ nhiệm Ana Paula Noguez Mercado làm Điều Phối Viên Tiếp Cận Ngôn Ngữ của Bộ tại Văn Phòng Tiếp Cận Công Lý, để đảm bảo rằng Bộ đang nêu gương dẫn đầu. Văn phòng Tiếp Cận Công Lý từ đó đã mở rộng thêm nhóm tiếp cận ngôn ngữ và đang hướng dẫn Nhóm Công Tác về Tiếp Cận Ngôn Ngữ của Bộ để cung cấp hỗ trợ kỹ thuật và huấn luyện cho các thành phần trong khi họ vẫn tiếp tục cải thiện khả năng tiếp cận ngôn ngữ cho tất cả mọi người. Ban Dân Quyền vẫn tiếp tục duy trì trang  www.LEP.gov, là trang mạng cung cấp các tài nguyên và thông tin để giúp mở rộng và cải thiện những dịch vụ hỗ trợ ngôn ngữ cho các cá nhân LEP, theo đúng luật liên bang.

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The United States filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas today seeking to bar a Houston area tax return preparer from preparing federal income tax returns for others. 

The complaint alleges that Hollins Ray Alexander prepared over 5,200 federal income tax returns during 2020-2022 at a business called “Speedy Title & Tax Service” or “Tax Firm.” According to the complaint, in a number of these tax returns, the defendants significantly overstated the customers’ tax refunds by fabricating or inflating business losses and/or by falsely claiming education credits to which the customers were not entitled.

By repeatedly understating his customers’ tax liabilities, the complaint alleges, Alexander caused harm to the United States of more than an estimated $2.5 million in tax revenue from 2020 to 2022.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers 10 tips to avoid tax season fraud and ways to safeguard their personal information.

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

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with Aero Precision LLC, a Washington state firearm manufacturer. The settlement resolves the department’s determination that Aero Precision had a policy of unlawfully screening out certain non-U.S. citizen job candidates, including asylees and refugees, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Under governing law, asylees and refugees have the same eligibility to work in jobs involving access to sensitive defense-related information as U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, and would have to pass the same background check as other employees if an employer requires one.

“Asylees and refugees in the United States are authorized to work and are entitled to fair access to employment opportunities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division is committed to ensuring that all employers, regardless of their industry, have a fair hiring process that does not subject workers to unlawful discrimination.”

The department’s investigation determined that from at least April 2020 until September 2020, Aero Precision routinely implemented a hiring policy that screened out eligible candidates who were not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. Firearm manufacturers in the United States are subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which regulate specific exports of defense articles and services. Absent State Department authorization, employers subject to these regulations must limit access to certain sensitive information to “U.S. persons,” which are defined as U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents, asylees and refugees. The ITAR thus does not authorize or require employers to exclude asylees and refugees from consideration and hire only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. By limiting hiring to just U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, Aero Precision placed unnecessary hiring restrictions on its workforce. 

Under the settlement, Aero Precision must train staff on the requirements of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, review its policies to ensure compliance with relevant law and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements. 

The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; and retaliation and intimidation. 

Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. Find more information on how employers can avoid citizenship status discrimination on IER’s website. Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify); or subjected to retaliation, may file a charge. The public can also call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); email IER@usdoj.gov; sign up for a free webinar; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe to GovDelivery to receive updates from IER.

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP)’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) announced today a grant award of almost $2 million to establish the Department of Justice Jails and Justice Support Center to help create and maintain safe environments for people in the custody of the nation’s jails and those who work in jail facilities.

“It is the responsibility of our corrections systems — jails and prisons alike — to keep individuals in their custody safe and to treat them with dignity and respect,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “We are pleased to work with our partners to ensure that the professionals operating our nation’s jails have the tools and training they need to safeguard the rights and well-being of individuals incarcerated in their facilities.”

More than 3,000 jails are in operation across the United States, with 10.3 million admissions in 2019 and an average daily census of 734,500. Jail administrators face a multitude of challenges, including high population turnover, limited resources and a broad mix of sentenced and unsentenced individuals. Of particular concern is mortality in jails. OJP’s Bureau of Justice Statistics found that 1,200 people died in local jails in 2019.

This award aims to establish a center that will be a centralized hub for providing resources and technical assistance support to help jails maintain safe and humane environments for people who are detained, for their visitors and for those who work there. It will also provide jail staff with specialized trainings, core competency development, expert assessments and consultation on issues related to jail administration, and other professional development resources. The center will be the first of its kind to maximize the core missions, resources and capabilities of both BJA and NIC to expand Justice Department support for jail administrators who identify and seek to address challenges in their systems.

“Millions of people cycle through America’s jails each year, bringing with them a host of challenges, but also presenting opportunities to address the health and well-being of those who enter and leave the system,” said BJA Director Karhlton F. Moore. “This new resource will help jail professionals address the urgent problems they face daily and ensure that conditions inside their facilities are safe, humane and constitutionally sound.”

Shaina Vanek, who served as NIC Acting Director for over five years before leaving recently for a detail at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was instrumental in conceptualizing and designing the center. The award to establish the center is being made to CNA. The National Sheriffs’ Association, the Major County Sheriffs of America, the American Jail Association and the National Association of Counties are partners in the effort. These organizations represent jail administrators and sheriffs’ departments across the country and will use their combined talent and expertise to support the center’s mission.

The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

The National Institute of Corrections advances public safety by shaping and enhancing correctional policies and practices through leadership, learning and innovation. More information about NIC can be found at www.nicic.gov.

The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) announced today almost $160 million in grant awards to support crime laboratories, fund forensics research, decrease DNA backlogs and help investigators locate missing persons and identify human remains. The funding is administered by OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and National Institute of Justice (NIJ).

“Forensic science can play an indispensable role in solving crimes, absolving the innocent and finding the missing — all of which helps deliver justice to victims and their families,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “The Justice Department is pleased to support the thousands of dedicated professionals who investigate cases, staff our nation’s crime labs and work so hard to help ensure the fair and effective operation of our criminal justice system.”

The awards announced today will support DNA analysis, build the capacity of the nation’s crime labs to examine forensic evidence, help solve cold cases and enable coroners, medical examiners and law enforcement officials to locate missing persons and identify human remains. Grants will also expand the base of knowledge about the utility of forensic tools employed by investigators.

“One of the most urgent challenges facing criminal justice professionals today is earning and retaining the confidence of the communities they serve, a goal that forensic science, with all its untapped potential, can help us achieve,” said BJA Director Karhlton F. Moore. “These investments will give our state, local and Tribal partners the resources they need to solve crimes, improve the clearance rate for serious offenses like murder and sexual assault and bring long-awaited answers to victims and their families.”

“Building a strong forensic science infrastructure is a critical first step in the pursuit of justice and it is vital to ensuring the integrity of our justice system,” said NIJ Director Dr. Nancy La Vigne. “The National Institute of Justice is proud to help strengthen our nation’s forensic network by widening our understanding of the application of scientific methods and techniques to public safety.”

BJA and NIJ are distributing millions of dollars in awards to state and local jurisdictions throughout the United States and territories. Below is a list of funded grants. Descriptions of individual awards can be found by clicking on the links.

• BJA is awarding $25 million under the Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grants Program (Formula) and Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Program (Competitive) to improve forensic science and medical examiner/coroner services, including services provided by laboratories operated by states and units of local government.

• BJA is awarding $7.5 million under the Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA Program to increase the capacity of state and local prosecution offices to address and close violent crime cold cases.

• BJA is awarding $2 million under the Strengthening the Medical Examiner-Coroner System Program to strengthen the medical examiner-coroner system in the United States by supporting forensic pathology fellowships and providing resources necessary for medical examiner and coroner offices to achieve and maintain accreditation.

• BJA is awarding $100 million under the DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction Program to increase the capacity of publicly funded forensic DNA and DNA database laboratories to process more DNA samples, thereby helping to reduce the number of forensic DNA and DNA database samples awaiting analysis and/or prevent a backlog of forensic and database DNA samples.

• BJA is awarding $4.5 million under the Missing and Unidentified Human Remains Program to provide funding to eligible applicants for services focused on reporting and identifying missing persons and unidentified human remains cases in the United States.

• BJA is awarding $2.8 million under the Forensics Training and Technical Assistance Program to provide support to the forensic science grant programs administered by the BJA (an estimated 500-plus grantees). These programs provide states and localities with resources and tools to improve the quality of their forensic science services in order to meet the challenges of crime and justice and to improve overall public safety.

• NIJ is awarding $11.7 million under the Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes to support projects that will increase the body of knowledge to guide and inform forensic science policy and practice, or lead to the production of useful materials, devices, systems or methods that have the potential for forensic application.

• NIJ is awarding $1.3 million under the Research and Evaluation for the Testing and Interpretation of Physical Evidence in Publicly Funded Forensic Laboratories to produce practical knowledge that has the potential to improve the examination and interpretation of physical evidence in forensic science laboratories.

The awards announced above are being made as part of the regular end-of-fiscal year cycle. More information about these and other OJP awards can be found on the OJP Grant Awards Page.

The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

Observación: El presente comunicado de prensa ha sido traducido a varios idiomas. Véanse los documentos adjuntos más abajo.

El Departamento de Justicia emitió hoy un memorando pidiendo a los organismos federales que revisen sus prácticas y políticas de acceso lingüístico para fortalecer el compromiso del gobierno federal con las personas cuyo dominio del inglés es limitado (LEP, por sus siglas en inglés).

“Todas las personas en este país, independientemente del idioma que hablen, merecen tener acceso importante a los programas y las actividades que los organismos federales dirigen o apoyan”, dijo el fiscal general Merrick B. Garland. “El Departamento de Justicia está comprometido a trabajar con sus socios federales para derribar las barreras lingüísticas en los servicios gubernamentales, las que niegan a las personas la oportunidad completa de participar en los aspectos económico, social y cívico del diario vivir”.

Este memorando explica a grandes rasgos una manera de proceder para que los organismos federales mejoren, modernicen y lleven a cabo sus funciones relativas al acceso lingüístico conforme a la orden ejecutiva número 13166 de “Mejora del acceso a servicios para personas cuyo dominio del inglés es limitado”. Como se establece en el memorando, con la ayuda de la Oficina para el Acceso a la Justicia, la División de Derechos Civiles presidirá una iniciativa colaborativa encaminada a determinar: 1) si los organismos pueden seguir actualizando sus políticas y planes de acceso lingüístico; (2) si al difundir información sobre recursos, programas y servicios federales los organismos están alcanzando de manera eficaz a las personas cuyo dominio del inglés es limitado; (3) si los organismos han considerado actualizar o modificar la orientación para los beneficiarios de ayuda financiera federal con respecto a su obligación de proporcionar acceso lingüístico importante, conforme a los requisitos que se estipulan en el título VI de la Ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964 y en sus reglamentos de implementación; y (4) si los organismos pueden adaptar sus comunicaciones digitales para poder servir a las personas cuyo dominio del inglés es limitado.

Este memorando se fundamenta en labores existentes del Departamento de Justicia que tienen como meta interactuar con las personas cuyo dominio del inglés es limitado e incluye en el Plan estratégico de 2022 a 2026 del Departamento de Justicia un nuevo enfoque de mayor ayuda referente al acceso lingüístico. En mayo de 2022, el fiscal general Garland nombró a Ana Paula Noguez Mercado como coordinadora de acceso al idioma en la Oficina para el Acceso a la Justicia del Departamento de Justicia con la finalidad de ayudar a garantizar que el Departamento de Justicia sea un ejemplo a seguirse. Desde entonces, la Oficina para el Acceso a la Justicia ha aumentado el personal que se dedica al acceso lingüístico y está dirigiendo el “Grupo de trabajo en materia de acceso lingüístico” del Departamento de Justicia para que proporcione ayuda técnica y capacitación a todos sus integrantes a medida que siguen mejorando el acceso lingüístico para todos. La División de Derechos Civiles continúa manteniendo el sitio web www.LEP.gov, en el que se brindan recursos e información para ayudar a ampliar y mejorar, en conformidad con la ley federal, los servicios de asistencia lingüística para las personas cuyo dominio del inglés es limitado.

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Memorandum

Note: This press release has been translated into various languages.  See attachments below.

The Justice Department issued a memorandum today requesting that federal agencies review their language access practices and policies to strengthen the federal government’s engagement with individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP).

“All people in this country, regardless of the language they speak, deserve meaningful access to programs and activities that are conducted or supported by federal agencies,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department is committed to working with our federal partners to address linguistic barriers in governmental services that deny individuals a full opportunity to participate in economic, social, and civic life.”

This memorandum outlines a course of action for federal agencies to improve, modernize, and carry out their language access responsibilities under Executive Order 13166, “Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency.” As set forth in the memorandum, the Civil Rights Division, with assistance from the Office for Access to Justice, will spearhead a collaborative effort to determine: (1) whether agencies can further update their language access policies and plans; (2) whether agencies are effectively reaching LEP individuals when disseminating information about federal resources, programs, and services; (3) whether agencies have considered updates or modifications to guidance to federal financial assistance recipients regarding their obligations to provide meaningful language access under the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its implementing regulations; and (4) whether agencies can adapt their digital communications to welcome LEP individuals. 

This memorandum builds on existing efforts by the Department of Justice to engage with LEP individuals, including a new focus on expanding language access assistance in the Department’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. In May 2022, Attorney General Garland appointed Ana Paula Noguez Mercado as the Department’s Language Access Coordinator within the Office for Access to Justice to help ensure that the Department is leading by example. The Office for Access to Justice has since expanded its language access team and is leading the Department’s Language Access Working Group to provide technical assistance and training across components as they continue to improve language access for all. The Civil Rights Division continues to maintain www.LEP.gov, which provides resources and information to help expand and improve language assistance services for LEP individuals, in compliance with federal law.

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Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter for the Antitrust Division issued the following statement regarding Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster’s Decision to not appeal.

“The district court’s decision is a victory for authors, the marketplace of ideas, consumers, and competitive markets. It reinforces the important principle that antitrust laws apply to transactions that harm content creators and workers. The Department is pleased that Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster have opted not to appeal.”

Magtala: Isinalin ang pahayag na ito sa iba’t ibang mga wika. Tingnan ang mga nakalakip sa ibaba.

Naglathala ngayon ang Departamento ng Hustisya ng isang panandaan na humihiling sa mga ahensiyang pederal na suriin ang kanilang mga gawi at mga patakaran ukol sa daan sa wika upang patibayin ang pakikipag-ugnayan ng pamahalaang pederal sa mga indibidwal na may limitadong kasanayan sa Ingles (LEP). 

“Lahat ng tao sa bayang ito, anuman ang wikang kanilang sinasalita, ay nararapat na magkaroon ng makahulugang daan sa mga programa at mga aktibidad na isinasagawa o sinusuportahan ng mga ahensiyang pederal,” sabi ni Pangunahing Abogado Merrick B. Garland.  “Nakatuon ang Departamento ng Hustisya na makipagtulungan kasama ang aming mga kapangkat sa pederal upang matugunan ang mga hadlang sa wika sa mga pamahalaang paglilingkod na tinatanggihan ang mga indibidwal ng isang buong pagkakataon na lumahok sa ekonomiya, panlipunan, at sibikong buhay.”  

Binabalangkas ng panandaang ito ang isang kurso ng aksyon para sa mga ahensyang pampederal upang mapabuti, gawing moderno, at maisakatuparan ang kanilang mga reponsibilidad sa daan sa wika sa ilalim ng Batas ng Nakatataas 13166, “Ang pagpapabuti ng Daan sa mga Paglilingkod para sa mga Taong may Limitadong Kasanayan sa Ingles.”  Gaya ng nakasaad sa panandaan, mangunguna ang Dibisyon para sa mga Karapatang Sibil, sa tulong ng Tanggapan para sa Daan sa Hustisya, sa isang sama-samang pagsisikap upang matukoy: (1) kung maaari pang mag-update ang mga ahensya ng kanilang mga patakaran at mga plano ukol sa daan sa wika; (2) kung mabisang nakikipag-ugnay ang mga ahensya sa mga indibidwal na LEP kapag nagbibigay ng impormasyon tungkol sa pederal na mga mapagkukunan, mga programa at mga paglilingkod; (3) kung isinasaalang-alang ng mga ahensya ang mga pag-update o mga pagbabago sa gabay sa mga tatanggap ng pederal na tulong na pampinansyal ukol sa kanilang mga obligasyon upang magkaloob ng makabuluhang daan sa wika sa ilalim ng mga kinakailangan ng Pamagat VI ng Batas ng Karapatang Sibil ng 1964 at ang pagpapatupad ng mga regulasyon nito; at (4) kung mai-aangkop ng mga ahensya ang kanilang mga komunikasyong dihital upang tanggapin ang mga indibidwal na LEP.  

Itinatayo ng panandaang ito ang mga kasalukuyang pagsisikap ng Departamento ng Hustisya upang makipag-ugnayan sa mga indibidwal na LEP, kasama ang isang bagong tampulan sa lumalawak na tulong sa daan sa wika sa 2022-2026 na Estratehikong Plano ng Departamento.  Noong Mayo 2022, hinirang ni Pangunahing Abogado Garland si Ana Paula Noguez Mercado bilang Tagapangasiwa ng Daan sa Wika ng Departamento sa loob ng Tanggapan para sa Daan sa Hustisya upang makatulong na matiyak na ang Departamento ay nangunguna bilang halimbawa.  Mula noon, pinalawak ng Tanggapan para sa Daan sa Hustisya ang koponan nito sa daan sa wika at pinangungunahan ang Pangkat ng Pagtatrabaho sa Daan sa Wika ng Departamento upang magkaloob ng teknikal na tulong at pagsasanay sa kabuuan ng mga bahagi habang patuloy nilang pinapabuti ang daan sa wika para sa lahat.  Nagpapatuloy ang Dibisyon sa Karapatang Sibil na mapanatili ang www.LEP.gov, na nagkakaloob nang mga mapagkukunan at impormasyon upang makatulong na palawakin at pahusayin ang mga paglilingkod ng tulong sa wika para sa mga indibidwal na LEP, na sumusunod sa pederal na batas.

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Following his appointment by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today, Special Counsel Jack Smith made the following statement:

“I intend to conduct the assigned investigations, and any prosecutions that may result from them, independently and in the best traditions of the Department of Justice. The pace of the investigations will not pause or flag under my watch. I will exercise independent judgement and will move the investigations forward expeditiously and thoroughly to whatever outcome the facts and the law dictate.”

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Kyle M. Leeper, 38, of Palmyra, Pennsylvania, was sentenced  today to serve 40 years in federal prison for a murder committed during a drug trafficking conspiracy, conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Sheriff Mark E. Helms, Cortland County (New York) Sheriff’s Office, and Chief Andrew Espinoza Jr., City of Barstow  (California) Police Department.

As part of his previous guilty plea, Leeper admitted he was part of a conspiracy that trafficked methamphetamine from Indiana and Southern California to Cortland County, New York, where Leeper distributed it to local residents and drug dealers.  In the fall of 2018, co-defendant Crystal Stephens, of Groton, New York, who was incarcerated in Indiana on burglary charges, contacted Leeper by telephone with contact information for co-defendant John Rice, an Indiana-based methamphetamine dealer. Leeper communicated with Rice by telephone and then travelled to and from Indiana twice in late 2018 and early 2019, where he obtained crystal methamphetamine and a .380 caliber pistol from Rice.  Leeper distributed this methamphetamine in the Cortland area.

After Rice was arrested in Indiana in early January 2019, Leeper arranged to travel to the Los Angeles area to purchase more methamphetamine. From jail Crystal Stephens provided Leeper with telephone numbers for possible methamphetamine sources in East Los Angeles.  In mid-January 2019, Leeper and an associate, co-defendant Ramon Nieves-Cotto, drove from Cortland to Los Angeles, where Leeper contacted one of these sources.  The source sought assistance from co-defendant Arlene Rodriguez, who introduced Leeper to a middleman.  On January 17, 2019, this middleman arranged for Leeper to buy three pounds of crystal methamphetamine for $5,000 from co-defendant Jose Pimentel.  But after the methamphetamine was delivered to a motel in El Monte, California, Leeper realized that he had been shortchanged on the quantity delivered.  Leeper abducted the middleman and Arlene Rodriguez at gunpoint.  Later that day, Nieves-Cotto purchased zip ties, which Leeper used to bind the middleman.  On the night of January 17, 2019, in the desert in Barstow, California, Leeper shot the bound middleman eight times from behind with the .380 caliber pistol, killing him.   Leeper and Nieves-Cotto, along with Rodriguez, then drove to Cortland, where Leeper distributed the methamphetamine he obtained on this trip to California.

In early February 2019, Leeper, Nieves-Cotto, and Rodriguez returned to Los Angeles, where Leeper purchased an additional six to eight pounds of methamphetamine and a 9 mm pistol from co-defendant Edgar Arredondo.  Upon his return to Cortland, Leeper, assisted by Rodriguez, began to distribute this methamphetamine.  On February 19, 2019, officers from the Cortland County Sheriff’s Office stopped Leeper and Rodriguez while they were driving in Leeper’s pickup truck, which had an expired registration and cracked windshield.  Inside the truck, the officers found four pounds of high-purity methamphetamine, the loaded .380 caliber pistol Leeper had used to commit the murder, and ammunition.  They arrested Leeper, who previously had been convicted of state and federal felony offenses in Pennsylvania, and Rodriguez.

United States Attorney Carla Freedman said, “Kyle Leeper’s sentence today is justice for his cold-blooded killing of a man in the California desert as part of a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy. After kidnapping and binding the victim, Leeper brutally shot him eight times in the back and then left him in Barstow, California. Leeper also brought pounds of methamphetamine to Cortland from Los Angeles and Indiana until state and federal investigators worked together to stop him and his co-conspirators. Leeper will spend the next 40 years in a federal prison to pay for the violence and suffering he inflicted.” 

FBI Special Agent in Charge Janeen DiGuiseppi said, “Today’s sentence is indicative of the success that can be attained when federal, state, and local agencies combine resources to remove violent offenders from our communities. Mr. Leeper was so committed to trafficking dangerous drugs into Cortland County he was willing to kill anyone who stood in his way. Thanks to the strong collaboration between our law enforcement partners in New York and California, he is now being held accountable for his despicable actions. The FBI is grateful to our law enforcement partners and we remain dedicated to working together to investigate and apprehend violent drug traffickers whose actions threaten the health and safety of our neighborhoods.”
 
Cortland County Sheriff Mark E. Helms said, “I am extremely proud of both Sgt. Mike Winchell and Officer Peter Wright for turning what some would consider a routine traffic stop into a major multi-agency investigation.  Additionally, I would like to thank all the other investigators from my office, as well as all the other officers and agencies that worked together and were able to put together this complex case resulting in the successful prosecution of Kyle Leeper and Arlene Rodriguez.  This truly is a great example of local, state, and federal agencies working together.”  

Barstow, California Chief of Police Andrew Espinoza, Jr. said, “Kyle Leeper committed a heinous crime in our city and today he was held accountable to the victim and his family. This investigation was complex and spanned across the country. I commend the collaborative effort of all the law enforcement agencies involved and for the federal prosecutors who handled this case. It was through their diligence and hard work that Kyle Leeper received justice today.”  

Six (6) other co-defendants previously pled guilty to participating in the drug trafficking conspiracy with Kyle Leeper, and/or aiding and abetting the murder. 

Ramon Nieves-Cotto, 30, of DeRuyter, New York, pled guilty to aiding and abetting a murder during a drug conspiracy, and conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He was sentenced on October 7, 2022, to serve 156 months in federal prison, and a four-year term of supervised release.

Crystal J. Stephens, 34, of Groton, New York, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. She was sentenced on November 15, 2022, to serve 100 months in federal prison, and a four-year term of supervised release.

Arlene N.  Rodriguez, 38, of Montebello, California, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking crime.  She was sentenced on October 6, 2022, to serve 94 months in prison, to be followed by four- year term of supervised release.

Jose Pimentel, Jr., 31, of Los Angeles, California, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and posses with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1, 2022.

Edgar Arredondo, 35, of Los Angeles, California, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.  He also pled guilty to charges based on his possession in the Central District of California of a shotgun ammunition, and 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1, 2022.

John Rice, 57, of Crawfordsville, Indiana, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 12, 2023.

A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Cortland County (New York) Sheriff’s Office, the Barstow (California) Police Department, and the San Bernadino (California) County Sheriff’s Department, with assistance from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Cortland County (New York) District Attorney’s Office, the Montgomery County (Indiana) Sheriff’s Department, the Montgomery County (Indiana) District Attorney’s Office, the Pomona (California) Police Department, and the El Monte (California) Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven D. Clymer, Richard R. Southwick, and Thomas R. Sutcliffe.

Wise Services Inc. (Wise), located in Dayton, Ohio, has agreed to pay $302,500 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by causing the submission of false and fraudulent invoices for non-existent materials to the Department of Energy (DOE) and paying improper kickbacks. The settlement amount was negotiated based on Wise’s lack of ability to pay.

Wise was a subcontractor at the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the DOE Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina. The United States alleged that Wise knowingly submitted to the prime contractor — MOX Services LLC, formerly known as CB&I AREVA MOX Services LLC (MOX) — hundreds of invoices charging millions of dollars for materials that did not exist. MOX presented those false invoices to DOE. The United States also alleged that Wise employees paid kickbacks to MOX employees involved in the scheme. 

“The government expects both contractors and subcontractors to adhere to their contractual commitments,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Those who violate their commitments and undermine the integrity of the government’s procurement process will face appropriate consequences.”  

“This settlement puts subcontractors on notice that they will be held accountable for submitting false invoices and paying kickbacks to contractors on federal contracts with the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Adair F. Boroughs for the District of South Carolina. “We are grateful to the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General and the National Nuclear Security Administration for their important work in this case.”

“The lawsuit filed by Justice Department and this settlement will serve as a deterrent to others who seek to defraud the Department of Energy,” said Inspector General Teri L. Donaldson for the Department of Energy. “We are always seeking out those who develop illegal schemes designed to harm the government and the American taxpayers and we will continue to do everything we can to detect and deter these fraudsters.”

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims against Wise brought under the False Claims Act by the United States in the case captioned United States v. CB&I AREVA MOX Services LLC and Wise Services Inc., No. 19-cv-444 (D.S.C.). MOX paid $10 million in a settlement with the government earlier this year for its participation in the scheme.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina, with assistance from the DOE Office of Inspector General and the National Nuclear Security Administration.

The matter was handled by Fraud Section Attorneys Don Williamson and Rory Skaggs, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Johanna Valenzuela, James Leventis and Sheria Clarke for the District of South Carolina.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

An Ohio man was arrested today on criminal charges related to his alleged involvement in a cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme that raised at least $10 million from investors. 

According to court documents, Rathnakishore Giri, 27, of New Albany, allegedly misled investors by fraudulently promoting himself as an expert cryptocurrency trader, with a specialty in trading Bitcoin derivatives. As alleged in the indictment, Giri falsely promised investors that he would generate lucrative returns with no risk to their principal investment amount, which he guaranteed to return. In reality, Giri often allegedly used money provided by new investors to repay old investors – a hallmark of a Ponzi scheme. In addition, Giri allegedly had a record of investment failures, including a long history of losing investors’ principal investments, and misled investors about reasons for delays when they sought to cash out their investments or otherwise obtain the return of their “guaranteed” principal.

Giri is charged by indictment with five counts of wire fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge J. William Rivers of the FBI Cincinnati Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Lucy B. Jennings and Tamara Livshiz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

If you believe you are a victim in this case, please contact the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness Unit toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or by email at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov.

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

The Department of Justice announced today that it has transferred over $20.6 million to the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Nigeria) in accordance with an Aug. 23 agreement between the governments to repatriate assets the United States forfeited that were traceable to the kleptocracy of former Nigerian Dictator General Sani Abacha and his co-conspirators.

This repatriation brings the total amount forfeited and returned by the United States in this case to approximately $332.4 million.

In 2014, a judgment was entered in the District of Columbia ordering the forfeiture of approximately $500 million located in accounts around the world, as the result of a civil forfeiture complaint for more than $625 million traceable to money laundering involving the proceeds of General Abacha’s corruption. In 2020, the department repatriated over $311.7 million of the forfeited assets that had been located in the Bailiwick of Jersey. Last year, the U.K. government enforced the U.S. judgment against the additional over $20.6 million.

The forfeited assets represent corrupt monies laundered during and after the military regime of General Abacha, who became Head of State of Nigeria through a military coup on Nov. 17, 1993, and held that position until his death on June 8, 1998. The complaint filed in this case alleges that General Abacha, his son Mohammed Sani Abacha, their associate Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, and others embezzled, misappropriated, and extorted billions of dollars from the government of Nigeria and others, then laundered their criminal proceeds through U.S. financial institutions and transactions in the United States. The United Kingdom’s cooperation in the investigation, restraint, and enforcement of the U.S. judgement, along with the valuable contributions of Nigeria and other law enforcement partners around the world, including the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, as well as those of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, have been instrumental to the recovery of these funds.

Under the agreement signed in August, the United States agreed to transfer 100% of the net forfeited assets to Nigeria to support three critical infrastructure projects in Nigeria that were previously authorized by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian legislature. The $20,637,622.27 marks a slight reduction from the $23 million announced in August due primarily to exchange rate fluctuations between British pounds sterling and U.S. dollars. The funds governed by this agreement will help finance the Second Niger Bridge, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, and the Abuja-Kano road – investments that will benefit the citizens of each of these important regions in Nigeria. 

The agreement includes key measures to ensure transparency and accountability, including administration of the funds and projects by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), financial review by an independent auditor, and monitoring by an independent civil society organization with expertise in engineering and other areas. The agreement also precludes the expenditure of funds to benefit alleged perpetrators of the corruption or to pay contingency fees for lawyers. The agreement reflects the sound principles for ensuring transparency and accountability adopted at the Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR) in December 2017 in Washington, D.C., which the United States and United Kingdom hosted with support from the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative of the World Bank and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

The department appreciates the extensive assistance provided by the governments of the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Jersey, and France in this investigation. 

This case was brought under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative by a team of dedicated prosecutors in the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section working in partnership with the FBI. Through the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, the Department of Justice and federal law enforcement agencies seek to safeguard the U.S. financial system from criminal money laundering and to recover the proceeds of foreign official corruption. Where appropriate and possible, the department endeavors to use recovered corruption proceeds to benefit the people harmed by acts of corruption and abuse of public trust. 

Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the United States should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to kleptocracy@usdoj.gov.

Yesterday, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta and Director Karhlton F. Moore of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) met with judicial leaders and criminal justice professionals in Miami to discuss responses to mental health issues in the justice system. Associate Attorney General Gupta and Director Moore heard from Judge Steven Leifman of Florida’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit about the Criminal Mental Health Project, a program he created in 2000 to divert people with mental illnesses away from jail and into community-based treatment. The presentations included judges, prosecutors, public defenders, peer recovery specialists and representatives from local police departments discussing the success of the program. Thousands of people have been kept out of jail under the Miami model, and only a fraction of graduates re-offend. Estimates suggest that nationwide about 15% of men and more than 30% of women in jails have a serious mental illness, compared to about 4% of people in the general population.

BJA Director Moore and the BJA leadership team provided an overview of the BJA Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program, which has awarded 679 state, local and Tribal grants to support responses to people with mental illnesses who come into contact with the criminal justice system. Two years ago, BJA also launched Connect and Protect, designed to strengthen partnerships between law enforcement and behavioral health agencies. Miami-Dade County is a national Law Enforcement-Mental Health Learning Site and is recognized as a model for its approach to diverting people with mental health and co-occurring substance use disorders.

A federal jury convicted Michigan attorney Carl L. Collins, III on Nov. 16 of willfully filing five false tax returns for himself and one of his businesses.

Collins was a personal injury lawyer with offices in Southfield, Michigan. He also owned a real estate company, First Third LLC, and two medical-related companies, MedCity Rehabilitation Services LLC and Alpha Living LLC. At trial, the evidence proved Collins did not report substantial income he received from these businesses and deposited into undisclosed Interest on Lawyer’s Trust Accounts (IOLTA), bank accounts to be used by lawyers solely to hold money in trust for clients. As a result, Collins was able to conceal these funds from his tax preparers and the IRS.

Collins was convicted of filing false personal tax returns for 2012, 2015, and 2018, filing a false 2012 amended return, and filing a false 2015 corporate return for Alpha Living. The evidence established that Collins did not report approximately $600,000 in income he earned in 2012. He deposited most of these funds into an undisclosed IOLTA account and concealed the deposits from his tax preparer. On his 2015 personal return, Collins also did not report over $800,000 in income. With respect to his false 2018 personal tax return, Collins omitted approximately $300,000 in income that he deposited into another undisclosed IOLTA account. In all, the evidence showed that Collins did not report over $2.6 million in income.

Collins is scheduled to be sentenced on March 21, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of filing a false tax return. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison for the Eastern District of Michigan made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Kenneth Vert and Jeffrey McLellan of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case. Law Clerk Evan Mulbry and Paralegal Specialist Eric Mahoney of the Tax Division are assisting with the prosecution.

The Department of Justice, in close coordination with the Department of Education, announced today a new process for handling cases in which individuals seek to discharge their federal student loans in bankruptcy. The new process will help ensure consistent treatment of the discharge of federal student loans, reduce the burden on borrowers of pursuing such proceedings and make it easier to identify cases where discharge is appropriate. The Associate Attorney General distributed guidance outlining the new process to all U.S. Attorneys.

Congress has set a higher bar for discharging student loan debt compared to other debt — borrowers who seek to discharge their loans through bankruptcy must demonstrate that they will suffer “undue hardship” unless the debt is discharged. Although the bankruptcy judge makes the final decision whether to grant a discharge, the new process announced today provides Justice Department attorneys with clear standards for recommending discharge to the judge without unnecessarily burdensome and time-consuming investigations. The new process will also help borrowers who did not think they could get relief through bankruptcy more easily identify whether they meet the criteria to seek a discharge.

“Today’s guidance outlines a better, fairer, more transparent process for student loan borrowers in bankruptcy,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “It will allow Justice Department attorneys to more easily identify cases in which we can recommend discharge of a borrower’s student loans. We are grateful to the Department of Education for its partnership in developing this guidance.”

“Congress may have set a higher bar for granting student loan discharges during bankruptcy, but in practice that bar has become very difficult for deserving borrowers to clear,” said U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal. “After decades of inaction in Washington, our Department of Education team was determined to partner with the Justice Department to craft clearer, fairer, and more practical standards to guide recommendations for student debt discharges during bankruptcy proceedings. This guidance is an important step toward helping struggling borrowers, many of whom never completed college or were misled into debt by dishonest schools.”

As part of the undue hardship analysis, courts review the borrower’s past, present and future financial circumstances. The new process will leverage Department of Education data and a new borrower-completed attestation form to assist the government in assessing a borrower’s discharge request. The Justice Department, in consultation with the Department of Education, will review the information provided, apply the factors that courts consider relevant to the undue-hardship inquiry and determine whether to recommend that the bankruptcy judge discharge the borrower’s student loan debt. 

The Department of Justice and Department of Education are committed to making this system work for borrowers. Both agencies will continue to monitor how the process plays out on the ground and will assess the effectiveness of this guidance after the first year, and beyond as warranted.

By simplifying the process and establishing clear standards, the agencies hope to significantly reduce the burden on borrowers and government attorneys, provide a clear path for borrowers to seek discharges and add safeguards to promote consistency and predictability.

The Justice Department announced today that it has opened an investigation into the State of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City and Oklahoma City Police Department (OKCPD).

The investigation will examine whether Oklahoma fails to provide community-based mental health services to people in Oklahoma County, leading to unnecessary admissions to psychiatric facilities and police contact. The investigation will also examine Oklahoma City’s systems for responding to people experiencing behavioral health crises, including through the 911 call center and OKCPD.  

Prior to the announcement, the department informed the offices of Oklahoma’s Governor, Attorney General, Commissioner for the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and Chief Executive Officer for the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, as well as Oklahoma City’s Mayor, City Manager, Municipal Counselor and Chief of Police of the investigation. As part of this investigation, department officials will reach out to community groups and members of the public to learn about their experiences with mental health services in Oklahoma County, and Oklahoma City and OKCPD’s response to mental health crises.

“Community-based mental health services, which are proven effective in transforming people’s lives, are critical to preventing a cycle of unnecessary institutionalization and avoidable contacts with law enforcement,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division is committed to ensuring appropriate responses to behavioral health crises and protecting the civil rights of people with mental health disabilities.”

This investigation is being conducted pursuant to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits disability discrimination by state and local governments. The investigation is also being conducted pursuant to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which prohibits state and local governments from engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers that deprives individuals of rights protected by the Constitution or federal law.

The Special Litigation Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, in Washington, D.C., will conduct this investigation. 

Individuals with relevant information are encouraged to contact the department via email at MentalHealth.Oklahoma@usdoj.gov or through the Civil Rights Division’s Civil Rights Portal, available at https://civilrights.justice.gov/.

Additional information about the Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division’s enforcement of the ADA’s integration mandate is available here: https://www.justice.gov/crt/rights-persons-disabilities, and information specific to the Civil Rights Division’s Police Reform Work can be found here:  https://www.justice.gov/crt/conduct-law-enforcement-agencies.

A former police officer with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old crime victim in violation of her constitutional rights.

According to court documents, in May 2020, Rodney Vicknair, 55, while working in his capacity as an NOPD officer, escorted a then14-year-old girl, who was a victim of sexual assault, to the hospital to undergo a forensic exam, also known as a rape kit. The defendant gave the victim his cell phone number and offered to be her friend and mentor. At the time, the defendant was 53-years-old.

“The defendant’s job was to protect a child who was a victim of sexual assault but instead he exploited her vulnerabilities and abused his position of power to carry out his own sexual assault of the victim,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Law enforcement officials who sexually assault children are not above the law. The Civil Rights Division will continue to hold accountable law enforcement officers who sexually assault their victims when they should have otherwise been keeping them safe.”

“The safeguarding of all of our citizens’ civil rights is an essential part of our Constitution, especially for crime victims,” said U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans for the Eastern District of Louisiana. “Any violation of these rights, especially when committed by a law enforcement officer sworn to protect the rights of our citizens, is particularly disturbing. The public must be able  to trust that law enforcement  will execute their sworn duties honestly and faithfully and, if not, that they will  face the consequences of their actions. Our office, along with the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as state and local law enforcement agencies will continue to investigate and prosecute any violations of civil rights.”

“The preservation of civil rights and the investigation of Color of Law violations are of utmost priority for the FBI,” said Special Agent in Charge Douglas A. Williams Jr. of the FBI New Orleans Field Office. “Today's guilty plea sends a clear message that individuals like Rodney Vicknair will be held responsible and no one is above the law. We thank our partners at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana and Department of Justice Civil Rights Division for their strong partnership and dedication to protecting the civil rights of every citizen.”  

According to the court documents, in the months and weeks thereafter, Vicknair and the victim spoke on the phone and exchanged messages on Snapchat. Vicknair, while in uniform, often stopped by unannounced at the victim’s residence. Over time, Vicknair made comments to the victim that were sexual in nature.

On the night of Sept. 23, 2020, the defendant arrived at the victim’s house. By that time, she had turned 15-years-old. He told her to come outside and get into his vehicle. She got into the passenger’s seat while the defendant remained in the driver’s seat. Then, the defendant locked the doors so that the victim could not leave. He leaned over toward the victim, and she feared for her physical safety. The defendant then sexually assaulted the victim when he intentionally touched her genitals under her clothing without her consent. The defendant admitted in court that he acted without a legitimate law enforcement purpose, and that he knew his actions were wrong and against the law, but that he engaged in such conduct anyway.

A sentencing hearing has been set for March 8, 2023.

The FBI New Orleans Field Office and the NOPD Public Integrity Bureau investigated the case. Criminal Chief Tracey Knight for the Eastern District of Louisiana and Special Litigation Counsel Fara Gold of the Criminal Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

A federal grand jury in Charlotte, North Carolina returned an indictment today charging two tax attorneys and an insurance agent with conspiring to defraud the United States and helping clients file false tax returns based on their promotion and operation of a fraudulent tax shelter.

According to the indictment, from 2011 to the present Michael Elliott Kohn and Catherine Elizabeth Chollet, both attorneys and residents of St. Louis, Missouri, and David Shane Simmons, a licensed insurance agent and broker based out of Jefferson, North Carolina, conspired to defraud the United States by promoting, marketing, and selling to clients a fraudulent tax scheme known as the Gain Elimination Plan (“GEP”). The defendants allegedly designed the GEP to conceal clients’ income from the IRS by fraudulently inflating business expenses through fictitious royalties and management fees. These fictitious royalties and management fees allegedly were paid, on paper, to a limited partnership largely owned by a charitable organization. In reality, Kohn and Chollet allegedly fabricated the royalties and management fees. In total, the defendants allegedly caused a tax loss to the IRS of tens of millions of dollars.

The indictment further alleges that Kohn and Simmons engaged in a scheme to defraud an insurance company by providing false information on insurance applications on behalf of their clients. The false information allegedly included fraudulent representations concerning the clients’ financials and the purpose of the insurance policies. In total, Kohn and Simmons allegedly caused the insurance company to issue more than $200 million in insurance policies based on false application information. Simmons allegedly earned large commissions for selling the insurance policies, many of which he split with Kohn and Chollet. Simmons also allegedly filed false personal tax returns by underreporting his business income and inflating his business expenses.

If convicted, Kohn, Chollet, and Simmons each face a maximum sentence of five years in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States and three years in prison for each of multiple counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. Kohn and Simmons both also face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for wire fraud, and Simmons faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison for several counts of filing false personal tax returns, if convicted. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and U.S. Attorney Dena J. King for the Western District of North Carolina made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Kevin Schneider and Todd Ellinwood of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina are prosecuting the case.

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

The Justice Department announced today that it has opened an investigation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into whether the State of Missouri unnecessarily institutionalizes adults with serious mental illness in skilled nursing facilities. The department will investigate whether these individuals could be served in the community with services such as supported housing, assertive community treatment, crisis services and peer support services, and whether the State’s use of guardianship for people with serious mental illness contributes to unnecessary placements in nursing facilities. Guardianship is a process in which a court appoints someone to make certain decisions for a person, often including decisions about where to live.

Prior to the announcement, the department informed state officials of the investigation.

“People with disabilities have too often been unlawfully isolated in institutions and stripped of their autonomy,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will continue to defend the rights of individuals with mental health disabilities to access the community-based services they need and to participate fully in community life.”

The Justice Department has not reached any conclusions regarding the subject matter under investigation. Individuals with relevant information are encouraged to contact the department via email at Community.Missouri@usdoj.gov or through the Civil Rights Division’s Civil Rights Portal, available at https://civilrights.justice.gov/.

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division’s Olmstead enforcement is available on its website at https://www.ada.gov/olmstead/.

The Justice Department today announced the appointment of Cynthia M. Ferguson as the Director of the Office of Environmental Justice, where she will lead efforts to engage all Justice Department bureaus, components and offices in the collective pursuit of environmental justice.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced the first-ever Office of Environmental Justice last May along with a series of measures as part of a comprehensive enforcement strategy to secure environmental justice for all Americans.

“Communities of color, indigenous communities and low-income communities often bear the brunt of the harm caused by environmental crime, pollution and climate change,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “Cynthia Ferguson has demonstrated the exact kind of dedication and vision that we need to address these longstanding inequities and I look forward to her leadership of this new office.”

“Cynthia Ferguson’s more than two decades of service to the Environment and Natural Resources Division and the cause of justice make her especially prepared to take on this role,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Cynthia will play a critical role in the department’s efforts to hear and to address the concerns of American communities who have borne a disproportionate burden from pollution for far too long.”

The department also announced that Deputy Chief Daria Neal will serve as the Civil Rights Division Liaison to the Office of Environmental Justice. Ms. Neal joined the Civil Rights Division’s Federal Coordination and Compliance Section in 2010 as a Deputy Chief of the Section. Her work includes enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and she has been integral to supporting federal agencies’ civil rights enforcement and compliance efforts to advance environmental justice in areas ranging from environmental protection, transportation, health, and housing. She also leads the Title VI/Environmental Justice Committee of the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council.

Ms. Ferguson has served as the Acting Director of the Office of Environmental Justice housed within the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice since May 2022.

Ms. Ferguson began her career in 2000 as an Honors Attorney in the Division’s Environmental Enforcement Section and has handled a variety of challenging matters. In 2012, she was selected to take on the new senior level position as the Division’s Senior Litigation Counsel for Environmental Justice.

Ms. Ferguson has worked to ensure that environmental justice principles are integrated into the Division’s affirmative and defensive work. She leads the Division’s Environmental Justice Workgroup and the Division’s overall environmental justice strategic planning efforts. She also serves as the Department’s designated Environmental Justice Officer on the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council chaired by the Council on Environmental Quality and established by Executive Order 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, in 2021. She helped lead the Division’s effort to develop the Department’s Comprehensive Environmental Justice Enforcement Strategy, in coordination with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other client agencies, as directed by Executive Order 14008.

Ms. Ferguson earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie‐Mellon University and a law degree from the Chicago‐Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology. 

The owner of a Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, construction firm pleaded guilty today to tax evasion for evading payment of his company’s employment taxes.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Kevin Alexander, 62, of Sioux City, owned K&L Construction, Inc., a landscaping and construction company. As the sole shareholder and president of K&L Construction, Alexander was responsible for filing quarterly employment tax returns and collecting and paying over to the IRS payroll taxes withheld from employees’ wages. From the second quarter of 2014 through the first quarter of 2017, K&L Construction paid approximately $3.8 million in wages to its employees and withheld approximately $1 million in payroll taxes, but the company did not pay over any of these withholdings to the IRS.

During IRS collection proceedings, Alexander accepted responsibility for paying K&L Construction’s outstanding tax balance. Alexander, however, submitted a false form to the IRS that concealed some of his assets. As part of his plea agreement, Alexander admitted that he submitted the false form for the purpose of concealing assets and evading payment of K&L Construction’s outstanding payroll tax liability.

Alexander is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for tax evasion. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Timothy T. Duax for the Northern District of Iowa made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Timmons of the Northern District of Iowa and trial attorney Meredith Havekost of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.