District Not Recorded

An indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Dallas was unsealed today charging a Texas lawyer with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and helping his clients file false tax returns based on an illegal tax shelter that he promoted.

According to the indictment, from approximately 2012 to 2021 Joseph Garza, of Dallas, promoted a tax shelter that allowed high-income clients to claim fraudulent tax deductions that reduced the taxes they owed to the IRS. Garza and his co-conspirators allegedly directed the clients to transfer funds into shell companies, then returned this money to the clients, untaxed, for their own personal use. To conceal the circular flow of funds, Garza and the co-conspirators allegedly commissioned fictitious business valuation reports, created invoices for fake business expenses, and drafted sham contractual agreements. According to the indictment, Garza’s scheme allowed clients to hide approximately $1 billion dollars from the IRS and caused a total tax loss to the IRS exceeding $200 million.

Garza is scheduled to make his initial appearance tomorrow before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma Ramirez of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the 18 counts of wire fraud, 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and three years in prison for each of 22 counts of aiding and assisting in the filing of false federal income 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 Chad E. Meacham for the Northern District of Texas made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigations and the FBI are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Renee Hunter, Katherine Miller, and Marty Basu, and Trial Attorney Robert A. Kemins of the Tax Division 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.

Hagatña, Guam – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands announced today the assignment of Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSA) to lead the efforts of the United States Attorney’s Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 8, 2022, general election.  AUSA Marivic P. David will serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the District of Guam and AUSA Eric S. O’Malley will serve as the DEO for the District of the Northern Mariana Islands. These AUSAs are responsible for overseeing the district’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington DC.

    United States Attorney Anderson said, “Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and have that vote counted in a fair and free election.  Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence.  The Department of Justice will dedicate its resources to protect the integrity of the election process.”

    The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud.  The Department will address these violations wherever they occur.  The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.

    Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.  It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice.  The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).  

    The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy.  We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights concerns during the voting period that ends on November 8, 2022, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, DEOs will be on duty while the polls are open, including periods of early voting.  Ms. David can be reached by the public at (671) 479-4120 or (671) 988-3260.  Mr. O’Malley can be contacted at (670) 236-2986.

    In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day.  The public can contact the FBI at the following numbers:

• Honolulu Field Office 24/7 (808) 566-4300
• Guam Office (671) 472-7465
• Northern Mariana Islands Office (670) 322-6934

    Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ .

    Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities.  Local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.

 

Consistent with longstanding Justice Department practices and procedures, the department today provided information about its efforts, through the Civil Rights Division, Criminal Division, and National Security Division, to ensure that all qualified voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots and have their votes counted free of discrimination, intimidation, or fraud in the election process, and to ensure that our elections are secure and free from foreign malign influence and interference.

Civil Rights Division

The department’s Civil Rights Division is responsible for ensuring compliance with the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote, and with the criminal provisions of federal statutes prohibiting discriminatory interference with that right.

The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section enforces the civil provisions of a wide range of federal statutes that protect the right to vote including: the Voting Rights Act; the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act; the National Voter Registration Act; the Help America Vote Act; and the Civil Rights Acts. Among other things, collectively, these laws:

• Prohibit election practices that have either a discriminatory purpose or a discriminatory result on account of race, color, or language minority status.
• Prohibit intimidation of voters.
• Allow voters who need assistance in voting because of disability or inability to read or write to receive assistance from a person of their choice (other than agents of their employer or union).
• Require minority language election materials and assistance in certain jurisdictions.
• Require accessible voting systems for voters with disabilities.
• Require that provisional ballots be offered to voters who assert they are registered and eligible to vote in the jurisdiction, but whose names do not appear on poll books.
• Require states to provide for absentee voting for uniformed service members serving away from home, their family members also away from home due to that service, and U.S. citizens living abroad.
• Require covered States to offer the opportunity to register to vote through offices that provide driver licenses, public assistance, and disability services, as well as through the mail; and to take steps regarding maintaining voter registration lists.

The Civil Rights Division’s Disability Rights Section enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination in voting based on disability. The ADA applies to all aspects of voting, including voter registration, selection and accessibility of voting facilities, and the casting of ballots on Election Day or during early voting, whether in-person or absentee.

The Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section enforces federal criminal statutes that prohibit voter intimidation and voter suppression based on race, color, national origin, or religion.

On Election Day, the Civil Rights Division will implement a comprehensive program to help ensure the right to vote that will include the following:

• The Civil Rights Division will conduct monitoring in the field to observe compliance with the federal voting rights statutes.
• Civil Rights Division attorneys in the Voting, Disability Rights, and Criminal Sections in Washington, D.C., will be ready to receive complaints of potential violations of any of the statutes the Civil Rights Division enforces. Attorneys in the division will coordinate within the department and will take appropriate action concerning these complaints before, during, and after Election Day.
• Individuals with complaints related to possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can call the Justice Department’s toll-free telephone line at: 800-253-3931, and also can submit complaints through a link on the department’s website at https://civilrights.justice.gov/.
• Individuals with questions or complaints related to the ADA may call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 or 833-610-1264 (TTY), or submit a complaint through a link on the department’s ADA website at ada.gov.

Complaints related to violence, threats of violence, or intimidation at a polling place should always be reported immediately to local authorities by calling 911. They should also be reported to the department after local authorities are contacted.

Criminal Division and the Department’s 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices

The department’s Criminal Division oversees the enforcement of federal laws that criminalize certain forms of election fraud and vindicate the integrity of the federal election process.

The Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and the department’s 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are responsible for enforcing the federal criminal laws that prohibit various forms of election fraud, such as destruction of ballots, vote-buying, multiple voting, submission of fraudulent ballots or registrations, alteration of votes, and malfeasance by postal or election officials and employees. The Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are also responsible for enforcing federal criminal law prohibiting unlawful threats of violence against election workers, and prohibiting voter intimidation and voter suppression for reasons other than race, color, national origin, or religion (as noted above, voter intimidation and voter suppression that has a basis in race, color, national origin, or religion is addressed by the Civil Rights Division).

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices around the country designate Assistant U.S. Attorneys who serve as District Election Officers (DEOs) in the respective districts. DEOs are responsible for overseeing potential election-crime matters in their districts, and for coordinating with the department’s election-crime experts in Washington, D.C.

From now through Election Day, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices will work with specially-trained FBI personnel in each district to ensure that complaints from the public involving possible election fraud are handled appropriately. Specifically:

• In consultation with federal prosecutors at the Public Integrity Section in Washington, D.C., the DEOs in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, FBI officials at headquarters in Washington, D.C., and FBI special agents serving as Election Crime Coordinators in the FBI’s 56 field offices will be on duty while polls are open to receive complaints from the public.
• Election-crime complaints should be directed to the local U.S. Attorneys’ Offices or the local FBI field office. A list of U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and their telephone numbers can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/districts/. A list of FBI field offices and accompanying telephone numbers can be found at www.fbi.gov/contact-us.
• Public Integrity Section prosecutors are available to consult and coordinate with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the FBI regarding the handling of election-crime allegations.

All complaints related to violence, threats of violence, or intimidation at a polling place should be reported first to local police authorities by calling 911. After alerting local law enforcement to such emergencies by calling 911, the public should contact the Justice Department.

National Security Division

The department’s National Security Division supervises the investigation and prosecution of cases affecting or relating to national security, including any cases involving foreign malign influence and interference in elections or violent extremist threats to elections. In this context:

• The National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section oversees matters involving a range of malign influence activities that foreign governments may attempt, including computer hacking of election or campaign infrastructure; covert information operations (e.g., to promulgate disinformation through social media); covert efforts to support or denigrate political candidates or organizations; and other covert influence operations that might violate various criminal statutes.
• The National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section oversees matters involving international and domestic terrorism and supports law enforcement in preventing any acts of terrorism that impact Americans, including any violent extremism that might threaten election security.

As in past elections, the National Security Division will work closely with counterparts at the FBI and our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to protect our nation’s elections from any national security threats. Attorneys from both National Security Division sections will be partnered with FBI Headquarters components to provide support to U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and FBI Field Offices to counter any such threats. The Department of Homeland Security also plays its own important role in safeguarding critical election infrastructure from cyber and other threats.

Complaints related to violence, threats of violence, or intimidation at a polling place should always be reported immediately to local authorities by calling 911 and, after local authorities are contacted, then should also be reported to the department.

Protecting the right to vote, prosecuting election fraud, and securing our elections are all essential to maintaining the confidence of all Americans in our democratic system of government. The department encourages anyone with information regarding concerns in these subject areas to contact the appropriate authorities.

For more information about the department’s work to ensure compliance with federal civil and criminal laws related to voting, please visit Voting | Department of Justice and Election Crimes Branch | Department of Justice.

The Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs today announced over $90 million in funding to combat human trafficking, provide services to human trafficking victims and support research and evaluation on responses to human trafficking.

“Human trafficking is a global problem that affects communities throughout our country, causing immeasurable trauma to victims and their loved ones,” said OJP Deputy Assistant Attorney General Maureen A. Henneberg. “The Office of Justice Programs is committed to supporting state and local efforts to combat human trafficking operations, remove victims from harm and help survivors access the services they need to begin the journey to healing and recovery.”

Programs supported by OJP’s Office for Victims of Crime are a centerpiece of the Justice Department’s work to tackle the challenges posed by human trafficking. OVC manages the largest amount of federal funding dedicated to addressing the needs of victims of human trafficking and supporting multidisciplinary responses to this crime in the U.S., supporting more than 500 awards to organizations serving thousands of clients every year. Informed by the voices of survivors, OVC strengthens the victim service response to human trafficking through grant funding, training and technical assistance and leadership in the field.

“Survivors of human trafficking deserve easy access to the full-range of trauma-informed and victim-centered services,” said OVC Director Kristina Rose. “The Office for Victims of Crime is committed to meeting the immediate and long-term needs of survivors and ensuring that service providers have all the tools at their disposal to meet victims of human trafficking wherever they are on their healing journey.”

OVC is awarding more than $90 million in grants to empower communities to respond to human trafficking and offer essential services to survivors of human trafficking to aid them in their recovery. OJP’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ) will also continue to build knowledge of what works to combat human trafficking and serve trafficking victims. NIJ grants will support a multi-site evaluation of the Enhanced Collaborative Model to combat human trafficking and study the replication potential of a screening tool designed to help first responders identify human trafficking survivors.

The funded programs and their amounts are listed below. Descriptions of individual awards can be found by clinking on the links.

• OVC is awarding over $32.6 million under the Services for Victims of Human Trafficking program to develop, expand or strengthen victim service programs for victims of human trafficking.
• OVC is awarding nearly $16.4 million under the Housing Assistance Grants for Victims of Human Trafficking program to support housing assistance for victims of all forms of human trafficking throughout the United States.
• OVC is awarding $21.6 million under the Enhanced Collaborative Model Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking program to develop, expand or strengthen multidisciplinary task forces to fight human trafficking. Task forces include victim and social service providers, law enforcement and prosecution personnel, survivors and a range of governmental and non-governmental partners that work together to identify trafficking victims, connect them to services and bring traffickers to justice.
• OVC is awarding $3.1 million under the Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Program to assist OVC Human Trafficking Grant Program grantees and other antitrafficking stakeholders through the provision of training and technical assistance and the development of tools and resources. This includes the development of anti-trafficking standards of care for victim service providers in partnership with the Office on Trafficking in Persons at the Department of Health and Human Services. It also includes training and technical assistance to support grantees in developing and implementing meaningful employment and economic empowerment practices for trafficking survivors, and in engaging individuals with lived experience to enhance anti-trafficking programming.
• OVC is awarding $1.3 million under the Services to Minor Victims of Labor Trafficking program to develop, expand or strengthen victim service programs for minor victims of labor trafficking, whose victimization occurred when they were under age 18.
• OVC is awarding $6.3 million under the Field-Generated Strategies to Address the Criminalization of Minor Victims of Sex Trafficking program to end the criminalization of minor victims of sex trafficking and develop, expand or strengthen victim service programs to support victim-centered, trauma-informed, developmentally appropriate and evidence-based responses to minor victims of sex trafficking.
• OVC is awarding nearly $5.5 million under the Improving Outcomes for Child and Youth Victims of Human Trafficking program to improve outcomes for children and youth who are victims of human trafficking by integrating human trafficking policy and programming at the state or Tribal level, and enhancing coordinated, multidisciplinary and statewide approaches to serving trafficked youth.
• OVC is awarding nearly $3.5 million under the Preventing Trafficking of Girls program to develop or enhance prevention and early intervention services based on best practices to focus on the needs of girls who are at risk or are victims of sex trafficking.
• NIJ is awarding $1.6 million under its Research and Evaluation on Trafficking in Persons program, which proposes to help better understand, prevent and respond to trafficking in persons in the United States, focusing on projects with clear implications for criminal justice policy and practice in the United States.

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 strengthen the criminal and juvenile justice systems. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

Honeywell International Inc. (Honeywell), headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, has agreed to pay $3.35 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by selling defective material for bullet proof vests used by law enforcement officers, the Justice Department announced today.  

The United States alleged that, between 2000 and 2005, Honeywell sold its patented Z Shield material to Armor Holdings, a bullet proof vest manufacturer, despite Honeywell knowing that Z Shield degraded quickly over time in heat and humidity and was not suitable for ballistic use. Armor Holdings’ vests containing Honeywell’s Z Shield were purchased by federal agencies under a General Services Administration (GSA) contract, and by various state, local and Tribal law enforcement authorities that were partially funded by the Justice Department’s Bulletproof Vest Partnership program. 

“This settlement and the Justice Department’s industry-wide investigation demonstrate the department’s resolve to hold accountable those businesses and individuals who supplied Zylon-containing bullet proof vests, even after learning that the material degraded in a way that could compromise its ability to stop a bullet,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The safety of law enforcement officers is of paramount importance, and we are committed to ensuring that taxpayer dollars go only to the high-quality ballistic protection our first responders deserve.”

“It is completely unacceptable for a company to produce and sell faulty products that law enforcement officers rely on for their safety,” said Inspector General Carol F. Ochoa of the GSA Office of Inspector General (GSA-OIG). “I appreciate the relentless efforts GSA OIG employees and our law enforcement partners dedicated to this case.”

The settlement concludes over a decade of litigation and ends the Justice Department’s long-running investigation of the body armor industry’s sale of defective Zylon bullet proof vests to the government. The United States previously recovered over $133 million in settlements with 17 entities and individuals involved in all stages of the body armor supply chain. 

The resolution obtained in the Honeywell litigation was the result of efforts by the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, with assistance from the GSA-OIG; the Department of Commerce, Office of  Inspector General; the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General; Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; the Department of Energy, Office of the Inspector General; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the U.S. Criminal Investigative Command; the Air Force Office of Special Investigations; and the Defense Contracting Audit Agency.

Fraud Section Attorneys Alicia Bentley, Jennifer Chorpening and Tom Morris handled the litigation and settlement.

The lawsuit is captioned United States v. Honeywell International Inc., No. 08-0961 (PLF) (D.D.C.).

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

 

NEW ORLEANS – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 23rd National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide.

For more than a decade, DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day has provided an easy, no-cost opportunity to dispose of medicines stored in the home that are susceptible to misuse and theft.

Opioid misuse remains at epidemic levels in the United States. According to a report published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a majority of people who misused a prescription medication obtained the medicine from a family member or friend.

“I encourage everyone across the country to dispose of unneeded medications to help keep our communities safe and healthy,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “The Take Back campaign is part of DEA’s continued efforts to combat the drug poisoning epidemic and protect the safety and health of communities across the United States.”

DEA Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley said, “Drug poisoning deaths continue to climb at record rates. Sadly, the majority of the misuse and addiction starts with prescription drugs found in home medicine cabinets. DEA’s Take-Back event provides citizens a convenient and safe way to rid their homes of unneeded medications, protecting the health and safety of our communities. I urge you to do your part to keep prescription drugs off the streets and help spread awareness in your community.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in the United States, approximately 107,622 people died as the result of a drug poisoning last year. This means that someone in the United States is dying of a drug poisoning every five minutes.

On Saturday, October 29, 2022, DEA and its partners will collect tablets, capsules, patches, and other forms of prescription drugs. Collection sites will not accept syringes, sharps, and illicit drugs. Liquid products, such as cough syrup, should remain sealed in their original container. The cap must be tightly sealed to prevent leakage. The event will also continue to accept vaping devices and cartridges provided lithium batteries are removed.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today announced significant revisions to the Justice Department’s regulations regarding obtaining information from, or records of, members of the news media. 

The regulations, among other things, codify the policy announced by the Attorney General in his memorandum on July 19, 2021, pursuant to which seeking compulsory legal process for the purpose of obtaining information from, or records of, members of the news media acting within the scope of newsgathering is prohibited except under limited, specified circumstances.

“These regulations recognize the crucial role that a free and independent press plays in our democracy,” said Attorney General Garland. “Because freedom of the press requires that members of the news media have the freedom to investigate and report the news, the new regulations are intended to provide enhanced protection to members of the news media from certain law enforcement tools and actions that might unreasonably impair newsgathering.”

“This revised policy is the result of a rigorous, year-long review process informed by multiple perspectives,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “The discussions and input received from internal and external stakeholders, including federal prosecutors and media representatives, were vital to shaping the final policy.”

The Attorney General’s memorandum announcing the revisions can be found here. The revised regulations can be found here.

An Arkansas man pleaded guilty today to filing a false tax return with the IRS on which he did not report all of the income he earned from his business.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Clarence A. Joles, Sr., of Texarkana, owned Rock Hard Paving, an asphalt paving business, which he operated as a sole proprietorship. Joles admitted that he deposited Rock Hard Paving’s gross receipts into approximately nine different bank accounts, then intentionally withheld from his tax preparer records from some of those accounts. As a result, the tax preparer did not have access to Rock Hard Paving’s true income, and Joles caused a false 2015 personal tax return to be filed with the IRS. In total, Joles did not report more than $1 million in Rock Hard Paving receipts.

Joles is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for filing a false tax return. He also faces a period of supervised release, monetary penalties, and restitution. 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 David Clay Fowlkes for the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Assistant Chief Greg Tortella and Trial Attorney Isaiah Boyd, III of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

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

The Justice Department today announced an

agreement

with the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC) that resolves a civil rights investigation and commits to improved access to state court for people with limited English proficiency (LEP).

This agreement resolves Justice Department findings that the NCAOC failed to provide LEP court users with meaningful language access to court proceedings and other important court services in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits recipients of federal financial assistance from discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin. The department found that the lack of language services resulted in longer incarcerations, conflicts of interests in criminal proceedings and barriers to important civil protections in domestic violence and child custody proceedings.

In response, the NCAOC has worked extensively with the Justice Department to expand language assistance services and improve access for LEP court users in North Carolina. For instance, NCAOC adopted Standards for Language Access Services in the North Carolina Court System and expanded interpreter coverage to all proceedings. Under the terms of this agreement, NCAOC has agreed to take additional steps to ensure meaningful language access for LEP court users.

“To promote public trust and confidence in the judiciary, state courts need effective language access policies and procedures that remove barriers to justice for limited English proficiency individuals,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This agreement builds upon the court’s past efforts to improve access for people who are limited English proficient and will ensure meaningful and effective language access services in North Carolina’s courts going forward.”

As set forth in the agreement, NCAOC will continue to provide LEP court users with interpreter services at no cost in all court proceedings and free language assistance services in court operations. The NCAOC will reconvene the Language Access Stakeholder Committee which will help it assess and improve existing court language access policies and procedures. The NCAOC will also translate into non-English languages vital information, including the interpreter request form and the notice of interpreter services. 

The enforcement of Title VI is a top priority of the Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt, and information about limited English proficiency and Title VI is available at www.lep.gov. Members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at https://civilrights.justice.gov/report/.

An indictment was unsealed yesterday charging a married couple for their roles in a decade-long scheme to defraud investors of millions of dollars in connection with Semisub Inc. (Semisub), a Hawaii-based company.    

According to court documents, Curtiss E. Jackson, 69, of Honolulu, Hawaii, and Jamey Denise Jackson, 59, currently of Lake Worth, Florida, and formerly of Honolulu, allegedly engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain money by deceiving purchasers of Semisub securities about the company’s business and operations, including its revenue and expenses. Specifically, the indictment alleges that Curtiss Jackson and Jamey Jackson, who were respectively Semisub’s CEO and President, would use funds raised from the sale of securities to develop and build a fleet of semi-submersible vessels for tourism and other commercial purposes and raised over $28 million from more than 400 investors.

For over 10 years, the defendants allegedly falsely told investors that a purported prototype vessel, dubbed “Semisub One,” was “weeks” or “months” away from beginning operations. They also allegedly falsely claimed that Semisub had entered into agreements or developed relationships with marquee government agencies and a well-known private equity firm to build and sell a fleet of additional vessels for $32 million each. The defendants allegedly misused a substantial amount of the money raised from the sale of Semisub securities to pay for luxury residences in California and Hawaii, a Mercedes-Benz automobile, luxury vacations, psychics, marijuana, personal credit card bills, and cash withdrawals for their personal use, among other things. Curtiss Jackson and Semisub were also allegedly barred from offering or selling securities by the Pennsylvania Securities Commission in 2008 and by the California Department of Corporations in 2009 in those states. The defendants nonetheless allegedly continued to sell securities to investors across the United States, including to those in Pennsylvania and California, in violation of both states’ orders.

Curtiss Jackson and Jamey Jackson are charged with securities fraud, conspiracy, mail fraud, and wire fraud. Curtiss Jackson made his initial court appearance yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. Jamey Denise Jackson also made her initial court appearance yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. Each charged count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. 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; Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Criminal Investigations Group; and Special Agent in Charge Bret R. Kressin of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Seattle Field Office made the announcement. 

The USPIS and IRS-CI are investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Christopher Fenton, Matthew Reilly, and Blake Goebel of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

If you believe you are a victim in this case, please contact the USPIS victim hotline at (202) 305-6736. 

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

Flexsteel Industries Inc. has agreed to a consent decree that requires it to pay $9.8 million for the cleanup of contamination at the Lane Street Ground Water Contamination Superfund Site (Lane Street Site) in Elkhart, Indiana, and to reimburse the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a portion of its past costs incurred at the Lane Street Site.

According to the complaint filed simultaneously with the proposed consent decree in the Northern District of Indiana, Flexsteel is liable for the cleanup because its former manufacturing operations contributed to contamination at the Lane Street Site. Previously, EPA entered into administrative settlements with two other potentially responsible parties for their alleged contributions to the contamination at the Lane Street Site.

“This settlement ensures that the responsible party and not the taxpayers fund the cleanup of the Lane Street Groundwater Contamination Superfund Site,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The cleanup funded by this agreement protects the environment and the health of the surrounding community.”

“This is an excellent settlement that funds necessary cleanup of a contaminated groundwater plume in Elkhart, Indiana,” said U.S. Attorney Clifford Johnson for the Northern District of Indiana. “This cleanup will protect the drinking water and health of Elkhart residents.”

“Groundwater is a drinking water source for wells and public water systems and it also flows to above-ground rivers and streams,” said EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore. “Through this settlement and others like it, EPA is taking action to protect the health of communities and the environment by holding polluters accountable for groundwater contamination.”

“Indiana proudly works with our federal partners and industries across our state to make sure the health of Hoosiers and our environment is protected,” said Commissioner Brian Rockensuess of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. “This settlement is great news for the people of Elkhart and will help ensure the cleanup of long-standing water contamination.”

The Lane Street Site consists of approximately 65 acres of residential and light industrial properties in Elkhart, Indiana, impacted by a groundwater plume contaminated primarily with solvents and degreasers such as trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene. In 2016, EPA issued its record of decision for the Lane Street Site that selected a remedy for treating the groundwater plume by breaking down the contamination into harmless compounds. The proposed consent decree funds implementation of the selected remedy.

The consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval and will be available for public review on the Department of Justice website at www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.

More information about the Site is available on the Lane Street Ground Water Contamination website (https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0510229).

Jaime Gonzalez Duran, a Mexican national, made his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today to face international drug charges.   

According to allegations contained in court documents, between 2000 and February 2010, Gonzalez Duran, aka Hummer, 46, was a high-ranking member of the Zetas, an international drug trafficking organization allied with the Gulf Cartel. Together, the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel, known collectively as “The Company,” were a violent, transnational drug trafficking organization based in Mexico that was engaged in the manufacture, distribution, and importation of ton quantities of cocaine and marijuana from Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Panama, and elsewhere into the United States. Gonzalez Duran was also the “plaza boss” for the Mexican cities of Reynosa and Miguel Aleman, controlling the Zetas drug-trafficking activities in those areas of operation.

A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned a fourth superseding indictment against Gonzalez Duran on May 9, 2013. In October 2015, Gonzalez Duran was served with the provisional arrest warrant requesting his extradition to the United States. Gonzalez Duran remained detained in Mexico pending his extradition. He was extradited from Mexico to the United States on Oct. 20, 2022. 

Gonzalez Duran is charged with one count of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and over 1,000 kilograms of marijuana intending and knowing that those substances would be imported into the United States. If convicted, Gonzalez Duran faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

The DEA’s Houston Division Office is investigating with assistance from the DEA’s Mexico Country Office.

Trial Attorneys Kirk Handrich, Melanie Alsworth, and Janet Turnbull of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and Office of Enforcement Operations provided significant assistance in this matter.  

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

The Justice Department today released revised Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance. The revised guidelines update, for the first time in a decade, when and how Department employees work with victims and witnesses of crime to ensure that their voices are heard and that they are protected during criminal justice proceedings. The guidelines apply to all department employees engaged in the investigative, prosecutorial, correctional, and parole functions within the criminal justice system.

“Treating crime victims and witnesses with the dignity and respect they deserve is critical to the Justice Department’s mission.  I saw that with searing clarity in my work responding to the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The revised guidelines will ensure that we continue to fulfill our obligations to victims and witnesses through an approach that is victim-centered and trauma-informed.” 

In 1982, Congress directed the Attorney General to promulgate the first Attorney General guidelines, which have been revised periodically to reflect changes in the law. This update improves and expands the Department’s policies for engaging with victims and witnesses of crime throughout the criminal justice process in several key ways, including:

• Expanded scope of support for those significantly harmed by crime: The revised guidelines significantly expand support for people who are significantly harmed by a crime but still may not meet the statutory definition of “victim” contained in the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA).  Under the updated guidelines, Department employees should provide services or support to those people, including information, protection, consultation, and referrals for victim services, when feasible and appropriate.

• Earlier notification and consultation: Previous versions of the guidelines provided that rights guaranteed under the CVRA were only to be afford once a defendant was charged.  The revised guidelines require affording those rights as early in the criminal justice process as is feasible and appropriate.  The guidelines thus provide that prosecutors should, as appropriate, notify victims of plea agreements, deferred prosecution agreements, and non-prosecution agreements before a charging document is filed.

• Additional guidance regarding vulnerable populations: In order to protect the most vulnerable victims, the update strengthens reporting requirements to ensure that Justice Department personnel promptly report suspected incidents of child abuse that they discover through the course of their official duties, regardless of whether they are legally required to do so.  Also included in the update are provisions addressing the specific considerations for victims who are: American Indians or Alaska Natives (AI/AN); older or living with a disability; financially vulnerable; from an underserved population; members of marginalized communities; and persons with limited or no proficiency in English

• Updates addressing technological development: Since the guidelines were last updated 10 years ago, technology has evolved dramatically. The revised guidelines provide updates throughout to address these changes, including acknowledging the different types of harm victims may experience in cyber intrusion cases and expanding the ways the Department can use technology to identify, notify, and support victims.

• Expanded Training: To ensure that Department employees are aware of the latest support and services afforded to victims, the revised guidelines expand the category of employees to receive continuous training on the guidelines to include anyone “who in the course of their duties are expected to come into contact with victims and witnesses.”

Through these additions and others, the revised guidelines will allow those affected by crime to be heard and protected throughout the criminal justice process. The guidelines will go into effect March 31, 2023.

A former quality assurance director for food manufacturer Kerry Inc. pleaded guilty today to charges related to the manufacture of a breakfast cereal linked to a 2018 outbreak of salmonellosis, or Salmonella poisoning.

Ravi Kumar Chermala, 47, pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of causing the introduction of adulterated food into interstate commerce. Chermala, Kerry’s Director of Quality Assurance until September 2018, oversaw the sanitation programs at various Kerry manufacturing plants, including a facility in Gridley, Illinois, that manufactured Kellogg’s Honey Smacks breakfast cereal for Kerry’s customer, the Kellogg Company. In pleading guilty, Chermala admitted that between June 2016 and June 2018, he directed subordinates to not report certain information to Kellogg’s about conditions at the Gridley facility. In addition, Chermala admitted that he directed subordinates at the Gridley facility to alter the plant’s program for monitoring for the presence of pathogens in the plant, limiting the facility’s ability to accurately detect insanitary conditions.

“Food safety professionals cannot conceal potentially dangerous problems from customers or government regulators,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who engage in such conduct.” 

“Today’s announcement reinforces that if an individual violates food safety rules or conceals relevant information, we will seek to hold them accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Lynda M. Burdelik, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Chicago Field Office. “The health of American consumers and the safety of our food are too important to be thwarted by the criminal acts of any individual or company.”

In June 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that an ongoing outbreak of salmonellosis cases in the United States could be traced to Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal produced at Kerry’s Gridley facility. In response, Kellogg’s voluntarily recalled all Honey Smacks manufactured at the plant since June 2017. The CDC eventually identified more than 130 cases of salmonellosis linked to the outbreak, with illness onset dates beginning in March 2018. The CDC did not identify any deaths related to the outbreak.

Salmonellosis can cause symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps that last several days in healthy adults. Absent prompt treatment, salmonellosis can cause severe dehydration and even death in infants, young children, the elderly, transplant recipients, pregnant women, and individuals with weakened immune systems.

Chermala pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge Jonathan E. Hawley in Peoria, Illinois. The sentencing date is scheduled for Jan. 30, 2023. Further information about the case will be posted to the department’s Information for Victims in Large Cases website at https://www.justice.gov/largecases.

The matter is being investigated by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Cody Matthew Herche and Senior Trial Attorney James T. Nelson of the Department of Justice, Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.

For more information about the enforcement efforts of the Consumer Protection Branch visit the branch’s website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.

A former deputy sheriff with the Dallas County, Alabama, Sheriff’s Office was charged in an indictment unsealed in the Southern District of Alabama for sexually assaulting and kidnapping a woman while he was on duty, and for misleading state investigators.

According to the indictment, on Jan. 30, 2020, Joshua Davidson, 32, while on duty as a Dallas County Deputy Sheriff, kidnapped and sexually assaulted a woman in his custody. Davidson is also charged with making a misleading statement to investigators regarding his conduct related to the sexual assault and kidnapping. If convicted, Davidson faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. 

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello for the Southern District of Alabama and Special Agent in Charge Paul W. Brown for the FBI Mobile Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Mobile Field Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Arrington for the Southern District of Alabama and Trial Attorneys Maura White and MarLa Duncan of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

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

A federal court in the Eastern District of New York has permanently barred Brooklyn-based defendants Maria Cuervo and Danays Enterprises & Travel, Inc. from operating a tax return preparation business, including from their store located at 2786 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. Defendants consented to the permanent injunction. The judgment entered by the Court also requires Cuervo to disgorge to the United States $150,000 in fees that the Government alleged she received as ill-gotten gains for preparing federal tax returns that make grossly incompetent, negligent, reckless or fraudulent claims.

Among the allegations in its complaint, the United States alleged that the defendants prepared customer’s tax returns, which reported fraudulent filing statuses, including improper claims of head-of-household status. The United States further alleged that the defendants prepared tax returns that claimed fraudulent dependent exemptions, as well as losses designed to improperly reduce reported taxable income.

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

Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’ Dirty Dozen Tax Scams and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant. (More information can also be found here.) The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax preparer, has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers, and offers information on how to avoid “ghost” tax preparers, whose refusal to sign a return should be a red flag to taxpayers.  The IRS also has a list of important reminders for taxpayers who are about to file their 2020 tax returns, including how to prepare for a smooth filing process.

In addition, IRS Free File, a public-private partnership, offers free online tax preparation and filing options on IRS partner websites for individuals whose adjusted gross income is under $72,000. For individuals whose income is over that threshold, IRS Free File offers electronical federal tax forms that can be filled out and filed online for free.

In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found 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.

A Washington man was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Seattle, Washington, in connection with a May 15, 2018, shooting that damaged a Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall.

Mikey Diamond Starrett, aka Michael Jason Layes, 50, of Olympia, Washington, was charged in a superseding indictment with one count of damage to religious property, including the use of a dangerous weapon. He also was charged with one count of use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. The original indictment charged the defendant with one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm.

According to the indictment, on or about May 15, 2018, the defendant used a semi-automatic rifle to deface, damage and destroy religious real property at the Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall of Yelm, Washington, because of the religious character of the property.

If convicted, the defendant faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison on the charge of damage to religious property involving the use of a dangerous weapon. If convicted on the unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm charge, the defendant faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. The defendant faces a sentence of at least 10 years in prison to run consecutive to any sentence imposed for the remaining firearms offense. 

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Nick Brown for the Western District of Washington made the announcement.

The ATF Seattle Field Division, the FBI Seattle Office and the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office investigated the matter. Trial Attorney Matthew Tannenbaum of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca S. Cohen for the Western District of Washington are prosecuting the case. 

For more information and resources about the department’s work to combat hate crimes, visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.

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

A federal grand jury in Newark unsealed an indictment today charging the operator of a New Jersey construction business with tax evasion, employment tax crimes, aiding the filing of false tax returns, and making false statements in bankruptcy.

According to the indictment, Zeki Donuk, of Landing, operated a construction business first under the name Titan Builders LLC and later as Titan Steel Construction LLC (collectively, “Titan”). From at least 2016 through 2019, Donuk allegedly cashed checks payable to Titan instead of depositing them into business bank accounts. Donuk allegedly concealed the cashed checks and did not report them either as gross receipts on Titan’s corporate tax returns, or as income on his or his wife’s personal returns.

According to the indictment, from the third quarter of 2016 through the third quarter of 2017 Donuk also did not collect, account for, or pay over to the IRS employment taxes on behalf of Titan’s employees, despite a legal obligation to do so. For those quarters, Donuk allegedly did not file quarterly employment tax returns on behalf of the businesses.

The indictment charged that in 2019, Donuk allegedly made false statements on documents he filed in a personal bankruptcy case. Specifically, Donuk allegedly concealed from the Bankruptcy Court that he owned a vacation property in Pennsylvania, had signatory authority over certain bank accounts, owed tax debts to the IRS, and operated his construction business as Titan Builders and Titan Steel.

If convicted, Donuk faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each count of tax evasion, employment tax violations, and bankruptcy fraud charges and a maximum penalty of three years in prison on each of the counts of aiding or assisting the filing of false tax returns. 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 Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration are investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Levin 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 federal judge sentenced two Florida women to prison in connection with their participation in a conspiracy to falsify clinical trial data.

Senior U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham of the Southern District of Florida sentenced Analay Rico, 37, of Fort Lauderdale, to 40 months in prison and Daylen Diaz, 44, of Miami, to 24 months in prison. The court also ordered Rico and Diaz to pay approximately $2.1 million in restitution.

According to court documents, Rico worked as a lead study coordinator for a clinical research firm based in Miami called Tellus Clinical Research (Tellus). Diaz was a research assistant and assistant study coordinator at Tellus. As part of their plea agreements, Rico and Diaz admitted that they agreed with others to defraud clients paying for clinical trial work intended to evaluate treatments for various medical conditions, including opioid dependency, irritable bowel syndrome and diabetic nephropathy. Among other things, Rico and Diaz admitted they falsified data to make it appear as though subjects were participating in the trials when, in truth, they were not.

“Clinical trials are essential in determining the safety and effectiveness of drug treatments,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to prosecute anyone who intentionally falsifies this critical data for personal profit.”

“It’s disgraceful when a criminal preys upon patients in a health care setting,” said U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida. “We will prosecute perpetrators who do to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Reliable and accurate data from clinical trials is the cornerstone of FDA’s evaluation of a new drug,” said FDA Assistant Commissioner for Criminal Investigations Catherine A. Hermsen. “Compromised clinical trial data could impact the agency’s decisions about the safety and effectiveness of the drug under review. We will continue to monitor, investigate and bring to justice those whose actions may subvert the FDA approval process and endanger the public health.”

Three co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced for their roles in the scheme. Eduardo Navarro, 53, of Miami, was sentenced to 46 months imprisonment; Duniel Tejeda, 36, of Clewiston, Florida, was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment; and Nayade Varona, 51, was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment. Trial against three remaining defendants charged by indictment in connection with Tellus, Dr. Martin Valdes, 66, of Coral Gables, Florida, Fidalgis Font, 55, of Miami, and Julio Lopez, 55, of Hialeah, Florida, is currently set for Jan. 10, 2023.

The Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Lauren M. Elfner, Joshua D. Rothman and Wandaly Fernandez Garcia of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida is providing critical assistance.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging Anthony Paz Torres, 37, with federal hate crimes, resulting in the death of one person and including an attempt to kill four others during a shooting at Omar’s Wheels and Tires. Torres is also charged with using a firearm to commit the murder.

The indictment alleges that Torres went to Omar’s Wheels and Tires on December 24, 2015, and shot at employees and customers at the business. Torres had gone to the business a few days earlier, but was told by law enforcement officers to not return. When he returned on Christmas Eve, Torres shot and killed one individual and attempted to kill three other individuals with his firearm.  As he was leaving, Torres attempted to kill a fourth individual with his motor vehicle. The indictment further alleges that Torres committed these offenses because of the actual or perceived religion of another person.

Torres faces a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment on the death-resulting hate crime and gun charge counts. For the remaining hate crime charges, he faces a term of years. 

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham of the Northern District of Texas made the announcement.

The FBI Dallas Field Office and the Dallas Police Department investigated the case with support of the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office.

Trial Attorney Rebekah J. Bailey of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Dana for the Northern District of Texas prosecuted the case.

For more information and resources about the department’s work to combat hate crimes, visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.

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

A federal grand jury in Indianapolis, Indiana, returned a five-count superseding indictment charging a former New Castle, Indiana, police officer with excessive force and obstruction of justice, and a former Henry County, Indiana, Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy with obstruction of justice.

Former New Castle Police Lieutenant Aaron Strong is charged in the superseding indictment with three civil rights violations for allegedly using unreasonable force against an arrestee and against two other people in custody, and with one count of obstruction of justice. Strong was previously indicted in July on these same charges and the superseding indictment added no new charges against him. 

Today’s superseding indictment added a charge against former Henry County, Indiana, Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy Adam Guy, 25, who is now charged with one count of witness tampering. According to the superseding indictment, Guy engaged in misleading conduct toward another person with the intent to interfere with the investigation of one of the incidents for which Strong is charged with using unreasonable force.

Each of the civil rights charges in the superseding indictment carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years of imprisonment, and each obstruction of justice charge carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment. If either defendant is convicted, the actual sentence will be determined by a judge.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers for the Southern District of Indiana and Special Agent in Charge Herbert Stapleton for the FBI Indianapolis Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Indianapolis Field Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Blackett for the Southern District of Indiana and Trial Attorney Alec Ward of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case.

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

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the owners and operators of the Grand Gateway Hotel, and the Cheers Sports Lounge and Casino, a sports bar that operates within the hotel, located in Rapid City, South Dakota. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants discriminated against Native American customers in violation of Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin in places of public accommodation, such as hotels and other places of entertainment. The suit is brought against the corporate owner, Retsel Corporation, and two of the company’s directors, Connie Uhre and her son, Nicholas Uhre.

“Policies prohibiting Native Americans from accessing public establishments are both racially discriminatory and unlawful,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously protect the rights of all people to go about their daily lives free from discrimination at hotels, restaurants and other public accommodations around the country.”

“Restricting access to a hotel based on a person’s race is prohibited by federal law,” said U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell for the District of South Dakota. “At the U.S. Attorney’s Office, we are called to ensure that individuals are treated equally at public accommodations in South Dakota. We are committed to protecting that fundamental right for Native Americans.”

The lawsuit, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota, alleges that, since at least March 20, the Retsel Corporation, Connie Uhre and Nicholas Uhre discriminated against Native American customers through policies and practices that denied Native Americans the full and equal enjoyment of access to the services, accommodations and privileges at the Grand Gateway Hotel and the Cheers Sports Lounge and Casino.

Specifically, the complaint alleges that on March 20, Connie Uhre told other Rapid City hotel owners and managers that she did “not want to allow Natives on property...The problem is we do not know the nice ones from the bad natives…so we just have to say no to them!” That same day, Connie Uhre allegedly posted a statement in a comment thread from her Facebook account announcing that “we will no longer allow any Native American [sic]” in the Grand Gateway or in the Cheers Sports Lounge and Casino. The complaint further alleges that on at least two occasions on March 21 and March 22, respectively, the defendants turned away Native Americans who sought to book a room in the Grand Gateway. 

Under Title II, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division can obtain injunctive relief that changes policies and practices to remedy the discriminatory conduct. Title II does not authorize the division to obtain monetary damages for customers who are victims of discrimination. 

More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at http://www.justice.gov/crt. Individuals may report discrimination in places of public accommodation that violates Title II by calling the Justice Department at 1-833-591-0291, or submitting a report online.

The complaint contains allegations of unlawful conduct, and the allegations must be proven in federal court. 

The United States filed a complaint to enjoin a West Boylston, Massachusetts, defendant from distributing a product the government alleges to be an unapproved new drug, a misbranded drug product and an adulterated food product, the Department of Justice announced.

In a civil complaint for permanent injunction filed on Oct. 18, the United States alleges that Daniel Marold, an individual conducting business under the name Chill6, violated the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. According to the complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Marold sold various flavors of “Chill6” beverage powder directly to consumers through a website that claimed Chill6 will cure, treat, mitigate and prevent, among other things, anxiety, insomnia, alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The complaint also alleges that Marold’s Chill6 contains Phenibut HCI, an unsafe food additive.

According to the complaint, Marold continued distributing Chill6 after receiving a warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July 2021. The United States seeks an injunction that would enjoin Marold from selling Chill6 in its current form and comply with federal food safety regulations before selling any other drug or food product.

“Those who distribute drugs, dietary supplements or foods must comply with federal law designed to ensure these products are safe,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will continue to work closely with FDA to stop the distribution of unapproved new drugs and adulterated food products.”

“The FDA is responsible for making sure drugs meet the necessary safety guidelines for human consumption,” said U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins for the District of Massachusetts. “We allege that Chill6 does not, and even after being warned, Mr. Marold continued distributing this unapproved substance. Be it by criminal offense or civil violation, we are committed to ending the distribution of unregulated and adulterated supplements.”

“The FDA’s primary responsibility is to protect U.S. patients and consumers from unproven and dangerous products,” said Judith McMeekin, Pharm.D, the Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs. “With our partners at the Department of Justice, we will keep pursuing individuals and firms that distribute products that put the public at risk and violate federal law.”

Trial Attorney Manu J. Sebastian of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Sharobem in the District of Massachusetts are handling the case with the assistance of Associate Chief Counsel Leah A. Edelman of the FDA’s Office of the Chief Counsel.

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

The claims made in the complaint are allegations that, if the case were to proceed to trial, the government must prove by a preponderance of the evidence.

A federal grand jury in Indianapolis, Indiana, returned an indictment yesterday charging an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department sergeant with violating the civil rights of an arrestee by using excessive force.

Sgt. Eric Huxley, 44, is charged with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law. The indictment alleges that on or about Sept. 24, 2021. Sergeant Huxley, wearing shoes, kicked an arrestee identified as J.V. in the head and face, without lawful justification. The indictment also alleges that the offense resulted in bodily injury to J.V. and involved the use of a dangerous weapon.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers for the Southern District of Indiana and Special Agent in Charge Herbert Stapleton for the FBI Indianapolis Field Division made the announcement.

The FBI Indianapolis Field Division investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Preston for the Southern District of Indiana and Trial Attorney Alec Ward of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case.

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

The co-owner of multiple bars and a restaurant in Georgia pleaded guilty today to tax evasion. 

According to court documents and statements made in court, Eugene R. Britt III, aka Trey Britt, engaged in a scheme to evade taxes owed to the IRS on income from bars and a restaurant he and others owned near college campuses in Georgia. As part of the scheme, Britt and others disguised their ownership in the bars by causing each establishment to be owned on paper by a single person. Britt and the other true owners then shared in the profits by skimming cash and disbursing it amongst themselves. Britt personally controlled the distribution of cash for three of the establishments. As part of his guilty plea, Britt admitted that for approximately two decades he skimmed cash from his bars and restaurants and did not report it on his tax returns.

Additionally, Britt admitted to engaging in a similar cash skimming operation with respect to sales of beer at a music festival in 2015. Britt ensured that his individual tax return was false because he did not inform his accountant of the cash he received from the bars and the music festival during this year. In total, Britt caused a total tax loss to the IRS of more than $535,000.

Britt will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. 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 David Estes of the Southern District of Georgia made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI are investigating the case.

Assistant Chief David Zisserson and Trial Attorney Casey Smith of the Tax Division, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, are prosecuting the case.

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department announced today that seven directors have resigned from corporate board positions in response to concerns by the Antitrust Division that their roles violated the Clayton Act’s prohibition on interlocking directorates. Section 8 of the Clayton Act (Section 8) prohibits directors and officers from serving simultaneously on the boards of competitors, subject to limited exceptions. Over the last several months, the Division announced its intent to reinvigorate Section 8 enforcement. This announcement is the first in a broader review of potentially unlawful interlocking directorates.

“Section 8 is an important, but underenforced, part of our antitrust laws. Congress made interlocking directorates a per se violation of the antitrust laws for good reason. Competitors sharing officers or directors further concentrates power and creates the opportunity to exchange competitively sensitive information and facilitate coordination – all to the detriment of the economy and the American public,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division is undertaking an extensive review of interlocking directorates across the entire economy and will enforce the law.”

By eliminating the opportunity to coordinate – explicitly or implicitly – through interlocking directorates, Section 8 is also intended to prevent other violations of the antitrust laws before they occur. In response to the Division’s competition concerns, the following companies and directors unwound the interlocks without admitting to liability:

1. Definitive Healthcare Corp. and ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. – Definitive and ZoomInfo operate go-to-market information and intelligence platforms used by third-party sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting teams across the United States. One director served simultaneously on the boards of both companies and resigned from Definitive’s board in response to the Division’s concerns about the alleged interlock.

1. Maxar Technologies Inc. and Redwire Corp. – Maxar and Redwire are providers of space infrastructure and communications products and services. One director served simultaneously on the boards of both companies and resigned from Redwire’s board in response to the Division’s concerns about the alleged interlock.

1. Littelfuse Inc. and CTS Corp. – Littelfuse and CTS are manufacturers of components and technologies for use in transportation applications, including sensors and switches for use in passenger and commercial vehicles. One director served simultaneously on the boards of both companies and resigned from CTS’s board in response to the Division’s concerns about the alleged interlock.

1. Skillsoft Corp. and Udemy Inc. – Skillsoft and Udemy are providers of online corporate education services. One director served simultaneously on the boards of both companies, as did the investment firm Prosus, through that director, because he represented Prosus on both boards at the same time. The director resigned from Udemy’s board in response to the Division’s concerns about the alleged interlock.

1. Solarwinds Corp. and Dynatrace, Inc. – Solarwinds and Dynatrace are providers of Application Performance Monitoring (APM) software. One director served simultaneously on the boards of both companies, as did the investment firm Thoma Bravo, through this director, because he represented Thoma Bravo on both boards at the same time. Two additional directors also represented Thoma Bravo on the Solarwinds board. All three directors resigned from Solarwinds’s board in response to the Division’s concerns about the alleged interlock.

Companies, officers, and board members should expect that enforcement of Section 8 will continue to be a priority for the Antitrust Division. Anyone with information about potential interlocking directorates or any other potential violations of the antitrust laws is encouraged to contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258 or antitrust.complaints@usdoj.gov. 

The United States filed complaints against six companies and related individuals to stop the illegal manufacture and sale of unauthorized vaping products, the Department of Justice announced today.

In civil complaints and accompanying court papers filed in U.S. District Court, the government alleges that the defendants illegally manufacture and sell electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products, including finished “e-liquids,” or liquids that contain nicotine and colorings, flavorings and/or other ingredients.

The complaints allege that the defendants caused tobacco products to become adulterated and misbranded while held for sale after shipment of one or more of their components in interstate commerce, and that they continued to manufacture, sell and distribute the adulterated and misbranded tobacco products despite receiving warning letters from the FDA that they were violating the law.

These actions are the first seeking to enjoin manufacturers of ENDS products for violations of the premarket review requirements of the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). 

“These cases are an important step in stopping the illegal sale of unauthorized electronic nicotine delivery system products,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work closely with FDA to stop the distribution of illegal, unauthorized tobacco products.”

“Today’s enforcement actions represent a significant step for the FDA in preventing tobacco product manufacturers from violating the law,” said Brian King, Ph.D., M.P.H., Director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “The FDA is committed to acting swiftly when we are made aware of these violations. We will not stand by as manufacturers repeatedly break the law, especially after being afforded multiple opportunities to comply.”

“It’s important that businesses — large and small — take the necessary steps to comply with federal regulations that are put in place to ultimately protect the consumer, especially with regard to potentially harmful products,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary for the Middle District of Georgia. “Our office will enforce statutes intended to keep the citizens of the Middle District of Georgia safe.”

“Not only were the Super Vape’z shops selling potentially adulterated tobacco products, they sold vapes to underage kids,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown for the Western District of Washington. “The owners were told repeatedly that they needed to obtain FDA approval for their tobacco products, but they refused to take that step. The Department of Justice is filing suit to protect the public.”    

The lawsuits announced today were filed against defendants in six states:

• Seditious Vapours LLC, a Phoenix-based company, and its owner Matthew D. Berger, filed in the District of Arizona;
• Vapor Craft LLC, based in Columbus, Georgia, and its owner Melissa D. Anderson, filed in the Middle District of Georgia;
• Lucky’s Convenience & Tobacco LLC, of Wichita, Kansas, and its majority owners Kevin H. Nguyen and Thomas Rogers, filed in the District of Kansas;
• Morin Enterprises Inc. and its owner Kevin Morin, operating multiple locations in Minnesota, and filed in the District of Minnesota;
• Super Vape’z LLC, based in Lakewood, Washington, and its co-owners Marco Hoffman and Heydee Hoffman, and general manager Judith A. Cramer, filed in the Western District of Washington;
• Soul Vapor LLC, of Princeton, West Virginia, and its owner Aurelius Jeffrey, filed in the Southern District of West Virginia.

Each of the defendants manufactured and sold ENDS products after receiving notice of the need to first obtain FDA marketing authorizations. The defendants did not attempt to obtain FDA authorization for their tobacco products at issue.

Senior Litigation Counsel Christina Parascandola, Senior Trial Attorney Stephen C. Tosini and Trial Attorneys Ellen Bowden McIntyre and Joshua Browning of the Justice Department’s Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd P. Swanson for the Middle District of Georgia, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Vanorsby for the District of Kansas, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen E. Rau for the District of Minnesota, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Burns for the Western District of Washington and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Mankins for the Southern District of West Virginia are handling the cases, with assistance from Jonathan Silberman, Danli Song and William Thanhauser for Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of General Counsel.

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

The claims made in the complaints are allegations that, if the cases were to proceed to trial, the government must prove by a preponderance of the evidence.

The Department of Justice announced today new criminal charges, convictions, and sentences as part of its ongoing initiative to prosecute fraud in connection with various pandemic relief programs under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, as well as other crimes relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Criminal Division and our partners are committed to identifying and holding accountable those who exploit the COVID-19 pandemic for their own gain,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “As these cases demonstrate, we are unwavering in our determination to prosecute those who have defrauded relief programs meant to help struggling Americans during the pandemic.”

The following new charges are announced today:

United States v. Amber Singleton and Emanuel Tucker

On Sept. 9, Amber Singleton, 42, and Emanuel Tucker, 42, both of Canyon Lake, California, were charged in the Central District of California by indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering for their roles in an alleged scheme to obtain $15.9 million in PPP and EIDL funds through fraud. 

According to court documents, from in or around April 2020 to in or around April 2022, Singleton, Tucker, and other co-conspirators allegedly submitted 41 fraudulent PPP loan applications and 13 fraudulent EIDL applications on behalf of various companies that they owned and controlled. These applications allegedly contained material misrepresentations about the companies, including the number of employees, average monthly payroll, gross revenue, cost of goods, and supporting documents.

The top count carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI; Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG); Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG); Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of Inspector General (FRB-CFPB OIG); Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA); and Department of Education, Office of Inspector General (DOE-OIG) are investigating the case. 

Fraud Section Trial Attorneys Joshua Debold and Edward Emokpae and Assistant U.S. Attorney Valerie Makarewicz for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case.

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

United States v. Dumarsais Blaise and Alexander Blaise

On May 19, Dumarsais Blaise, 45, of Stonecrest, Georgia, and Alexander Blaise, 41, of Plantation, Florida, were charged in the Southern District of Florida by indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering for their roles in an alleged scheme to obtain $1.6 million in PPP funds through fraud.

According to court documents, beginning in or around May 2020, Dumarsais Blaise, a tax preparer, and Alexander Blaise allegedly conspired to fraudulently obtain PPP loans for companies that did not actually exist.

The top count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FDIC-OIG and FBI’s Miami Division are investigating the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorney Edward Emokpae and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kiran Bhat for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

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

United States v. Karen Sarkisyan, Gayk Akhsharumov, and Babken Chalkadryan

On Sept. 2, Karen Sarkisyan, 42, of Glendale, California, Gayk Akhsharumov, 38, of Sherman Oaks, California, and Babken Chalkadryan, 38, of Van Nuys, California, were each charged in the Central District of California by indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering for their roles in an alleged scheme to submit false Medicare claims. Sarkisyan and Akhsharumov were also charged with wire fraud and theft of government property for their roles in an alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain PPP funds.

According to court documents, from in or around January 2018 to in or around May 2021, the defendants allegedly used two Los Angeles-based hospice companies, San Gabriel Hospice & Palliative Care Inc. (San Gabriel Hospice) and Broadway Hospice Inc., to submit over $9 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. Additionally, Sarkisyan and Akhsharumov allegedly submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of San Gabriel Hospice to the SBA and to a financial institution and misused approximately $91,483 in other COVID-19 relief funds. 

The top count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and the FBI are investigating the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorneys Patrick J. Queenan and Alexandra Michael are prosecuting the case.

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

The following convictions and sentencings are announced today:

United States v. Marque Willard Johnson

On Sept. 15, Marque Willard Johnson, 40, of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty in the Middle District of Florida to bank fraud and money laundering as part of a scheme to fraudulently obtain $544,900 in PPP and EIDL funds.

According to court documents, in or around April 2020, June 2020, and January 2021, Johnson applied for one PPP loan and six EIDL loans in connection with two companies that he controlled, falsely claiming that he had large monthly payrolls. Johnson successfully obtained three loans. On the loan applications, Johnson provided false and fraudulent representations concerning the financial condition of his companies and the intended purposes for the loans.

The top count carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

IRS-CI is investigating the case. Fraud Section Senior Litigation Counsel John Michelich is prosecuting the case.

United States v. Samuel Yates

On Sept. 8, Samuel Morgan Yates, 35, of Maud, Texas, was sentenced to 68 months in prison in the Eastern District of Texas prison for a $5.5 million PPP loan fraud scheme.

According to court document, Yates made two fraudulent applications to two different lenders for PPP loans guaranteed by the SBA. In one application, Yates sought $5 million in PPP loan proceeds by fraudulently claiming to have over 400 employees with an average monthly payroll of more than $2 million. In the second application, Yates claimed to employ over 100 individuals and was able to obtain a loan of over $500,000. With each application, Yates submitted a list of purported employees that he obtained from a publicly available random name generator online. He also submitted forged tax documents with each application.

The SBA-OIG and U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (USPS-OIG) investigated the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorney Louis Manzo and Criminal Chief Frank Coan and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan R. Hornok for the Eastern District of Texas prosecuted the case.

United States v. Lisa Hammell

On Aug. 8, Lisa Hammell, 39, of Turnersville, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in the District of New Jersey to conspiracy to defraud the United States and fraud in connection with identification documents as part of a fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination record cards scheme. 

According to court documents, from in or around March 2021 to in or around April 2022, Hammell sold fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination record cards that she designed herself. Hammell also printed dozens of fraudulent cards while working at a post office. In total, Hammell sold at least 400 fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards. 

The top count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The USPS-OIG, FBI, and Department of the Interior, Office of Inspector General (DOI-OIG) are investigating the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorneys Kelly M. Lyons and Darren C. Halverson are prosecuting the case. 

United States v. Juan Nava Ruiz and Eric Frank

On June 21, Eric Frank, 48, of Coral Springs, Florida, was sentenced to 24 months in prison, and Juan Nava Ruiz, 46, also of Coral Springs, was sentenced to 22 months in prison in the Southern District of Florida for conspiracy to solicit and receive health care kickbacks.

According to court documents, from in or around December 2018 to in or around June 2020, Frank and Ruiz brokered patient referrals for medically unnecessary genetic testing and respiratory pathogen testing bundled with COVID-19 testing to laboratories in exchange for kickbacks.

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorney Jamie de Boer prosecuted the case.

United States v. Ranna Shamiya and Jaimi Jansen

On Sept. 28, Ranna Shamiya, 41, of Ukiah, California, and Jaimi Jansen, 40, of Santa Cruz, California, were each sentenced to three years of probation in the Northern District of California to making false statements related to health care matters as part of a COVID-19 health care fraud scheme.

According to court documents, from in or around April 2021 to in or around July 2021, the defendants aided and abetted a scheme by a California-licensed naturopathic doctor to sell homeoprophylaxis immunization pellets and to falsify COVID-19 vaccination cards by making it appear that customers had received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized vaccines.

The HHS-OIG, FBI, and FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI) investigated the cases. Fraud Section Trial Attorney Babu Kaza and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Lloyd-Lovett and Kristina Green for the Northern District of California prosecuted the cases.

United States v. Scott Davis

On May 27, Scott Davis, 46, of Harris County, Texas, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Texas to wire fraud as part of a scheme to fraudulently obtain $3.3 million in PPP funds.

According to court documents, from in or around April 2020 to in or around May 2020, Davis submitted three PPP loan applications fraudulently representing that three of his fake business entities had 113 employees and monthly payroll of $233,469; 87 employees and monthly payroll of $387,000; and 138 employees and monthly payroll of $718,256, respectively.

Davis faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI and SBA-OIG are investigating the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorney Edward Emokpae is prosecuting the case.

United States v. Gustavo Geraldes

On April 28, Gustavo Geraldes, 39, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy to offer and pay healthcare kickbacks as part of a COVID-19 health care fraud scheme.

According to court documents, from on or about Oct. 27, 2020, to on or about Nov. 30, 2020, Geraldes conspired to pay kickbacks to an intermediary who arranged for telemedicine providers to authorize medically unnecessary genetic testing orders for tests to be performed at laboratories owned by Geraldes. The scheme exploited temporary amendments to telehealth restrictions enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were intended to expand access to care for Medicare recipients by making it easier for beneficiaries to receive necessary medical care from home. Geraldes and his co-conspirators took advantage of these waivers by using telehealth providers to authorize thousands of medically unnecessary genetic test orders.

Geraldes faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The HHS-OIG and FBI are investigating the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorney Ligia Markman is prosecuting the case. 

United States v. Darrell Thomas, et al.

Between Jan. 4, 2021, and Aug. 31, 2022, 13 defendants were sentenced and another five pleaded guilty in the Northern District of Georgia for their roles in a scheme to fraudulently obtain over $12 million in PPP and EIDL funds. 

According to court documents, from in or around April 2020 through in or around August 2020, the defendants and their co-conspirators submitted at least 14 fraudulent loan applications totaling more than $14.7 million, including approximately $11.1 million in fraudulent PPP loans, more than $1.15 million in fraudulent EIDL loans, and more than $2.4 million in fraudulent automobile loans. In the loan applications, the conspirators fraudulently certified that each applicant business was in operation on Feb. 15, 2020, and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes or that it paid independent contractors; that the funds would be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or to make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility payments; and that the information provided in the application and in all supporting documents was true and accurate in all material respects. In the PPP loan applications, each business reported that it had approximately 60 employees and approximately $300,000 in average monthly payroll expenses, when, in fact, most of the businesses existed only largely on paper. To support these payroll figures, each business’s loan application was accompanied by a fraudulent IRS Form 941.  

After the PPP loan proceeds were deposited into the businesses’ accounts, the conspirators distributed the funds through a series of transactions that were devised to disguise the origins of the funds and how the funds were spent. The conspirators used the PPP loan proceeds to purchase, among other things, luxury goods, including two Range Rovers, an Acura NSX, and a Mercedes Benz S-Class S65 AMG.

The following 12 defendants were sentenced:

Darrell Thomas, 36, of Johns Creek, Georgia, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Charles Petty, aka Charles Knight, 49, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison.

Khalil Gibran Green Sr., 47, of Cleveland, Ohio, was sentenced to three years and five months in prison.

Bern Benoit, 45, of Burbank, California, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison. 

Charmaine Redding, 28, of Macomb, Michigan, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison.

Charles Hill, IV, 46, of Norcross, Georgia, was sentenced to five years of probation, including the first 27 months on home detention.

Andre Lee Gaines, 67, of Dallas, Georgia, was sentenced to five years of probation.

Denesseria Slaton, 53, of McDonough, Georgia, was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison.

Amanda Christian, 34, of Blythewood, South Carolina, was sentenced to three years and five months in prison.

Derek Parker, 57, of Rochester Hills, Michigan, was sentenced to one year and six months in prison.

Rick McDuffie, 51, of Little Rock, South Carolina, was sentenced to two years in prison.

David Belgrave, 50, of Lexington, South Carolina, was sentenced to nine months in prison.

Ryan Whittley, 35, of South Holland, Illinois, was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison.

The following six defendants pleaded guilty:

Dwan Ashong, aka Dwan Gilpin, 41, of Jacksonville, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

El Hadj Sall, 40, of Jacksonville, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Megan Thomas, 33, of Alpharetta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Ricky Dixon, 53, of Warren, Michigan, pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Jesika Blakely, 34, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The FBI, IRS-CI, and TIGTA are investigating these cases. Fraud Section Trial Attorney Siji Moore and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tal Chaiken and Nathan Kitchens for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the cases.

The top count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat fraud related to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly with respect to the resources made available by Congress through the CARES Act for programs including the PPP, the EIDL, and the Provider Relief Fund. Since the CARES Act passed, Fraud Section attorneys have prosecuted more than 192 defendants in more than 121 criminal cases related to CARES Act programs and funds. The Fraud Section has also seized more than $78 million in cash proceeds derived from CARES Act-related fraud schemes, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Information about fake CDC COVID-19 vaccination cards can be reported to HHS-OIG by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS or 1-800-447-8477. Anyone with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Carter Healthcare LLC, an Oklahoma-based for-profit home health provider, its affiliates CHC Holdings and Carter-Florida (collectively Carter Healthcare), and their President Stanley Carter and Chief Operations Officer Bradley Carter have agreed to pay $7.175 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by billing the Medicare program for medically unnecessary therapy provided to patients in Florida. Bradley Carter will pay $175,000, Stanley Carter will pay $75,000, and Carter Healthcare will pay the remaining $6.925 million of the settlement. 

Between 2014 and 2016, Carter Healthcare allegedly billed the Medicare Program knowingly and improperly for home healthcare to patients in Florida based on therapy provided without regard to medical necessity and overbilled for therapy by upcoding patients’ diagnoses. 

“Payment under Medicare for home health care is permitted only for those who provide medically necessary services to eligible beneficiaries,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “As this settlement demonstrates, the Department is committed to ensuring that providers bill only for appropriate procedures and amounts.”

“Medicare fraud costs our taxpayers billions annually,” said U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “These overpayments drain the Medicare trust fund and unfairly raise the premiums our senior citizens must pay. We take this fraudulent activity very seriously and will continue to prosecute it to the fullest extent of the law.”

“This settlement is a stark reminder to home health providers that our agents are working tirelessly with the Department of Justice to pursue providers that inappropriately bill federal health care programs to boost profits, as alleged here,” said Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG), Miami Regional Office. “Our agency will not hesitate to investigate such allegations to protect federal health care programs and the patients served by these programs.”

Both Stanley Carter and Bradley Carter agreed to be excluded from participation in all Federal health care programs for a period of five years pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7(b)(7), the statutory authority to exclude from federal health programs individuals or entities who engaged in fraud or kickbacks.

Carter Healthcare also agreed to be bound by the terms of a corporate integrity agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General that requires the company to implement compliance measures designed to avoid or promptly detect conduct similar to that which gave rise to the settlement.  

The settlement includes the resolution of an action brought by Sharon Mahaffey and Mark Brimer, therapists formerly employed by Carter Healthcare, under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. These provisions permit a private party to file an action on behalf of the United States for false claims and receive a portion of any recovery. The case is captioned U.S. ex rel. Mahaffey and Brimer v. Carter Healthcare, Stanley Carter and Brad Carter, CV 16-80459 MARRA (S.D. Fla.). Mahaffey and Brimer will together receive $1.3 million as their share of the settlement.  

Contemporaneous with the settlement announced today, Carter Healthcare has agreed to pay an additional $22,948,004.54 to resolve another qui tam action captioned U.S. ex rel. Duffield et al. v. CHC Holdings, LLC et al., Case No. 17-CV-826-HE (W.D. Okla.), brought in the Western District of Oklahoma, which alleged that Carter Healthcare improperly paid remuneration to its home health medical directors in Oklahoma and Texas for the purpose of inducing referrals of Medicare and TRICARE home health patients between 2013 and 2020. 

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

The United States’ investigation of this matter was handled by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. 

Trial Attorney Gregory Mason of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys James A. Weinkle and John Spaccarotella for the Southern District of Florida handled the matter. 

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

The Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) was created by Presidential Order four decades ago. On Oct. 14, 1982, in the Great Hall of the Department of Justice building, President Ronald Reagan announced a new coordinated federal government effort bringing together prosecutors and law enforcement agencies to attack the command and control elements of the drug trafficking organizations responsible for moving massive quantities of illicit narcotics into the country.

The White House directed that the OCDETF’s top priority would be to disrupt the sales and distribution networks of the traffickers. Some of the department’s most notable successes against drug cartels have resulted from OCDETF coordinated investigations and prosecutions. OCDETF was instrumental in taking down the powerful Colombian cartels of the 1980s; the notorious and violent Mexican cartels such as the Tijuana, Juarez and Gulf Cartels in the 1990s; and the methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and opioid threats from all over the world in the last two decades.        

As criminal networks have grown more sophisticated in the last 40 years — branching out to more varied types of criminal activity — OCDETF has responded by expanding its mission beyond drug trafficking organizations and money laundering networks to all forms of transnational organized crime. OCDETF is fully engaged in all manner of investigations into criminal networks involved in human smuggling, sophisticated financial fraud, cyber-enabled crime, illicit finance, arms trafficking, government benefits theft, business e-mail compromise and U.S. sanctions evasion. OCDETF is uniquely and ideally structured to support the fight against transnational organized crime through operational integration, collaboration and law enforcement information sharing.

“Since its founding, OCDETF has been a synchronizer and our role is to incentivize prosecutors to lead smart, creative law enforcement agents in investigations focused on priority targets of organized criminal groups and the illicit financial networks that support them,” said OCDETF Director Adam W. Cohen. “Today, OCDETF provides a forward leaning structure for our partners to work together and leverage each other’s strengths, capabilities and legal authorities resulting in continued positive impacts to the nation.”

OCDETF’s successes over the last 40 years have been made possible by strong collaboration and coordination with its member agencies. OCDETF is partnered with the 93 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the department’s Criminal Division and 11 federal law enforcement agencies from the Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; Federal Bureau of Investigation; U.S. Marshals Service), Homeland Security (Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. Coast Guard; U.S. Secret Service), Treasury (Internal Revenue Service/Criminal Investigation), Postal (U.S. Postal Inspection Service), Labor (Office of the Inspector General), and State (Bureau of Diplomatic Security).

OCDETF’s governance, bringing leadership to the multi-agency transnational organized crime mission and focus on joint priority targets has generated genuine measurable accomplishments — over 34,000 multi-agency cases against priority targets, over 124,000 indictments of almost 360,000 defendants, and incredibly, over 15,690 of those resulted in impactful disruption, or even dismantlement of criminal organizations.     

“As OCDETF begins our 41st year, we will continue to provide a coordination platform for comprehensive investigations and prosecutions of the most dangerous transnational criminal organizations, the successful result of which is to make our nation safer,” said OCDETF Director Cohen.

The Justice Department released the following statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland:

“I am saddened to learn of the passing of former Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti and extend my deepest condolences to his loved ones.

“Attorney General Civiletti was my first boss at the Justice Department in 1979. As one of his Special Assistants, I had the great honor to witness firsthand the skill, integrity, and dedication with which he led the Department.

“Among many other achievements during his tenure, Attorney General Civiletti continued the work begun by his predecessors, Attorneys General Edward Levi and Griffin Bell, in the wake of Watergate to restore public trust in the Department of Justice. Attorney General Civiletti wrote into policy the norms established to ensure the Department's independence, fair application of our laws, and adherence to the Rule of Law. Today, thanks in large part to him, those norms continue to guide the work of every Justice Department employee, every single day.

“Attorney General Civiletti's portrait hangs outside my office, and I am reminded each time I see it of the kind of Attorney General I strive to be. Attorney General Civiletti's dedication to the Justice Department, his work, and his life will continue to be an inspiration for generations of public servants to come.”

Roy Lashley, 55, pleaded guilty today to a federal hate crime for attacking a Black man because of his actual and perceived race.

According to the plea agreement, on Nov. 17, 2021, Lashley traveled to the Family Dollar in Citrus Springs, Florida, where the victim, a Black man, was shopping inside. Lashley repeatedly used racial slurs inside the store in reference to the victim and then followed the victim into the parking lot. There, Lashley retrieved an axe handle from the bed of his truck and struck the victim multiple times with it. Lashley directed racial slurs towards the victim before, during and after the attack. The victim sustained painful injuries to his face and legs, including a laceration to the inside of his mouth. 

“Racially motivated and hate-fueled attacks on Black people have no place in this country,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “As we mark 13 years since passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, we renew our commitment to using all the tools in our law enforcement arsenal to prosecute unlawful acts of hate.”

“The defendant in this case deliberately and brutally attacked the victim because of his race,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “There is no place in our country for this type of abhorrent behavior, and we will prosecute those who commit these heinous crimes to the fullest extent of the law.

“Civil rights investigations are at the heart of what we do at the FBI,” Special Agent in Charge Sherri E. Onks for the FBI Jacksonville Field Division. “Hate crimes are not only an attack on the victim; they are meant to threaten and intimidate an entire community. Because of their wide-ranging impact, investigating hate crimes is among the FBI's highest priorities, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to seek justice for victims and their communities.”

A sentencing hearing has not yet been set. Lashley faces a maximum term of 10 years imprisonment, three years of mandatory supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

Lashley was charged in an indictment that was unsealed on June 17. The indictment charged Lashley and co-defendant Robert Dewayne Lashley, each aiding and abetting one another, with willfully causing bodily injury to the victim because of the victim’s actual and perceived race. Robert Dewayne Lashley pleaded guilty on Oct. 4.

Assistant Attorney General Clarke, U.S. Attorney Handberg and Special Agent in Charge Onks made the announcement.

The FBI and the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office investigated the matter. Trial Attorneys Maura White and Matthew Tannenbaum of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hamilton for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case. 

For more information and resources about the department’s work to combat hate crimes, visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.

The Justice Department announced today that SSM Properties LLC, and Steven and Sheila Maulding, the owners of several apartment complexes in Pearl, Mississippi, and their former rental agent, James Roe, have agreed to pay $123,000 to resolve a racial discrimination lawsuit. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi ruled in August that the defendants had violated the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against Black prospective residents.

“Housing discrimination has no place in our society and a person’s race should never determine where that person can live,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously pursue and hold accountable those who would deny equal housing opportunities because of the color of one’s skin.”

“We will not tolerate discrimination in housing,” said U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca for the Southern District of Mississippi. “Those who choose to deny equal housing opportunities will be held to atone for their conduct.”

“Prospective residents should not be subjected to housing discrimination on the basis of race. It is clear that fair housing testing remains an important tool in identifying those who violate the Fair Housing Act,” said Demetria L. McCain, HUD’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “HUD applauds today’s action and remains committed to working with the Justice Department to vigorously enforce our nation’s fair housing laws.” 

The case began when the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center conducted fair-housing testing at the properties. Testing is a simulation of a housing transaction that compares responses given by housing providers to different types of home-seekers to determine whether or not illegal discrimination is occurring. Based on the results of these tests, which showed that Roe treated Black and white testers differently and made discriminatory statements to the Black testers, the center filed a complaint with HUD. HUD conducted an investigation and determined that there was reasonable cause to believe that discrimination occurred, and referred the matter to the department, which filed this lawsuit. The testers subsequently intervened in the lawsuit as plaintiffs. The court found that Roe’s conduct violated the Fair Housing Act and held the owners legally responsible because Roe was acting as their agent.

Under the terms of the consent decree, which must still be approved by the court, the owner-defendants will pay $110,000 in monetary damages and attorneys’ fees to four Black testers and all the defendants will pay civil penalties to the federal government to vindicate the public interest. The consent decree also prohibits Roe from working at any residential rental properties and requires the owner-defendants to hire an independent leasing manager, implement nondiscriminatory standards and procedures, undergo fair housing training and provide periodic reports to the department.

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the civil rights laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt.  Individuals may report housing discrimination by calling the Justice Department at 1-833-591-0291, emailing fairhousing@usdoj.gov, or submitting a report online. Individuals also may report discrimination by contacting HUD at 1-800-669-9777, or by filing a complaint online.

A federal court issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting a Tampa-area clinic, its operators and a doctor from administering, dispensing or distributing any controlled substances, including issuing prescriptions for opioids, the Department of Justice announced.

In a complaint filed on Oct. 11 and unsealed Oct. 14, the United States alleges that the individual defendants, Dr. Vivian Herrero, Christopher Ferguson and Patricia Ferguson, used Phoenix Medical Management Care Centers Inc., a Tarpon Springs, Florida, pain clinic, to unlawfully issue controlled substance prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. The complaint alleges that two Phoenix patients died soon after receiving opioid prescriptions issued by Dr. Herrero, and further alleges that drug toxicity played a role in those deaths.

“Medical clinics that facilitate the unlawful use of opioids and other controlled substances cannot continue to operate,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will use all available tools to stop the illegal distribution of potentially dangerous prescription drugs.”

“Medical professionals who abandon their oath to protect patients from harm and violate the law compromise the health and safety of patients and must be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “The illegal distribution of opioids continues to cause great harm to people in our communities. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to put an end to this devastating crisis.”

“As communities across Florida are facing the devastating effects of the opioid epidemic, we need to be doing everything we can to prevent prescription opioid misuse,” Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the DEA Miami Field Division. “The DEA Miami Field Division remains steadfast in our mission of working with our law enforcement partners to pursue those who jeopardize the safety and health of our communities.”

The complaint alleges that the Fergusons operate Phoenix Medical, where Dr. Herrero, a licensed pediatrician, writes prescriptions for powerful opioids and other drugs without a legitimate medical basis and despite obvious signs of abuse or diversion. The complaint further alleges that Phoenix operates with unqualified physicians and issues prescriptions to patients with only limited interaction or evaluation. According to the complaint, Christopher Ferguson previously was convicted on state drug trafficking charges, and he currently faces state extortion charges based on alleged conduct at Phoenix.

U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday granted the temporary restraining order in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The pending complaint seeks civil penalties as well as a permanent injunction against the defendants. 

DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad in the Tampa District Office is conducting the ongoing investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsay S. Griffin and Kelley Howard-Allen for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Thomas S. Rosso and Scott B. Dahlquist of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch are handling the case.

The claims made in the complaint are merely allegations that the United States must prove if the case proceeds to trial. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia today returned a two-count superseding indictment charging a 10th defendant, Herb Geraghty, 25, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with conspiracy against rights and FACE Act offenses in connection with an alleged reproductive health care clinic blockade in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 22, 2020.

The original indictment returned by a federal grand jury on March 24, alleges that the nine defendants – Lauren Handy, Jonathan Darnel, Jay Smith, Paulette Harlow, Jean Marshall, John Hinshaw, Heather Idoni, William Goodman and Joan Bell – engaged in a conspiracy to create a blockade at the reproductive health care clinic to prevent the clinic from providing, and patients from receiving, reproductive health services. Several of the defendants traveled from other states to participate in the blockade, including Idoni, of Michigan; Smith and Hinshaw, of New York; and Harlow and Marshall, of Massachusetts.

According to the superseding indictment, as part of the conspiracy, Geraghty communicated with Handy to plan the blockade. Handy made lodging arrangements for her co-conspirators from Michigan, New York and Boston, and she obtained a monetary donation to pay for an Airbnb reservation for herself and Geraghty. According to the indictment, Geraghty and several co-defendants traveled from out-of-state to Washington, D.C. to participate in the clinic blockade.

The superseding indictment further alleges that Handy, Smith, Harlow, Marshall, Hinshaw, Idoni, Goodman, Bell and Geraghty forcefully entered the clinic and set about blockading two clinic doors using their bodies, furniture, chains and ropes. Once the blockade was established, Darnel live-streamed footage of his co-defendants’ activities. The indictment also alleges that all  10 defendants violated the FACE Act by using a physical obstruction to injure, intimidate and interfere with the clinic’s employees and a patient, because they were providing or obtaining reproductive health services.

If convicted of the offenses, the defendants each face up to a maximum of 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $260,000.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia made the announcement.

The case was investigated by the FBI Washington, D.C., Field Office. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel of the Civil Rights Division and the Fraud, Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

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

The Department of Justice announced today more than $370 million in grant awards to fund state, local and Tribal crime and violence reduction efforts and evidence-based strategies that support law enforcement operations, improve officer safety and build trust with communities. The department also announced the selection of six new sites to be part of its National Public Safety Partnership, a nationwide collaborative designed to address pressing local crime challenges.

The funding, from the department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), will support a wide range of criminal justice and public safety activities and will enable officials in jurisdictions across the country to adapt technology and data-driven measures to their public safety challenges. Grant awards will also support training to improve resilience and wellness, fund body-worn camera programs, improve public safety while expanding community engagement and underwrite research and evaluation projects that examine promising police practices.

“Our neighborhoods are safer and healthier when our law enforcement professionals have the tools and technology they need to do their jobs and when the bonds of trust with the community are strong,” said OJP Deputy Assistant Attorney General Maureen Henneberg. “The funding announced today will help provide comprehensive public safety solutions that are tailored to the needs of, and implemented in collaboration with, individual communities.”

The grants, made by OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and National Institute of Justice (NIJ), will support a range of activities designed to tackle serious violence and solve crimes, from gun offenses to sexual assault. Almost $280 million is being distributed through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, the leading source of federal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. Other awards will help state, local and Tribal criminal justice agencies improve information sharing, solve sexual assault cases, aid law enforcement officials in tracing and intercepting illegal guns and combating terrorism, and support research on promising policing practices.

The Justice Department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime articulates a commitment to an approach that is grounded in research and consistent with our values as a nation, and that depends on the effectiveness and wellness of America’s law enforcement community. The awards announced today will support the department’s work to build officer resilience and improve recruitment and diversity in the law enforcement profession. Grants will also help develop body-worn camera programs designed to improve efficiency and maximize transparency. Research grants will support randomized controlled trials and other analyses that examine issues such as field training, co-response models and officer retention.

In addition to these new awards, six cities will join the National Public Safety Partnership (PSP). PSP supports law enforcement and community partners in deploying data-driven, evidence-based strategies tailored to local needs. PSP has served more than 50 sites across the nation. The cities of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Greensboro, North Carolina; Rochester, New York; Sacramento, California; Tucson, Arizona; and Washington, D.C. joined the PSP network today.

“The National Public Safety Partnership’s federal engagement with its selected sites is one of the key pillars of the Justice Department’s work to reduce violence and help strengthen communities,” said BJA Director Karhlton F. Moore. “The collaboration among local entities while utilizing the support from the FBI, ATF, DEA and the U.S. Marshals is long-lasting and assists agencies in building best practices to sustain crime reduction for years to come.”

Below is a list of programs designed to reduce violence and support law enforcement. Descriptions of individual awards can be found by clinking on the links.

• BJA is awarding more than $190 million under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program – State Solicitation, which provides states, Tribes and local governments with critical funding to support law enforcement, prosecutors, public defenders, courts, and corrections and community corrections agencies. Funds also support crime prevention and education initiatives, drug treatment and enforcement activities, criminal justice planning and evaluation, technology improvements, crime victim and witness initiatives, and mental health programs, including behavioral programs and crisis intervention teams. An additional $87.1 million is being awarded directly to local jurisdictions through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program – Local Solicitation.
• BJA is awarding $9 million under its Local Law Enforcement Crime Gun Intelligence Center Integration Initiative, which supports local and Tribal jurisdictions’ capacity to work with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to use intelligence, technology and community engagement to swiftly identify unlawfully used firearms and their sources, and effectively prosecute perpetrators engaged in violent crime. An additional $1.3 million supports the Crime Gun Intelligence University-based Training and Education program, which allows institutions of higher education to develop programs to provide students with hands-on training on the processing of firearms evidence used to generate crime gun intelligence and the investigative processes that lead to arrest and conviction.
• BJA is awarding around $30 million through its National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, which expands state and local jurisdictions’ capacities to respond to violent crime and improves the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases by improving the use of sexual assault kit evidence.
• BJA is awarding $2 million under its State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training Program Training and Technical Assistance initiative, which provides training and technical assistance services to law enforcement officers who face the challenges presented by the international and domestic terrorism threat.
• BJA is awarding $400,000 under the Justice Information Sharing Training and Technical Assistance Program, which provides funding to manage the Criminal Intelligence Systems Operating Policies Training and Technical Assistance Program, which assists state, local and Tribal criminal justice agencies in reducing crime and improving the functioning of the criminal justice system through more effective information sharing, multiagency collaboration and implementation of data-driven, evidence-based strategies.
• BJA is awarding more than $19 million under its Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program to Support Law Enforcement Agencies, which provides funding to law enforcement agencies seeking to purchase body-worn cameras and to establish or expand comprehensive programs focused on maximizing the benefits of this technology and minimizing its risks.
• BJA is awarding $11.5 million under the Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement Officers and Ensuring Officer Resilience and Survivability (VALOR) Initiative, which is designed to improve the immediate and long-term safety, wellness and resilience of the nation’s law enforcement officers through no-cost training (professional education), research and other resources.
• BJA is awarding nearly $11.8 million under the Law Enforcement Initiatives to Improve Public Safety, Enhance Agency Operations and Build Community Trust, which create and implement training and technical assistance programs for criminal justice stakeholders that support local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies in the development of violence reduction strategies, training for law enforcement officers and implementation of ethical technological strategies that build digital trust and promote community engagement.
• BJA is awarding $20.9 million to 3,806 small jurisdictions and $4.5 million to 194 large jurisdictions under its Bulletproof Vest Partnership to provide a critical resource to law enforcement officers.
• NIJ is awarding nearly $6.3 million under its Research and Evaluation on Policing Program, which will examine the implementation and sustainment of long-term organizational change in policing agencies; and police recruitment, retention and training in today’s environment.

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. 

The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) today announced grant awards totaling more than $340 million to help combat America’s substance use crisis amid a continued escalation of overdose deaths.

Opioids — particularly synthetic drugs like fentanyl — were primarily responsible for the deaths of more than 107,000 people in 2021. In its 2022 National Drug Control Strategy, the Biden-Harris Administration outlined a comprehensive strategy for addressing the crisis, guided by one fundamental principle: saving lives. In addition to the devastating human toll, the epidemic drains the economy of more than a trillion dollars in a given year and accounts for billions of dollars in criminal justice spending annually. OJP’s investments in drug and treatment courts, residential treatment programs, prevention and harm reduction services, recovery supports, services for opioid-affected youth and community-based strategies that improve continuity of care and align treatment and public safety are designed to more appropriately meet the treatment and recovery needs of individuals without unnecessarily extending justice system involvement and perpetuating longstanding inequities.

“Opioids and other licit and illicit substances continue to take a massive toll on our society, claiming far too many lives, tearing families apart and laying a disproportionately heavy burden on historically marginalized communities,” said OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon. “It is in all our interests to ensure that those affected by this crisis have access to the support and treatment that they need in order to live productive and fulfilling lives. In making these awards, the Department of Justice is demonstrating its unqualified commitment to making prevention, treatment and recovery part of a unified response to ensure public safety and advance the overall health of our communities.”

“For too long, our justice system has been expected to absorb many of the unaddressed societal and behavioral health challenges and inequities laid bare by the ongoing and escalating substance use crisis,” said Director Karhlton F. Moore of OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). “The resources we are making available today will enable us to address the fundamental issues underlying this epidemic and help contribute to communities that are safe, healthy and supportive.”

BJA and OJP’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) are distributing millions of dollars in grant awards aimed at addressing prevention, treatment and recovery support service needs for individuals with substance use disorders. OJP’s National Institute of Justice is also supporting research and evaluation of veterans treatment courts. In addition to these grants, OJP is awarding $44 million to help communities respond to public safety and public health emergencies, including crises that result from substance use disorders. Funding will also help support youth and their families affected by the opioid and polysubstance use epidemic.

“The opioid crisis has had a profoundly negative — in many cases, devastating — impact on the young people of this country, separating them from family and community support networks and putting them at high risk of substance misuse or substance use disorder, justice system involvement and self-harm,” said OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan. “We are eager to get young people the help they so desperately need so that they can reclaim the hope of a bright future.”

Below is a list of awards made in Fiscal Year 2022 to address the opioid and stimulant crisis and meet the needs of individuals with substance use disorders. Descriptions of individual awards can be found by clinking on the links.

• BJA is awarding $140.1 million under its Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant and Substance Abuse Site-Based Program, which will help communities address the prevention, diversion, treatment and recovery needs of those affected by substance use disorders. Another $8.75 million is funding for training and technical assistance to support grantees and organizations in the field. Training and technical assistance funds will also support peer-to-peer mentoring initiatives and demonstration projects, including a focus on rural communities.
• $52 million under BJA’s Adult Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program will help states, state courts, local courts and federally recognized Tribal governments implement and enhance the operations of adult drug courts. Another $4.5 million is funding related to training and technical assistance.
• BJA is awarding $17.8 million under the Veterans Treatment Court Discretionary Grant Program and an additional $1.3 million under its Veterans Treatment Court Risk and Need Enhancement Initiative which provide resources to state, local and federally recognized Tribal governments to support drug court programs and systems for eligible veterans in the criminal justice system who have substance use disorders.
• NIJ is awarding $3 million under its Multisite Impact and Cost-Efficiency Evaluation of Veterans Treatment Courts program, which will examine the impact of veterans treatment courts on relapse, recidivism and other outcomes, as well as their cost-efficiency, which program elements are effective and for whom they work best.
• BJA is awarding $34.9 million to support the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Program, which helps states develop and implement residential substance use treatment programs, including medication-assisted treatment within correctional and detention facilities. An additional $800 thousand will fund training and technical assistance.
• BJA is awarding $15.4 million to fund the Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, which enhances the capacity of regulatory and law enforcement agencies and public health officials to collect and analyze controlled substance prescription data and other scheduled chemical products through a centralized database administered by an authorized agency. Another $6 million will support training and technical assistance.
• BJA is awarding $7.2 million under the Improving Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Outcomes for Adults in Reentry Program, which establishes, expands and improves treatment and recovery support services for people with substance use disorders during their incarceration and upon their reentry into the community.
• BJA is awarding $3.5 million to support the Drug Data Research Center to Combat the Opioid Crisis, which will create a regional drug data research center to help promote the collection, analysis and dissemination of information critical to responding to the overdose crisis and the effects of opioids, stimulants and other substances.
• OJJDP is awarding $16.3 million to support Mentoring for Youth Affected by the Opioid Crisis and Other Drug Misuse, which supports services for youth who are currently using or at risk for using drugs or youth with family members who have a substance use disorder.
• OJJDP is awarding $9.1 million to support the Opioid Affected Youth Initiative, which will support states, communities, tribes and nonprofit organizations implementing programs and strategies that treat children, youth and families impacted by the opioid epidemic. An additional $1.5 million will support training and technical assistance.
• OJJDP’s Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Program is awarding $3 million to jurisdictions to establish or enhance juvenile drug treatment courts and to improve court system operations and treatment services.
• OJJDP is awarding $15.4 million under its Family Treatment Court Program to build the capacity of local courts, units of local government and federally recognized Tribal governments to establish new family treatment courts or enhance existing family treatment courts.
• OJJDP is awarding $9 million under its Drug Treatment Courts Training and Technical Assistance Program, which will fund training and technical assistance to states, state and local courts, units of local government and governments to build their capacity to develop, maintain and enhance drug courts for individuals who misuse substances or have substance use disorders and/or co-occurring mental health disorders.

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 strengthen and criminal and juvenile justice systems.  More information about OJP and its components can be found at  www.ojp.gov.

An indictment was unsealed today charging Norlan Jose Carrasco Lopez, aka Catracho, a Honduran national, with international cocaine trafficking. He is scheduled to appear in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Oct. 17.

According to court documents, between September 2018 and June 2021, Carrasco Lopez, 54, was allegedly a member of an international drug trafficking organization responsible for importing large quantities of cocaine from Venezuela to Belize aboard U.S. registered aircraft. Foreign law enforcement seized a shipment of more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine that had been transported on a U.S. registered aircraft allegedly coordinated by Carrasco Lopez and his co-conspirators.

A grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment against Carrasco Lopez on June 28, 2021. In June 2022, Carrasco Lopez was arrested by Honduran authorities, pursuant to a provisional arrest requested by the United States, and he remained detained in Honduras pending his extradition. He was extradited from Honduras to the United States on Oct. 13.

Carrasco Lopez is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess five kilograms or more of cocaine on board an aircraft registered in the United States with intent to distribute and one count of distribution of a controlled substance on board an aircraft registered in the United States. If convicted of either count, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal 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.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Orlando District Office is investigating with assistance from the DEA Honduras and Belize Country Offices, and Homeland Security Investigation’s (HSI) Orlando District Office.

Trial Attorneys Douglas Meisel and Robert Sainvil of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS) are prosecuting the case. Former NDDS Trial Attorney Michael Christin, now with the Criminal Division’s Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section, assisted with the prosecution. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Carrasco Lopez. The Criminal Division’s Office of Enforcement Operations and the Belize law enforcement also provided significant assistance.  

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

BANGOR, Maine: A Greenville man was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Bangor today for possessing child sexual abuse materials, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced.

U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced Eugene Murray, 28, to 12 months and one day in prison and five years of supervised release. Murray pleaded guilty on November 1, 2021.

According to court records, beginning in January 2019, Murray began communicating with an undercover FBI agent on Kik Messenger in a chat group that appeared to have an interest in children and child pornography. After Murray posted a link to child sexual abuse materials, a search warrant was executed at his residence during which he admitted to viewing child pornography. A forensic examination of his phone revealed links to images. 

The FBI investigated the case.

To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt or production of child pornography: "Child pornography" captures the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. These images document victims’ exploitation and abuse, and they suffer re-victimization each time the images are viewed. File a report with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at https://report.cybertip.org/ or 1-800-843-5678. Your report will be forwarded to a law enforcement agency for investigation and action. If you have an emergency that requires an immediate law enforcement response, call 911 or contact your local police or sheriff’s department.

Project Safe Childhood: This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

###

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, Federal Trade Commission Chair (FTC) Lina M. Khan and Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager of the European Commission met today in Brussels for the second meeting of the U.S.-EU Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue (TCPD). The three leaders met to take stock of the progress made on their cooperation efforts to ensure and promote fair competition in the digital economy, since the agencies launched the TCPD on Dec. 7, 2021.

“The European Commission has been an invaluable partner as the Antitrust Division advances its understanding of the market realities and competition challenges presented by digital markets," said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter. “We look forward to continued close collaboration as we work to effectively enforce the antitrust laws in our jurisdictions.”

“Dominance in digital markets poses global challenges, which makes global cooperation by antitrust enforcers essential,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “Deepening our partnership and exchanging insights with our European colleagues can help ensure that our enforcement practices and policies reflect modern market realities. Ultimately, these efforts to promote fair competition in digital markets will benefit consumers, businesses and workers on both sides of the Atlantic.”

“With today’s meeting, we have continued the long standing tradition of close cooperation in competition policy and enforcement between the European Commission and the US competition authorities,” said Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager. “In the fast evolving technology sector, this cooperation is crucial to achieve a fair and inclusive digital transformation on both sides of the Atlantic.”

The high-level discussion focused on several topics, including the importance of horizon scanning to identify key technologies and issues that may raise competition concerns in the future; the adoption of effective remedies in digital cases; and the forthcoming update to the U.S. Merger Guidelines.

The three agency heads recognized the robust case and policy cooperation between their services both overall and in the digital sector. Throughout the year, several technical meetings took place on various topics in the framework of the TCPD covering both merger and conduct matters. The representatives expressed their appreciation for the constructive exchanges of views on all these activities. The three authorities reiterated the importance of continuing to closely collaborate in the technology sector within the framework of the TCPD.

On Dec. 7, 2021, the Justice Department, the FTC, and the European Commission launched the TCPD to further boost transatlantic cooperation on competition policy and enforcement in the digital sector in light of the common challenges facing the three authorities. Upon its launch, the Commission and U.S. competition agencies issued a statement regarding the TCPD and reaffirming their longstanding tradition of close cooperation on competition matters. 

On June 15, 2021, President Biden and the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen launched the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC). The TTC serves as a forum for the United States and European Union to coordinate approaches to key global trade, economic and technology issues and to deepen transatlantic trade and economic relations based on shared democratic values.

The Justice Department, the FTC, and the European Commission have a longstanding tradition of close cooperation in antitrust enforcement and policy. This cooperation began even before the formal 1991 agreement between the European Commission and the United States regarding the application of their competition laws, subsequently complemented by the 1998 agreement on the application of positive comity principles in the enforcement of their competition laws. In 2011, the three agencies reaffirmed their strong commitment to this mutually beneficial cooperative relationship by adopting Joint Best Practices on Merger Cooperation.

The Department of Justice today announced that it has secured a settlement agreement with Professional Maintenance Management (PMM), a cleaning and janitorial services company based in Maryland. The settlement resolves the department’s determination that PMM discriminated against its non-U.S. citizen workers when checking their permission to work in the United States, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

“Employers cannot treat employees differently because of citizenship, immigration status, or national origin when verifying their permission to work,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce the law to ensure that workers do not face discrimination when proving their permission to work in the United States.”

The department’s investigation determined that PMM routinely required specific documents from newly-hired non-U.S. citizens to prove they had permission to work in the United States. Specifically, the department found that PMM asked lawful permanent residents to show their permanent resident cards (sometimes known as “green cards”), and asylees and refugees to show their employment authorization documents (sometimes known as “work permits”), to prove their permission to work. At the same time, PMM allowed U.S. citizens to choose from among various acceptable document types.

Under the terms of the settlement, PMM will pay a civil penalty of $300,000 to the United States. Additionally, PMM will train staff on the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, change its policies, and be subject to departmental monitoring for a three-year period. 

Federal law allows 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 should allow workers to present whatever acceptable documentation the workers choose and cannot reject valid documentation that reasonably appears to be genuine.

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 discrimination when verifying permission to work 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. View the Spanish translation of this press release here.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced today, based upon a thorough investigation focused on custodial informant activity from 2007 through 2016, that the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department operated a custodial informant program that systematically violated criminal defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to counsel and Fourteenth Amendment right to due process of law.

Specifically, the department found reasonable cause to believe that Orange County prosecutors and Sheriff deputies violated the Sixth Amendment by using jailhouse informants to elicit incriminating statements from people who had been arrested, after those individuals had been charged with a crime. The department also found that Orange County prosecutors violated the Fourteenth Amendment by failing to disclose exculpatory evidence about those custodial informants to criminal defendants. The department believes that OCDA and OCSD stopped using informants as agents of law enforcement to obtain statements from charged defendants in the Orange County Jail in 2016.

The Justice Department provided a comprehensive, written report of its investigative findings to the Orange County District Attorney and Sheriff. The report explicitly acknowledges the reforms that the District Attorney’s Office and the Sheriff’s Department have implemented already, and identifies the additional remedial measures that the department believes are necessary to fully address its findings.

“All persons who are accused of a crime are guaranteed basic constitutional protections that are intended to ensure fairness in criminal proceedings and due process of law,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke. “Prosecutors and law enforcement officers have an obligation to uphold these rights in their fight against crime and in their pursuit of justice, including in the way that they use custodial informants against criminal defendants. The failure to protect these basic constitutional guarantees not only deprives individual defendants of their rights, it undermines the public’s confidence in the fundamental fairness of criminal justice systems across the county.”   

The evidence uncovered by the department reveals that custodial informants in the Orange County Jail system acted as agents of law enforcement to elicit incriminating statements from defendants represented by counsel, and that for years Orange County Sheriff deputies maintained and concealed systems to track, manage, and reward those custodial informants. The evidence also reveals that Orange County prosecutors failed to seek out and disclose exculpatory information regarding custodial informants to defense counsel. 

The department opened this investigation in 2016. The department reviewed thousands of pages of documents, conducted numerous site visits and interviewed dozens of witnesses, including Orange County prosecutors. The department also monitored developments in criminal cases, including those that culminated recently. Orange County officials cooperated throughout the investigation.

The Special Litigation Section of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C., conducted the investigation 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 statute allows the department to remedy such misconduct through civil litigation.

The Special Litigation Section will be contacting members of the Orange County community for input on reforms to address the department’s findings. Individuals may also submit recommendations by email at Community.OrangeCountyCA@usdoj.gov.

Information specific to the Civil Rights Division’s Police Reform Work can be found here: /media/872116/dl?inline. 

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Bartow County, Georgia, alleging that the County violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it subjected former employee Carlen Loyal to a racially hostile work environment, retaliated against former employee Bobby Turner, and fired both men, who are Black. Title VII is a federal statute that prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin and religion. Title VII also forbids employers from retaliating against employees for complaining about discrimination in the workplace or otherwise asserting their rights under Title VII.

According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Loyal was employed at the County’s Road Department for almost 10 years. Loyal’s brother-in-law, Turner, was also employed by the Road Department for several years. In 2019, Loyal complained to his supervisor that a white co-worker sent him a text message referring to him as an “n-word.” After Loyal’s complaint, the human resources (HR) director called Loyal into his office, where he subjected Loyal to additional, severe racial harassment in front of the employee who sent the racist text message. The HR director also demanded to know whether Loyal had informed anyone else of the text message, and Loyal responded that he had informed Turner. Just over two weeks later, the County accused Loyal and Turner of misconduct and terminated their employment. The complaint alleges that Loyal and Turner, each of whom had been promoted several times, had no prior history of discipline with the County before Loyal complained about race discrimination.

“No employee should have to endure racial harassment or retaliation in the workplace, especially racial slurs,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Punishing employees for reporting harassment and discrimination to their supervisors is illegal and undermines the basic statutory protections designed to identify and root out racial harassment in workplaces across the country.”

“No one should be forced to labor in an environment where employers condone racial slurs and employees are expected to tolerate them,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. “It is also unacceptable for an employer to foster a work environment where employees with the courage to report such abhorrent behavior experience retaliation from supervisors and face termination of their jobs.  Our office will vigorously and continuously leverage our resources to address this type of illegal discrimination in the workplace.”

Loyal and Turner filed charges of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC’s Atlanta District Office investigated the charges and found reasonable cause that the County violated Title VII. After unsuccessful conciliation efforts, the EEOC referred the charges to the Justice Department.

The United States, through this lawsuit, seeks to require the County to develop and implement policies that would prevent discrimination and retaliation. The United States also seeks monetary relief for Loyal and Turner to compensate them for damages that they sustained as a result of the alleged discrimination and retaliation.

The full and fair enforcement of Title VII is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division and the jurisdiction of the Employment Litigation Section is available on its websites at www.justice.gov/crt/ and https://www.justice.gov/crt/employment-litigation-section. 

This case is being handled by Senior Trial Attorney Jeremy Monteiro of the Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Trishanda L. Treadwell for the Northern District of Georgia.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has awarded almost $17.5 million in grants to support the Project Safe Neighborhoods Program. Funding will support efforts in jurisdictions across the country to address the epidemic of gun crime and serious violence.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), part of the department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), will administer the grant awards, which are being made to state and local agencies in partnership with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.

“Reducing violence and sustaining those reductions will require strong partnerships between criminal justice agencies and community stakeholders and a shared commitment to the safety and well-being of every community member,” said OJP Deputy Assistant Attorney General Maureen Henneberg. “The investments we are making through Project Safe Neighborhoods will enable every stakeholder to play a part in building safer and healthier communities.”

Launched two decades ago as an evidence-based and community-oriented response to serious gun crime, Project Safe Neighborhoods, known as PSN, is a key component of the department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime, outlined by Deputy Attorney General Monaco in May 2021. The PSN approach is guided by four key principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities; supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place; setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities; and measuring the results of our efforts. The fundamental goal is to reduce violent crime, not simply to increase the number of arrests or prosecutions.

PSN programs are led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in collaboration with local public safety agencies and community organizations. The programs’ emphasis on community engagement, prevention and intervention measures, focused and strategic enforcement, and measurement and accountability has helped achieve overall reductions in violent crime, including gun homicides, in neighborhoods where PSN strategies have been implemented.

“Over its two-decade history, Project Safe Neighborhoods has evolved to meet the complex challenges of community violence by enlisting the insights and expertise of local partners and by relying on the latest evidence,” said BJA Director Karhlton F. Moore. “We are proud to support our U.S. Attorneys and their allies in their critical work to curb violent crime and build the mutual trust necessary to ensure lasting success.”

The awards announced above are being made as part of the regular end-of-fiscal year cycle. More information about awards under PSN and other OJP grants 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.

The Department of Justice today announced more than $139 million in grant funding through the department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) COPS Hiring Program (CHP). The awards provide direct funding to 180 law enforcement agencies across the nation, allowing those agencies to hire 973 additional full-time law enforcement professionals.

“As law enforcement agencies across the nation continue to experience recruitment and retention challenges, we are proud to provide these resources to help alleviate those challenges confronting the profession,” said COPS Office Acting Director Robert Chapman.

CHP is a competitive award program intended to reduce crime and advance public safety through community policing. CHP provides funds directly to law enforcement agencies to hire new or rehire additional career law enforcement officers and deputies to enhance their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. Of the 180 agencies awarded grants today, nearly half will use the funding to focus on building legitimacy and trust between law enforcement and communities; 30 agencies will seek to address high rates of gun violence; 26 will focus on other areas of violence; and 28 will focus CHP resources on combating hate and domestic extremism or supporting police-based responses to persons in crisis. The complete list of awards can be found here.

Since its creation in 1994, COPS has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and Tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 136,000 officers. CHP, COPS’ flagship program, continues to be in demand today: In FY22, COPS received 711 applications requesting more than 2,800 law enforcement positions.

To learn more about CHP, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/chp-award. For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/. 

The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Department of Justice agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served.

In an indictment unsealed yesterday, a Miami grand jury charged three defendants for their roles in an alleged scheme to fabricate and falsify clinical drug trial data, the Department of Justice announced.

Miguel Montalvo, 52, Bernardo Garmendia, 58, and Ivette Portela, 52, all of Miami, were charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Sept. 13. Each defendant was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one substantive count of wire fraud. In addition, Montalvo was charged with making a false statement to a regulatory investigator with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

According to the indictment, from at least September 2015 through at least March 2018, the defendants fabricated clinical trial data for profit while working at AMB Research Center Inc., a medical clinic based in Miami. The indictment alleges that the defendants knowingly enrolled subjects in a clinical trial even though those subjects failed to meet eligibility criteria, falsified subject laboratory results, falsified subject medical records, and falsely represented that subjects were taking the drug being studied when, in fact, they were not. Montalvo and Garmendia were co-owners of AMB Research Center, where Montalvo also served as a lead study coordinator and Garmendia served as a study coordinator. Portela worked at AMB Research Center and was a pharmacy technician. 

Trial Attorneys Karla-Dee Clark and Jessica C. Harvey of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, Miami Field Office, investigated the case, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida has provided critical assistance.

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

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

El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha llegado a un acuerdo conciliatorio con Professional Maintenance Management («PMM»), una empresa de servicios de limpieza y conserjería con sede en Maryland. El acuerdo resuelve la determinación del Departamento de que PMM discriminó a sus trabajadores no ciudadanos estadounidenses mientras verificaba su permiso para trabajar en los Estados Unidos, lo que va en contra de la ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad («INA», por sus siglas en inglés).

«Los empleadores no pueden tratar a los empleados de manera diferente al verificar su permiso para trabajar por motivo de su ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen», manifestó Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. «El Departamento de Justicia seguirá haciendo cumplir con firmeza la ley con el fin de garantizar que los trabajadores no se enfrenten a discriminación a la forma de probar su permiso para trabajar en los Estados Unidos».

La investigación del Departamento determinó que PMM, de manera rutinaria, requería documentos específicos de los no ciudadanos estadounidenses recién contratados a fin de probar que tenían permiso para trabajar en los Estados Unidos. En concreto, el Departamento encontró que PMM solicitaba que los residentes permanentes legales mostraran sus Tarjetas de Residente Permanente (conocidas algunas veces como «tarjetas verdes») y que los asilados y refugiados mostraran sus Documentos de Autorización para Trabajar (conocidos algunas veces como “permisos de trabajo”), a fin de probar que tenían permiso para trabajar. A la misma vez, PMM permitía que los ciudadanos estadounidenses eligieran entre varios tipos de documentos aceptables.

Según los términos del acuerdo, PMM pagará una sanción civil de $300,000 a los Estados Unidos. Además, PMM capacitará al personal sobre los requisitos de la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA, cambiará sus políticas y se someterá a supervisión por el Departamento por un período de tres años.

La ley federal permite que los trabajadores elijan la documentación válida y legalmente aceptable que desean presentar para demostrar su identidad y permiso para trabajar, independientemente de su ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen. La disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA prohíbe que los empleadores soliciten documentos específicos debido a la ciudadanía, el estatus migratorio o la nacionalidad de origen de un trabajador. De hecho, muchos no ciudadanos estadounidenses, entre ellos los residentes permanentes legales, refugiados y asilados, califican para presentar varios de los mismos tipos de documentos que presentan los ciudadanos estadounidenses (tales como licencias de conducir y tarjetas de Seguro Social sin restricciones) para demostrar que tienen permiso para trabajar. Los empleadores deben permitir que los trabajadores presenten cualquier documentación aceptable que los trabajadores elijan y no pueden rechazar documentación válida que razonablemente parezca ser genuina.

La Sección de Derechos de Inmigrantes y Empleados («IER», por sus siglas en inglés) de la División de Derechos Civiles es responsable de hacer cumplir la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA. La ley prohíbe la discriminación por motivos de estatus de ciudadanía y nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido o reclutamiento o recomendación por comisión, prácticas documentales injustas y represalias e intimidación. 

Aprenda más sobre el trabajo de la IER y cómo conseguir ayuda mediante este vídeo corto. Encuentre más información en el sitio web de la IER sobre cómo los empleadores pueden evitar la discriminación durante el proceso de verificación de su permiso para trabajar. Aquellos aspirantes o empleados que creen haber sido discriminados por motivos de su ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido, reclutamiento o verificación de la elegibilidad para trabajar (Formulario I-9 e E-Verify) o sujetos a represalias pueden presentar una denuncia. El público también puede llamar a la línea directa de la IER para trabajadores al 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); llamar a la línea directa de la IER para empleadores al 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); enviar un correo electrónico a IER@usdoj.gov; inscribirse a un seminario en línea gratuito; o visitar los sitios web de la IER en inglés o español. Para recibir las últimas noticias de la IER, inscríbase a GovDelivery.

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina M. Khan participated in a G7 Joint Competition Policy Makers & Enforcers Summit (Summit) today as part of the 2022 G7 Digital and Technology Track. The Summit, hosted by the German Bundeskartellamt and Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, explored how G7 governments are approaching competition policy and enforcement in digital markets.

The Summit offered a unique opportunity for competition officials to discuss common areas of interest and consider areas for increased cooperation and coordination to support competitive digital markets. The participating delegates were from G7 competition authorities and economic ministries in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K., and the United States, plus the European Commission. 

“Meeting with our like-minded G7 colleagues presents an excellent opportunity to take stock of our common experiences in confronting anticompetitive conduct in digital markets,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter. “Germany has ably guided the G7 in this area, following the path set by France and the U.K.”

“Today’s summit was a valuable opportunity to exchange insights with our colleagues from around the world,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “This international cooperation is especially crucial as enforcers navigate the global challenges posed by dominant digital platforms and work to promote fair competition and the many benefits it delivers.”

In preparation for the Summit, the participating agencies contributed to the “Compendium of Approaches to Improving Competition in Digital Markets,” with highlights from G7 competition authority’s work on digital markets, and the Policy Makers Inventory of legislative approaches to competition in digital markets within the G7 was also presented.

The Department of Justice today notified the state of Alabama of its findings that the state illegally discriminates against children in foster care with emotional and behavioral disabilities. The department concluded that Alabama has relegated hundreds of students with disabilities to segregated and inferior educational programs in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The department’s findings follow an investigation into allegations that the state denies children in foster care equal opportunity to basic educational services on the basis of disability. 

“Students with disabilities in Alabama’s foster care system are among the most vulnerable in the state’s care, and they deserve better than placement in segregated and inferior schools,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will defend every child’s right to equal educational opportunities in schools where they can be supported and challenged.” 

Alabama is charged with providing educational services for children in its foster care system, including when the state places those children in psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs). Children in foster care who are placed in Alabama’s PRTFs are often automatically enrolled in segregated on-site schools without an appropriate educational assessment and regardless of their academic abilities. These unnecessary placements, which can extend for long periods of time, sever children’s ties to their home schools, teachers, social activities and peers. The department concluded that, in most cases, these children could be appropriately served in general education settings where they would receive the many documented academic and social benefits of inclusion.

The department’s investigation found a lack of appropriate oversight and monitoring by the state of education services provided to students in PRTFs. Among other concerns, the state does not require that PRTFs consider whether the students could be served in age-appropriate community educational settings. Instead, the state permits the facilities to automatically enroll these students in the school located on the PRTF campuses. In these highly-segregated placements, they often lack access to grade-appropriate curricula, adequate instruction, facilities such as libraries, science labs and gyms and activities such as sports and extracurriculars.

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division Educational Opportunities Section with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama conducted this investigation. The full findings letter can be found below.

Enforcement of Title II of the ADA, and the integration mandate of Olmstead v. L.C., is a priority of the Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt, and additional information about the work of the Educational Opportunities Section is available at www.justice.gov/crt/educational-opportunities-section.

Members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at www.civilrights.justice.gov/.

The United States filed a complaint to stop a food manufacturer in Antioch, California, from making and selling adulterated and misbranded noodle products, the Justice Department announced today.

In a civil complaint for permanent injunction filed on Oct. 12, the United States alleges that Cuong T. Do, through his business, Cali Rice Valley Inc., violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) by failing to follow preventive controls requirements and causing uncooked and ready-to-eat wheat and rice noodles to become adulterated or misbranded.

“Food manufacturers must ensure the safety of their products,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work closely with FDA and take action against food manufacturers that operate under insanitary conditions.”

“The FDA plays a vital role in safeguarding the U.S. food supply and helping to ensure that our food is not contaminated before it reaches consumers,” said Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs Judy McMeekin, Pharm.D. “We take our responsibility seriously and will continue to protect consumers by taking action against those who threaten the safety and quality of the products we regulate.”

The complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that FDA investigators visited Do’s Cali Rice Valley facility in 2021 and 2022 and found insanitary conditions, such as insects on ingredients, ingredient bags with holes, rainwater leaking into ingredient storage rooms, utensils and equipment that were not sanitized, and poor employee practices. The complaint alleges that such conditions can create an ideal environment for the growth of harmful bacteria. The complaint also alleges that FDA’s inspections identified violations of preventive controls requirements intended to provide assurance that significant food safety hazards will be controlled and the food manufactured by the facility will not be adulterated or misbranded.

The complaint further alleges that tests from environmental samples taken at Do’s facility detected the bacteria Listeria innocua (L. innocua) in and around food preparation areas. According to the complaint, the presence of L. innocua indicates environmental conditions that also could support the growth of the pathogen Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono). Food contaminated with L. mono can cause symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting in healthy adults. For vulnerable consumers — including pregnant women, the elderly and the immune-compromised — L. mono can cause more serious effects, such as stillbirths, miscarriages and death.

The complaint also alleges that the firm’s products are misbranded because they fail to declare the presence of the allergens wheat and egg, among other violations.

According to the complaint, Do sells his noodles throughout the Bay Area. The government’s lawsuit seeks an injunction that would require Do and Cali Rice Valley to make sanitation improvements and comply with federal food safety requirements before making or distributing any more noodle products.

Trial Attorney David Crockett of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch is handling the case with the assistance of Senior Counsel Claudia Zuckerman of the FDA’s Office of the Chief Counsel.

The claims made in the complaint are allegations that, if the case were to proceed to trial, the government must prove by a preponderance of the evidence.

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