District Not Recorded

The former Comptroller General of Ecuador made his initial appearance today in Miami, Florida, for allegedly engaging in a scheme to use the U.S. financial system to launder money to promote and conceal an illegal bribery scheme in Ecuador.

According to the March 24 indictment unsealed today, between approximately 2010 and 2016, Carlos Ramon Polit Faggioni (Polit), allegedly solicited and received over $10 million in bribe payments from Odebrecht S.A., the Brazil-based construction conglomerate, in exchange for using his official position as Comptroller General of Ecuador to influence official actions by the comptroller’s office in order to benefit Odebrecht and its business in Ecuador. Additionally, Polit is alleged to have received a bribe from an Ecuadorian businessman in or around 2015 in exchange for assisting the businessman and his company in connection with certain contracts from the state-owned insurance company of Ecuador.

The indictment alleges that, from in or around 2010 and continuing until at least 2017, at the direction of Polit, another member of the conspiracy caused proceeds of Polit’s bribery scheme to “disappear” by using Florida companies registered in the names of certain associates, often without the associates’ knowledge. The conspirators also used funds from Polit’s bribery scheme to purchase and renovate real estate in South Florida and elsewhere and to purchase restaurants, a dry cleaner and other businesses. 

Odebrecht S.A. pleaded guilty on Dec. 21, 2016, in the Eastern District of New York to conspiring to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with a broader scheme to pay nearly $800 million in bribes to public officials in 12 countries, including Ecuador.

Polit is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, three counts of concealment money laundering, and two counts of engaging in transactions in criminally derived property. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison for each count of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering and up to 10 years in prison for each count of engaging in transactions in criminally derived property. 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, U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami office made the announcement.

HSI’s Miami Field Office is investigating the case. 

Trial Attorneys Jill Simon and Alexander Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael N. Berger of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Laserna is handling asset forfeiture.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided substantial assistance. The Justice Department also wishes to thank law enforcement authorities in Ecuador, Brazil, Panama, and Curacao for their assistance with the investigation.  

The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.

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

INTERPOL Washington—the U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB)—has successfully launched a new phase in its ongoing efforts to assist the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to improve its border security capabilities. On March 3, 2022, under Project TERMINUS, the USNCB completed the configuration and deployment of a National Dedicated Server Database (DSD) in Nigeria as requested by the NIS in December 2021.

The DSD provides the NIS with a serviceable national database of lost and stolen documents compatible with uploading into the INTERPOL Stolen and Lost Travel Document (SLTD) database. This launch marked the continuation of more than 12 months of collaboration between the USNCB, the U.S. Department of State, INTERPOL, and the Government of Nigeria.

The USNCB, operating under Project Terminus, began remotely providing technical assistance to its NIS counterparts in 2020. In 2021 the USNCB configured and deployed the first Nigerian Automated SLTD Uploader, which allows both the NIS and the National Central Bureau (NCB) in Abuja to connect directly to the INTERPOL database. 

Established in 2018, Project TERMINUS is a partnership between the USNCB and the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism. The mission of Project TERMINUS is to extend INTERPOL's I-24/7 secure, global police-to-police communications system in high risk areas and select host nations globally.

“The USNCB is pleased to continue our partnership with the U.S. Department of State to provide tools and technologies that assist our international law enforcement partners in improving their border security. Project TERMINUS contributes to the ability of all INTERPOL member countries to more effectively secure their borders against transnational threats,” said USNCB Director Michael A. Hughes.  

Project TERMINUS makes expert technical assistance available to countries seeking to integrate access to INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents Database (SLTD) into their national border security information sharing systems to help screen against the illicit international travel of transnational criminals and terrorists. Project TERMINUS is currently operating within the ASEAN and Africa regions. In addition to Nigeria, Partner Nations receiving assistance include Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.
 

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A component of the U.S. Department of Justice, INTERPOL Washington, the U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB), is the designated United States representative to INTERPOL on behalf of the Attorney General. It serves as the national point of contact and coordination for all INTERPOL matters, coordinating international investigative efforts among member countries and the more than 18,000 local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement agencies.

Tacoma - A former Port Angeles, Washington, naturopathic physician was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 8 months in prison and one year of supervised release for a federal felony related to his misbranding, and sale in interstate commerce, of products he claimed could prevent and treat numerous serious diseases, including COVID-19 and MRSA, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas W. Brown.   Richard Marschall, 69, was convicted in October 2021, following a 4-day trial.  The jury found Marschall guilty of Introduction of Misbranded Drugs into Interstate Commerce, his third conviction for the same crime following earlier prosecutions in 2011 and 2017.  At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle said, “It is extremely dangerous during the COVID epidemic for people to be engaged in conduct that would lead other people to defer and wait to receive medical care.”

“Mr. Marschall has a history of lying to patients about their health and his proposed treatments.  His lies in this case are particularly troubling because he employed them when advising others about a deadly pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  “As people became fearful and searched for answers, Marschall touted an unproven treatment as a miracle cure for the deadly disease.  Such conduct can prevent patients from getting the legitimate treatment they need if they become ill.”

 

According to records filed in the case, in late March 2020, Food and Drug Administration criminal investigators began reviewing complaints from the public about Facebook posts for Marschall’s products.   Investigators reviewed Marschall's Facebook page which included claims that his product the “Dynamic Duo” could “crush” viruses, including the coronavirus.  Marschall billed himself as a retired naturopath and “Health Coach.”  Marschall’s Facebook page also claimed that his products could eliminate MRSA and other infections “even if there is antibiotic resistance.”

On March 30, 2020, an FDA investigator spoke to Marschall on the telephone in an undercover capacity explaining to Marschall that she was worried about COVID-19.  Marschall told the investigator that the “Dynamic Duo” contained garlic extract and larch tree starch, and further represented that one of the substances “doesn’t boost the immune system, it just kills the virus.”  Marschall represented that the second substance would boost the production of white blood cells that attack infections.  The undercover agent ultimately ordered the “Dynamic Duo” for $140 plus shipping. 

On the call with the FDA investigator, Marschall also referred to himself as “Dr. Rick Marschall.” His Facebook posts and other marketing materials for the “Dynamic Duo” also referred to Marschall as “N.D.” and “N.D. retired.” But Marschall did not have a license to practice naturopathy. In 2018, the Washington State Department of Health permanently revoked his credential to practice as a naturopath. 

FDA investigators received Marschall’s “Dynamic Duo” products in early April 2020, along with instructional and marketing material.  The products themselves were not made by Marschall but by other manufacturers.  The manufacturers’ labels for the substances do not claim to kill viruses, but the material added by Marschall stated the substances can “crush 30 different viral infections, including those in the Corona family, like in China Corona-19.”

The jury found that Marschall misbranded the drugs because his marketing was false or misleading and because his products were not listed with the FDA.

Marschall was convicted previously and sentenced in federal court for distributing misbranded drugs, both in 2011 and again in 2017. 

In asking for a year-long prison term prosecutors wrote to the court, “For decades, Marschall lied and broke the law to provide unapproved treatments and healthcare services. Marschall lied to patients. He lied to authorities. He treated patients without examining them. And he prescribed substances in unusually large doses. Marschall repeated that dangerous playbook in this case: lying to the undercover agent about his credentials, treating her and her children over the phone without a physical exam, and recommending an extremely high dose of his drug.”

 

The case was investigated by the FDA Office of Criminal Investigation (FDA-OCI).  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas Manheim, Michelle Jensen, and Brian Werner

On March 25, a federal court in the Southern District of Florida permanently enjoined two Miami-area tax return preparers and their businesses from preparing federal tax returns or operating any tax return preparation business in the future. The court ordered that they disgorge more than $60,000 in return preparer proceeds to the United States. The court also issued a narrower injunction against a third preparer and his business.

The complaint alleged that defendant Tammi King owned and operated two return preparation businesses, Kingsworld Financial Services Corp. and Brightstar Management Corp. in South Florida, and employed defendant Norman Williams Jr. to prepare tax returns. The complaint also alleged that a third individual, John Gay Jr., owned a return preparation business called the Tax Doctor LLC, with which King was affiliated at one time. According to the complaint, King, Williams and Gay all prepared tax returns for customers that included fraudulent self-employment expenses, false energy credits, and fake charitable contributions. As one example, the complaint alleged that Williams, a Miami-area firefighter, fabricated more than $1,300,000 in fraudulent cash charitable contributions for 96 of his fellow firefighters for the 2019 tax year.

On Friday, King, Williams and King’s businesses consented to permanent injunctions. They must permanently cease all operations at any office location, including offices located at 8876 N.W. 7th Avenue in Miami and 1130 W. Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. The approximately $60,000 in disgorgement ordered by the court is based on fees associated with returns filed by King and Williams, including 238 returns Williams prepared for fellow-firefighters between tax years 2018 and 2020.

The court also issued a narrower injunction against Gay and The Tax Doctor LLC, to which Gay consented. The injunction does not shut down The Tax Doctor LLC, but requires that Gay and this business employ heightened document substantiation and record keeping requirements before preparing and filing returns claiming certain credits and deductions, including the Child Tax Credit, head of household status for a taxpayer, dependent care deductions and certain tuition-related credits.

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 checklist of things to remember when filing income tax returns in 2022.

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. The IRS has tips on how seniors and individuals with low to moderate income can get other help or guidance on tax return preparation, too.

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 federal court today ordered a Carneys Point, New Jersey company to stop distributing adulterated pet food in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).

In a complaint filed March 15, the United States alleged that Bravo Packing Inc., and its owners and operators, Joseph Merola and Amanda Lloyd, violated the FDCA by distributing adulterated animal food and by causing animal food to become adulterated while held for sale. The complaint alleged that samples collected during U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspections of the Bravo facility in July 2019 and April 2021 contained Salmonella, a pathogenic microorganism that can cause the illness known as salmonellosis in both humans and animals. Salmonella can be transferred from animal food to humans through handling of the food, or directly from infected animals to humans. 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.

“Animal food manufacturers must ensure that their 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 the FDA to ensure that pet food is manufactured in compliance with the law.”

“The food we give our pets should be safe for them to eat and safe for people to handle,” said Director Steven Solomon, DVM, MPH of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. “The FDA has taken this action to protect public health because, despite multiple inspections, notifications of violations and recalls, this firm continued to operate under insanitary conditions and produce pet food contaminated with harmful bacteria. We will not tolerate firms that put people or animals at risk and will take enforcement actions when needed.”

The defendants agreed to settle the suit and be bound by a consent decree of permanent injunction. The negotiated consent decree requires, among other things, that the defendants stop receiving, processing, manufacturing, preparing, packing, holding and distributing adulterated pet food until they take specific remedial measures and demonstrate to the FDA that they will comply with federal law.

The government was represented by Trial Attorney Noah T. Katzen of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, with the assistance of Tara Boland of the FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey also provided assistance.

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

Today, the President submitted to Congress his Budget for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23), which requests a total of $37.65 billion in discretionary resources for the Department of Justice, an increase of $2.63 billion over the Fiscal Year 2022 enacted level.

“The President’s Budget would enable the Justice Department to carry out our mission of upholding the rule of law, keeping our country safe, and protecting civil rights,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We will put these resources to work to keep our country safe from threats both foreign and domestic – from terrorism and gun violence to cybercrime and corporate crime. At the same time, we will step up our efforts to protect civil rights by combating hate crimes, safeguarding fair elections, and strengthening trust and accountability in law enforcement. This Budget would also allow us to reinvigorate antitrust enforcement and ensure the just administration of our nation’s immigration courts and correctional systems. We look forward to working with Congress to secure this Budget’s timely passage.”

Key resource requests for the Department of Justice include:

• A total of more than $20 billion to expand the capacity of the Department’s law enforcement components and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to keep our country safe from a wide range of complex and evolving threats. Key investments to keep our country safe include:
  • $10.80 billion for the FBI and $2.77 billion for the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to carry out their complex mission sets, including by keeping our country safe from violent crime, cybercrime, hate crimes, terrorism, espionage, and the proliferation and potential use of weapons of mass destruction.
  • $2.52 billion for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to continue the fight against dangerous drug trafficking gangs and cartels and to prevent the flow of deadly drugs into our communities.
  • $1.81 billion for the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) to assist local law enforcement in apprehending violent fugitives from our neighborhoods and to protect our nation’s judges and courts.
  • $1.73 billion for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to expand multijurisdictional gun trafficking strike forces with additional personnel, enhance the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, and modernize the National Tracing Center to further build ATF’s capacity to fulfill trace requests from local, state, federal, and international law enforcement agencies.
  • Funding to expand the Justice Department’s efforts to protect children from crime and exploitation; fight elder fraud, abuse, and neglect; combat human trafficking; and promote safety and justice in Indian Country.
• Significant investments in grants for state and local law enforcement partners nationwide dedicated to funding the police, preventing crime, and accelerating criminal justice system reform, including:
  • A total of $6.24 billion in discretionary and mandatory resources in FY23 for the Office of Justice Programs to support critical longstanding Justice Department grant programs – including Byrne Justice Assistant Grants, Project Safe Neighborhoods, and programs that serve victims of crime – as well as new programs that will provide state, local, and Tribal governments with additional resources to prevent crime, reduce gun violence, and accelerate criminal justice system reform.
  • A total of $2.83 billion in discretionary and mandatory resources in FY23 for the Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS Office) to support the hiring of police and sworn law enforcement personnel nationwide and the implementation of community-based strategies to combat violent crime.
  • $1 billion for the Office on Violence Against Women to support longstanding Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) programs, including programs that provide critical resources to all states and territories to fund police, prosecutors, courts and victim services as well as resources to provide legal assistance for victims, transitional housing, and homicide and domestic violence reduction initiatives.
  • The President is proposing a total of $30 billion in new mandatory resources to support law enforcement, crime prevention, community violence intervention, and justice system reform. More details will be provided on this mandatory funding in the coming weeks.
• Critical investments to support the Justice Department’s mission of protecting civil rights, including:
  • Robust support for the Justice Department’s core civil rights components: $215.2 million for the Civil Rights Division to expand its efforts to deter and prosecute hate crimes; safeguard fair elections; and combat discrimination; $25 million for the Community Relations Service to provide mediation and conciliation services to communities impacted by conflict; an additional $17.8 million for the FBI and an additional $8.2 million for the U.S. Attorneys to bolster their civil rights work; and $10 million for the Office for Access to Justice.
  • $106.3 million in new funding to strengthen trust and accountability in law enforcement by expanding, formalizing, and managing Body Worn Camera programs for the FBI, DEA, USMS, and ATF.
  • $7.9 million in new funding for the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s efforts to advance environmental justice and combat the climate crisis.
• Critical investments in the Antitrust Division, the Consumer Protection Branch, the FBI, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and the Criminal Division to promote economic competition; prevent the theft of intellectual property; deter and prosecute corporate crime; protect the government against fraud; and combat corruption. Among other investments, the President’s budget would provide a total of $273 million for the Antitrust Division to reinvigorate antitrust enforcement and protect consumers.
• Resources to ensure the just administration of our nation’s immigration courts and correctional system, including:
  • $1.35 billion for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to reduce the backlog of immigration cases, including by supporting 100 new immigration judges, expanding EOIR’s virtual court initiative, and investing new resources in legal access programming.
  • $8.18 billion for the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to ensure the health, safety, and wellbeing of incarcerated individuals and correctional staff; fully implement the First Step Act and ease carriers to successful reentry; and ensure transparency, accountability, and effective oversight of all federal prisons and detention centers.

A Texas physician was convicted today for unlawfully prescribing more than one million pills of the opioid hydrocodone.   

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, James Pierre, 52, a doctor, of Houston, unlawfully prescribed controlled substances from June 2015 through July 2016 to individuals posing as patients at West Parker Medical Clinic (West Parker), a pill-mill clinic located in Houston. 

Trial evidence showed that Pierre, along with his physician assistant, issued unlawful prescriptions for hydrocodone and carisoprodol, a combination of controlled substances known as the “Las Vegas Cocktail,” to hundreds of individuals posing as patients each week. So-called “runners” brought numerous people to pose as patients at West Parker and paid approximately $220 to $500 in cash for each visit that resulted in prescriptions for dangerous drugs. Throughout the scheme, West Parker made approximately $1,750,000 from prescriptions, and over $300,000 went to Pierre.

Pierre was convicted of one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances and seven counts of unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 27 and faces up to 20 years in prison for each count. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

To date, one co-conspirator has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Jennifer Lowery for the Southern District of Texas; and Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the DEA’s Houston Division made the announcement.

DEA Houston investigated the case.

Trial Attorney John-Alex Romano of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Trial Attorney Maryam Adeyola of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Muschenheim of the Southern District of Texas is handling forfeiture.

The Justice Department found today that the Indiana State Board of Nursing (Nursing Board) violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by prohibiting nurses who take medication to treat Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) from participating in the Indiana State Nursing Assistance Program. The program assists in rehabilitating and monitoring nurses with substance use disorders, and is often required for these nurses to maintain an active license or have one reinstated. The letter of findings asks the Nursing Board to work with the Justice Department to resolve the civil rights violations identified during the course of its investigation.

The department opened an investigation in response to a complaint from a nurse alleging that she was denied participation in the State Nursing Assistance Program because she takes prescribed medication for OUD. The investigation corroborated that the Nursing Board prohibits program participants from using OUD medication and that tapering the nurse off her medication would come with a significant risk of relapse and harm.

“Recovery and monitoring programs must allow individuals to use proven medications that support their recovery, including prescribed medications that treat Opioid Use Disorder,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Refusing to allow individuals to participate in a required support program because of their disabilities violates the ADA and makes it harder for individuals to secure and maintain jobs and livelihoods. Removing discriminatory barriers to employment is an important priority of the Civil Rights Division.”

“Opioid Use Disorder is a difficult disease that impacts people in every occupation. Patients must not be forced to choose between medically approved treatments and their livelihoods,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers for the Southern District of Indiana. “We will work closely with our partners in the Civil Rights Division to ensure that the Americans with Disabilities Act is appropriately enforced.”

Methadone and buprenorphine (including brand names Subutex and Suboxone) are approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat OUD. According to the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), methadone and buprenorphine help diminish the effects of physical dependency on opioids. When taken as prescribed, these medications are safe and effective.

Under Title II of the ADA, the department provided the Nursing Board with written notice of the supporting facts for these findings and the remedial measures necessary to address them. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov. For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. 

Two men were sentenced to prison yesterday for conspiring to defraud the United States by promoting a nationwide tax fraud scheme to more than 200 participants in at least 19 states.

Iran V. Backstrom, aka Shariyf Noble, of Milledgeville, Georgia, was sentenced to 105 months in prison. His second-in-command, Mehef Bey, aka Arthur Daniels, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Backstrom was the main promoter of the scheme and Bey was one of his co-conspirators. Their scheme involved recruiting clients and preparing false tax returns on the clients’ behalf by convincing them their mortgages and other debts entitled them to tax refunds. Between 2014 and 2016, Backstrom and Bey held seminars across the county to publicize the scheme. As part of the scheme, Backstrom, Bey and their co-conspirators helped prepare and file tax returns for the participants that sought more than $64 million refunds from the IRS. These tax returns falsely claimed that banks and other financial institutions had withheld large amounts of income tax from the participants, thereby entitling the clients to a refund. In reality, the financial institutions had not paid any income to, or withheld any taxes from, these individuals. To make the refund claims appear legitimate, however, Backstrom, Bey and their co-conspirators filed fraudulent tax documents with the IRS that matched the withholding information listed on the tax returns, making them appear as if they had been issued by the banks.

As part of his plea, Backstrom admitted he gave orders to others as part of the scheme. Backstrom and Bey both admitted they and their co-conspirators concealed their roles in the scheme by, among other things, indicating the false tax returns had been “self-prepared,” submitting false IRS forms designed to appear as if they were created by the participants’ financial institutions, and coaching the participants on how to conceal the scheme from the IRS. Backstrom and Bey further admitted they and their co-conspirators charged participants approximately $10,000 to $15,000 in fees for the preparation of each tax return.

Two of Backstrom and Bey’s co-conspirators, Aaron Aqueron and Yomarie Febres, have also pleaded guilty and will be sentenced at a later date. 

“Backstrom and Bey marketed a tax refund scheme throughout the country, costing the government millions of dollars,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “They have now received substantial sentences for their criminal conduct. Others contemplating promoting similar schemes should recognize that they too will be identified and face significant time in prison.”

“Tax fraud is a serious crime,” stated U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “The defendants in this case employed a complex scheme to defraud the IRS out of millions of dollars. We encourage consumers to be vigilant in selecting legitimate tax preparers as we continue to work with our law enforcement partners to prosecute those who willfully violate our nation’s tax laws.”

“With tax season in full swing, the significant sentencings of the defendants is a timely reminder of the consequences awaiting those who file fraudulent returns,” said Special Agent in Charge Brian Payne of IRS-Criminal Investigation. “Dishonest return preparers use a variety of methods to cheat the government. If it seems too good to be true, it is very likely too good to be true. Remember, it is your responsibility to know what is on your income tax return. Taxpayers are encouraged to visit the IRS.gov website for tips on selecting a reputable return preparer.”

In addition to the term of imprisonment, the district judge also ordered both defendants to serve three years of supervised release and pay approximately $26,350,630 in restitution to the United States.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and U.S. Attorney Handberg made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind, Kavitha Bondada and Isaiah Boyd III of the Tax Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chauncey A. Bratt for the Middle District of Florida, are prosecuting the case.

A federal grand jury in Austin, Texas,  yesterday returned a three-count indictment charging Franklin Barrett Sechriest with crimes relating to the intentional fire set at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Austin on Oct. 31, 2021. 

According to a federal criminal complaint previously filed in this case and evidence presented at a detention hearing, on Oct. 31, 2021, at around 9:00 p.m., Sechriest set fire to the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue. He was seen on surveillance video carrying a five-gallon container and toilet paper toward the synagogue’s sanctuary. Moments later, multiple surveillance videos captured the distinct glow of a fire ignition appearing to come from the direction of the sanctuary. A security camera captured Sechriest jogging away from the direction of the fire and towards the open driver’s side door of a vehicle. A concerned citizen reported the fire, and the Austin Fire Department responded quickly to extinguish it. No one was injured, but the fire caused over $200,000 in damage. 

The vehicle seen in the surveillance video was later traced to Sechriest’s residence, in part based on surveillance video from Oct. 28, 2021, showing a similar vehicle parked near the synagogue’s sanctuary with the license plate visible. On Nov. 10, 2021, the FBI searched Sechriest’s residence under authority of a court-ordered search warrant. During the search, agents found items similar to those seen on the Oct. 31 surveillance videos, including similar clothing worn by Sechriest and a receipt for a five-gallon container similar to the one seen on video. Also found were various handwritten journals appearing to be written by Sechriest. The journals contained statements related to the synagogue fire and statements demonstrating hatred of and contempt for persons of the Jewish faith.

The indictment charges Sechriest with one count each of damage to religious property, use of fire to commit a federal crime, and arson. If convicted of all charges, Sechriest faces a minimum of 10 years and maximum of 60 years of imprisonment, a fine of $250,000 or twice the loss suffered by the victim, and restitution for the amount of damage caused. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Sechriest remains in federal custody since his arrest on Nov. 12, 2021.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff of the Western District of Texas made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Devlin of the Western District of Texas and Trial Attorney Andrew Manns of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

The FBI and Austin Fire Department are investigating the case.

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

The district court accepted a Michigan man’s guilty plea today to filing a false individual income tax return with the IRS.

According to court documents, Steven A. Mills, formerly of East Lansing, was a real estate consultant who managed Mills Real Estate Consulting LLC. From 2012 to 2015, Mills Real Estate Consulting LLC received payments from third parties with whom Mills was conducting real estate transactions. Mills reported on his federal income tax returns only a portion of the payments he received. For example, on his 2014 federal income tax return, Mills did not report to the IRS approximately $356,100 in such payments made to Mills Real Estate Consulting LLC.

Mills is scheduled to be sentenced on June 14 and faces up to three years in prison for filing a false tax return. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Andrew B. Birge for the Western District of Michigan made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Kenneth Vert and Jeffrey McLellan of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Stella for the Western District of Michigan are prosecuting the case.

A Florida physician was sentenced today in the Southern District of Florida to two years in prison for a health care and wire fraud scheme involving the submission of false and fraudulent claims to both Medicare and a financial services company that offered consumer loans to patients for out-of-pocket medical expenses.

According to court filings and evidence presented during court proceedings, Mark Alan Zager, 72, of Miami, conspired with Dennis Nobbe, a now-deceased chiropractor and owner of Dynamic Medical Services, located in Hialeah, Florida, to defraud Medicare, individual patients, and a financial services company. Zager opened a merchant account in his own name and allowed Nobbe to use the account in exchange for paying kickbacks and bribes to Zager. Through the account, Nobbe routinely applied for loans on patients’ behalf, purportedly for services that would be rendered months in the future but were not provided.

According to court filings and evidence presented during court proceedings, from November 2019 through July 2020, Zager and Nobbe submitted more than $193,000 in false and fraudulent loan applications to a financial services company, resulting in that company paying out approximately $165,000. Additionally, Zager allowed Nobbe to submit claims to Medicare through Zager’s National Provider Number in exchange for kickbacks and bribes. Between December 2019 and July 2020, Zager and Nobbe submitted approximately $19,000 in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. 

Zager pleaded guilty on June 1, 2021 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of health care fraud. Nobbe was charged with several federal crimes by criminal complaint on July 23, 2020, but he passed away on September 14, 2020, after which the complaint was dismissed, and he accordingly remains presumed innocent.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.

The FBI’s Miami Field Office and HHS-OIG investigated the case. 

Trial Attorney Patrick J. Queenan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Michele Klco forthe Southern District of Florida is handling the asset forfeiture aspects of this matter. The case was previously handled by Trial Attorney Sara M. Clingan of the Fraud Section.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 24 federal districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $19 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.  

The operators of a Key West, Florida, labor staffing company, Phoenix ADB Services Inc., pleaded guilty today to tax and immigration crimes related to the operation of their business.

Former City of Key West Police Officer Igor Kasyanenko and Roman Riabov both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States and harbor aliens and induce them to remain in the United States. Mikus Berzins and Andrejs Kozlovs both pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly hiring 10 or more aliens who were not authorized to work in the United States.

According to court documents, from approximately 2014 to 2020 Berzins, Kasyanenko and Riabov owned and operated Phoenix ADB Services Inc. Kozlovs worked for the company from approximately 2016 to 2020. As part of their respective guilty pleas, all four men admitted to facilitating the employment of individuals in hotels, bars and restaurants in Key West and other locations, even though the employees were not authorized to work in the United States. In addition, all four men admitted they paid the workers without withholding Social Security, Medicare and income taxes from their wages, and then did not report those wages to the IRS. Kasyanenko and Riabov also admitted they encouraged workers to enter the United States and remain in the country, in violation of immigration laws.

All four defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on May 27. Kasyanenko and Riabov face a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. Berzins and Kozlovs face a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a period of supervised release and monetary penalties.

A federal district court judge will determine each defendant’s sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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

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

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

Today, the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are issuing a rule to improve and expedite processing of asylum claims made by noncitizens subject to expedited removal, ensuring that those who are eligible for asylum are granted relief quickly, and those who are not are promptly removed.

The rule authorizes asylum officers within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to consider the asylum applications of individuals subject to expedited removal who assert a fear of persecution or torture and pass the required credible fear screening. Currently, such cases are decided only by immigration judges within the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).

Due to existing court backlogs, the process for hearing and deciding these asylum cases currently takes several years on average. When fully implemented, the reforms and new efficiencies will shorten the process to several months for most asylum applicants covered by this rule.

“This rule advances our efforts to ensure that asylum claims are processed fairly, expeditiously, and consistent with due process,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “It will help reduce the burden on our immigration courts, protect the rights of those fleeing persecution and violence, and enable immigration judges to issue removal orders when appropriate. We look forward to receiving additional input from stakeholders and the public on this important rule.”

“The current system for handling asylum claims at our borders has long needed repair,” said Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “Through this rule, we are building a more functional and sensible asylum system to ensure that individuals who are eligible will receive protection more swiftly, while those who are not eligible will be rapidly removed. We will process claims for asylum or other humanitarian protection in a timely and efficient manner while ensuring due process.”

Under the rule, individuals who receive a positive credible fear determination will receive a timely interview with an asylum officer to elicit all relevant and useful information about their asylum claim. Following an interview, USCIS will decide whether to grant asylum, and, if necessary, determine the applicant’s eligibility for withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).

Any individual who is not granted asylum by USCIS will be referred for a removal proceeding before an immigration judge. The rule establishes streamlined procedures for these removal proceedings, designed to promote efficient resolution of the case.

The rule will not apply to unaccompanied children, and it will only apply to individuals who are placed into expedited removal proceedings on or after its effective date. The rule will be implemented in phases, starting with a limited number of individuals and subsequently expanding as the USCIS Asylum Division receives additional resources and builds capacity.

This rule modifies the NPRM’s proposal in response to public comments received following the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) issued by DHS and the Department of Justice in August 2021. The rule will be effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. The Departments encourage further public comment on the rule during the 60-day comment period for the Departments to consider. Details for submitting public comments are in the rule.

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act against Galveston County, Texas, challenging the redistricting plan for its county governing body, known as the Commissioners Court. The plan was adopted by the county on Nov. 12, 2021, after release of the data from the 2020 Census. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

“This action is the latest demonstration of the Justice Department’s commitment to protecting the voting rights of all Americans, particularly during the current redistricting cycle,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Our complaint alleges that Galveston County has violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by devising a redistricting plan that dismantles the only district in which Black and Hispanic voters had the opportunity to elect a candidate of choice to the county’s governing body. We will continue to use all available tools to challenge voting discrimination in our country.”

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas is committed to protecting the voting rights of all of our citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery for the Southern District of Texas. “We are pleased to join the Civil Rights Division in bringing this important lawsuit under the Voting Rights Act.”

The United States’ complaint contends that the 2021 redistricting plan for the county’s governing body violates Section 2 because it has the discriminatory result of denying Black and Hispanic citizens an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and because the new map was adopted, in part with a discriminatory purpose. The complaint alleges that the county deliberately reconfigured the Commissioners Court’s sole, longstanding minority opportunity-to-elect district to eliminate Black and Hispanic voters’ opportunity to elect a representative of their choice. The complaint also alleges that over the course of the past three decades, Galveston County has on several occasions sought to diminish or eliminate electoral opportunities for the county’s Black and Hispanic voters. 

The United States’ complaint asks the court to prohibit Galveston County from conducting elections under the challenged plan and to order Galveston County to devise and implement a new redistricting plan that complies with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. 

More information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws is available on the Department of Justice’s website at https://www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section.

Complaints about discriminatory voting practices may be reported to the Civil Rights Division through the internet reporting portal at https://civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931.

For a list of the department’s actions to protect voting rights, click here.

 

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The Department of Justice unsealed two indictments today charging four defendants, all Russian nationals who worked for the Russian government, with attempting, supporting and conducting computer intrusions that together, in two separate conspiracies, targeted the global energy sector between 2012 and 2018. In total, these hacking campaigns targeted thousands of computers, at hundreds of companies and organizations, in approximately 135 countries.

A June 2021 indictment returned in the District of Columbia, United States v. Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh, concerns the alleged efforts of an employee of a Russian Ministry of Defense research institute and his co-conspirators to damage critical infrastructure outside the United States, thereby causing two separate emergency shutdowns at a foreign targeted facility. The conspiracy subsequently attempted to hack the computers of a U.S. company that managed similar critical infrastructure entities in the United States.

An August 2021 indictment returned in the District of Kansas, United States v. Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov, et al., details allegations about a separate, two-phased campaign undertaken by three officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and their co-conspirators to target and compromise the computers of hundreds of entities related to the energy sector worldwide. Access to such systems would have provided the Russian government the ability to, among other things, disrupt and damage such computer systems at a future time of its choosing.

“Russian state-sponsored hackers pose a serious and persistent threat to critical infrastructure both in the United States and around the world,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Although the criminal charges unsealed today reflect past activity, they make crystal clear the urgent ongoing need for American businesses to harden their defenses and remain vigilant. Alongside our partners here at home and abroad, the Department of Justice is committed to exposing and holding accountable state-sponsored hackers who threaten our critical infrastructure with cyber-attacks.” 

“The FBI, along with our federal and international partners, is laser-focused on countering the significant cyber threat Russia poses to our critical infrastructure,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “We will continue to identify and quickly direct response assets to victims of Russian cyber activity; to arm our partners with the information that they need to deploy their own tools against the adversary; and to attribute the misconduct and impose consequences both seen and unseen.”

“We face no greater cyber threat than actors seeking to compromise critical infrastructure, offenses which could harm those working at affected plants as well as the citizens who depend on them,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “The department and my office will ensure that those attacking operational technology will be identified and prosecuted.”

“The potential of cyberattacks to disrupt, if not paralyze, the delivery of critical energy services to hospitals, homes, businesses and other locations essential to sustaining our communities is a reality in today’s world,” said U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard for the District of Kansas. “We must acknowledge there are individuals actively seeking to wreak havoc on our nation’s vital infrastructure system, and we must remain vigilant in our effort to thwart such attacks. The Department of Justice is committed to the pursuit and prosecution of accused hackers as part of its mission to protect the safety and security of our nation.”

In addition to unsealing these charges, the U.S. government is taking action to enhance private sector network defense efforts and disrupt similar malicious activity.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has already released numerous Technical Alerts, ICS Alerts and Malware Analysis Reports regarding Russia’s malign cyber activities, including the campaigns discussed in the indictments. These are located at: https://www.cisa.gov/shields-up

1. United States v. Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh – defendant installed backdoors and launched malware designed to compromise the safety of energy facilities

In June 2021, a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment charging Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh (Евгений Викторович Гладких), 36, a computer programmer employed by an institute affiliated with the Russian Ministry of Defense, for his role in a campaign to hack industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) of global energy facilities using techniques designed to enable future physical damage with potentially catastrophic effects.

According to the indictment, between May and September 2017, the defendant and co-conspirators hacked the systems of a foreign refinery and installed malware, which cyber security researchers have referred to as “Triton” or “Trisis,” on a safety system produced by Schneider Electric, a multinational corporation. The conspirators designed the Triton malware to prevent the refinery’s safety systems from functioning (i.e., by causing the ICS to operate in an unsafe manner while appearing to be operating normally), granting the defendant and his co-conspirators the ability to cause damage to the refinery, injury to anyone nearby, and economic harm. However, when the defendant deployed the Triton malware, it caused a fault that led the refinery’s Schneider Electric safety systems to initiate two automatic emergency shutdowns of the refinery’s operations. Between February and July 2018, the conspirators researched similar refineries in the United States, which were owned by a U.S. company, and unsuccessfully attempted to hack the U.S. company’s computer systems.

The three-count indictment alleges that Gladkikh was an employee of the State Research Center of the Russian Federation FGUP Central Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics’ (Государственный научный центр Российской Федерации федеральное государственное унитарное предприятие Центральный научно-исследовательский институт химии и механики, hereinafter “TsNIIKhM”) Applied Developments Center (“Центр прикладных разработок,” hereinafter “ADC”). On its website, which was modified after the Triton attack became public, TsNIIKhM described itself as the Russian Ministry of Defense’s leading research organization. The ADC, in turn, publicly asserted that it engaged in research concerning information technology-related threats to critical infrastructure (i.e., that its research was defensive in nature).

The defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to cause damage to an energy facility, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of attempt to cause damage to an energy facility, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher B. Brown and Luke Jones for the District of Columbia, in partnership with the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, are prosecuting this case. The FBI’s Washington Field Office conducted the investigation.

The U.S.-based targets of the conspiracy cooperated and provided valuable assistance in the investigation. The Department of Justice and the FBI also expressed appreciation to Schneider Electric for its assistance in the investigation, particularly noting the company’s public outreach and education efforts following the overseas Triton attack.

1. United States v. Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov, and Marat Valeryevich Tyukov – defendants undertook years-long effort to target and compromise computer systems of energy sector companies

On Aug. 26, 2021, a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Kansas, returned an indictment charging three computer hackers, all of whom were residents and nationals of the Russian Federation (Russia) and officers in Military Unit 71330 or “Center 16” of the FSB, with violating U.S. laws related to computer fraud and abuse, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and causing damage to the property of an energy facility.

The FSB hackers, Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov (Павел Александрович Акулов), 36, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov (Михаил Михайлович Гаврилов), 42, and Marat Valeryevich Tyukov (Марат Валерьевич Тюков), 39, were members of a Center 16 operational unit known among cybersecurity researchers as “Dragonfly,” “Berzerk Bear,” “Energetic Bear,” and “Crouching Yeti.” The indictment alleges that, between 2012 and 2017, Akulov, Gavrilov, Tyukov and their co-conspirators, engaged in computer intrusions, including supply chain attacks, in furtherance of the Russian government’s efforts to maintain surreptitious, unauthorized and persistent access to the computer networks of companies and organizations in the international energy sector, including oil and gas firms, nuclear power plants, and utility and power transmission companies. Specifically, the conspirators targeted the software and hardware that controls equipment in power generation facilities, known as ICS or Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. Access to such systems would have provided the Russian government the ability to, among other things, disrupt and damage such computer systems at a future time of its choosing.

According to the indictment, the energy sector campaign involved two phases. In the first phase, which took place between 2012 and 2014 and is commonly referred to by cyber security researchers as “Dragonfly” or “Havex,” the conspirators engaged in a supply chain attack, compromising the computer networks of ICS/SCADA system manufacturers and software providers and then hiding malware – known publicly as “Havex” – inside legitimate software updates for such systems. After unsuspecting customers downloaded Havex-infected updates, the conspirators would use the malware to, among other things, create backdoors into infected systems and scan victims’ networks for additional ICS/SCADA devices. Through these and other efforts, including spearphishing and “watering hole” attacks, the conspirators installed malware on more than 17,000 unique devices in the United States and abroad, including ICS/SCADA controllers used by power and energy companies.

In the second phase, which took place between 2014 and 2017 and is commonly referred to as “Dragonfly 2.0,” the conspirators transitioned to more targeted compromises that focused on specific energy sector entities and individuals and engineers who worked with ICS/SCADA systems. As alleged in the indictment, the conspirators’ tactics included spearphishing attacks targeting more than 3,300 users at more than 500 U.S. and international companies and entities, in addition to U.S. government agencies such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In some cases, the spearphishing attacks were successful, including in the compromise of the business network (i.e., involving computers not directly connected to ICS/SCADA equipment) of the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation (Wolf Creek) in Burlington, Kansas, which operates a nuclear power plant. Moreover, after establishing an illegal foothold in a particular network, the conspirators typically used that foothold to penetrate further into the network by obtaining access to other computers and networks at the victim entity.

During the Dragonfly 2.0 phase, the conspirators also undertook a watering hole attack by compromising servers that hosted websites commonly visited by ICS/SCADA system and other energy sector engineers through publicly known vulnerabilities in content management software. When the engineers browsed to a compromised website, the conspirators’ hidden scripts deployed malware designed to capture login credentials onto their computers.

The conspiracy’s hacking campaign targeted victims in the United States and in more than 135 other countries.

Akulov, Gavrilov and Tyukov are charged with conspiracy to cause damage to the property of an energy facility and commit computer fraud and abuse, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Akulov and Gavrilov are also charged with substantive counts of wire fraud and computer fraud related to unlawfully obtaining information from computers and causing damage to computers. These offenses carry maximum sentences ranging from five to 20 years in prison. Finally, Akulov and Gavrilov are also charged with three counts of aggravated identity theft, each of which carry a minimum sentence of two years consecutive to any other sentence imposed.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Rask, Christopher Oakley and Ryan Huschka forthe District of Kansas, and Counsel for Cyber Investigations Ali Ahmad and Trial Attorney Christine Bonomo of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting this case. The FBI’s Portland and Richmond field offices conducted the investigation, with the assistance of the FBI’s Cyber Division.

Numerous victims, including Wolf Creek and its owners Evergy and the Kansas Electric Power Cooperative, cooperated and provided invaluable assistance in the investigation.

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 district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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Note: View the concurrent announcement by the Department of State of a $10 million reward for information leading to the arrest of a defendant or identification of other conspirators as part of its Rewards for Justice program.

View the concurrent announcement by the FBI, Department of Energy and Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of a  Joint Cybersecurity Advisory containing technical details, indicators of compromise and mitigation measures.

El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha entablado pleito en virtud de la Sección 2 de la ley de Derechos Electorales contra el Condado de Galveston, Texas, con el fin de impugnar el plan para una nueva delimitación de distritos para el órgano rector del Condado, el que se conoce como el Tribunal de Comisionados. El plan fue adoptado por el Condado el 12 de noviembre de 2021 después de la publicación de los datos del censo 2020. El caso fue presentado ante el Tribunal Federal de Distrito para el Distrito Sur de Texas.

«Esta acción es la demostración más reciente del compromiso del Departamento de Justicia con la protección de los derechos electorales de todo estadounidense, especialmente durante el ciclo actual de nueva delimitación de distritos», afirmó Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. «Nuestro caso alega que el Condado de Galveston ha vulnerado la Sección 2 de la ley de Derechos Electorales al desarrollar un plan para una nueva delimitación de distritos que elimina el único distrito en el cual electores negros e hispanos tenían la oportunidad de elegir a un candidato de su elección al órgano rector del Condado. Seguiremos empleando todas las herramientas a nuestra disposición para impugnar instancias de discriminación electoral en nuestro país».

«La Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito Sur de Texas se ha comprometido a proteger los derechos electorales de todos nuestros ciudadanos» declaró Jennifer B. Lowery, la Fiscal Federal para el Distrito Sur de Texas. «Nos complace unirnos a la División de Derechos Civiles para entablar este pleito tan importante al amparo de la ley de Derechos Electorales».

El caso de los Estados Unidos mantiene que el plan del 2021 para la nueva delimitación de distritos para el órgano rector del Condado vulnera la Sección 2 porque tiene el resultado discriminatorio de denegar a ciudadanos negros e hispanos la igualdad de oportunidades de participar en el proceso político y porque el nuevo mapa fue adoptado, en parte, con fines discriminatorios. El caso alega que el Condado, de manera deliberada, reconfiguró el único distrito del Tribunal de Comisionados con la oportunidad para elegir una minoría para eliminar la oportunidad de electores negros e hispanos de elegir un representante de su elección. Más aún, el caso alega que, a lo largo de las últimas tres décadas, el Condado de Galveston ha, en varias otras ocasiones, intentado disminuir o eliminar oportunidades electorales para electores negros e hispanos en el Condado. 

El caso de los Estados Unidos pide que el tribunal prohíba que el Condado de Galveston celebre elecciones bajo el plan en cuestión y que instruya al Condado de Galveston que formule e implemente un nuevo plan de delimitación de distritos que cumpla con la Sección 2 de la ley de Derechos Electorales. 

Hay más información sobre la ley de Derechos Electorales y otras leyes electorales federales en el sitio web del Departamento de Justicia en https://www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section.

Se puede presentar quejas de prácticas electorales discriminatorias ante la División de Derechos Civiles mediante el portal virtual de denuncias en https://civilrights.justice.gov o por teléfono al 1‑800-253-3931.

Para una lista de las acciones del Departamento para la protección de los derechos electorales.

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The Medical Director of two South Florida addiction treatment facilities was convicted today after a 15-day trial of engaging in a scheme that fraudulently billed approximately $112 million for substance abuse services that were never provided or were medically unnecessary.

“Santeiro’s conviction demonstrates the unwavering commitment of the Department of Justice’s Sober Homes Initiative to protecting patients and prosecuting fraudulent substance abuse treatment facilities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Rather than ‘do no harm,’ Santeiro, driven by greed, used his medical license to do unconscionable harm to vulnerable patients struggling with addiction. The department will relentlessly pursue these cases to ensure patients get the care they deserve.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Jose Santeiro, 72, of Miami Lakes, Florida, a doctor, worked with others to unlawfully bill for approximately $112 million of addiction treatment services that were never rendered and/or were medically unnecessary at two addiction treatment facilities where Santeiro was the Medical Director. The facilities were Second Chance Detox LLC, dba Compass Detox (Compass Detox), an inpatient detox and residential facility, and WAR Network LLC (WAR), a related outpatient treatment program.

The evidence showed that Santeiro and others admitted patients for medically unnecessary detox services, the most expensive kind of treatment the facilities offered. Patient recruiters offered kickbacks to induce patients to attend the programs and then gave them illegal drugs to ensure admittance for detox at Compass Detox. Evidence at trial also showed that Santeiro submitted false and fraudulent claims for excessive, medically unnecessary urinalysis drug tests that were never used in treatment. Santeiro and others then authorized the readmission of a core group of patients who were shuffled between Compass Detox and WAR to fraudulently bill for as much as possible, even though the patients did not need the expensive treatment for which they were repeatedly admitted. Santeiro also prescribed Compass Detox patients with a so-called “Comfort Drink” to sedate them, ensure they stayed at the facility, and keep them coming back. The evidence further showed that Santeiro’s log-in was used, with his knowledge, by others to sign electronic medical files to make it appear as if Santeiro had provided treatment himself when he did not.

“Fraudulent billing schemes like this deprive vulnerable patients of needed medical care and divert valuable resources from America’s health care system,” said FBI Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the Criminal Investigative Division. “Today’s conviction is a clear warning to anyone engaged in health care fraud that the FBI, together with our partners, will aggressively pursue you and hold you accountable for your actions.”

Santeiro was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and eight counts of health care fraud. He faces up to 20 years in prison for the conspiracy count and up to 10 years in prison for each health care fraud count. A federal district court judge will determine the sentences after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI, Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Broward County Sherriff’s Office investigated the case.

Senior Litigation Counsel Jim Hayes of the National Rapid Response Strike Force and Trial Attorneys Jamie de Boer and Andrea Savdie of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The National Rapid Response Strike Force, Los Angeles Strike Force, and Miami Strike Force lead the Department of Justice’s Sober Homes Initiative, which was announced in the 2020 National Health Care Fraud Takedown to prosecute defendants who exploit vulnerable patients seeking treatment for drug and/or alcohol addiction.

Four men were charged in an indictment unsealed today in the Western District of Arkansas for an alleged $16 million wire fraud and money laundering scheme involving fake investment offerings.

According to court documents, John C. Nock, 53, of Fayetteville, Arkansas; Brian Brittsan, 65, of San Marcos, California; Kevin Griffith, 66, of Orem, Utah; and Alexander Ituma, 55, of Lehi, Utah, allegedly engaged in an investment fraud scheme between 2013 and 2021 through their firm, The Brittingham Group, by falsely representing the nature of their investment offerings and promising large returns they could not and did not produce. The indictment further alleges that Nock and Brittsan directed victims to send their funds to bank accounts controlled by Griffith, Ituma, and others, and the defendants then transferred the money through a complex web of bank accounts throughout the world.  

The defendants are each charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. In addition, Nock is charged with money laundering. The defendants made their initial appearances in federal court today in the Western District of Arkansas. If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Additionally, Nock faces up to 10 years in prison for money laundering. 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; U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes for the Western District of Arkansas; Special Agent in Charge Christopher Altemus of the IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Dallas Field Office; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; and Special Agent in Charge James A. Dawson of the FBI’s Little Rock Field Office made the announcement.

IRS-CI and the FBI investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Philip Trout and Vasanth Sridharan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Mohlhenrich for the Western District of Arkansas are prosecuting the case.

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

A former managing director for a defense contractor pleaded guilty today to tax evasion.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2010 through 2019, James M. Robar, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, did not timely file tax returns with the IRS. Beginning in approximately February 2012 James Robar was employed by a U.S. Department of Defense contracting company, eventually serving as its managing director starting in 2015. In 2016 and 2017, Robar evaded taxes by having his employer hold his bonus payments in an offshore corporate bank account rather than have those funds transferred to his domestic bank account. In 2019, after receiving a $1 million bonus from his employer, Robar purchased two properties at a total cost of slightly more than $1 million, and he titled both properties solely in his spouse’s name. In total, Robar did not report approximately $5.5 million in compensation he earned from 2012 through 2019, causing a tax loss to the government of more than $1.5 million.

Robar is the second defendant associated with the defense contracting company to plead guilty. Charles Squires pleaded guilty to tax evasion in February 2022.

Robar is scheduled to 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 Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction are conducting the investigation.

Assistance was provided by the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5), which brings together the taxing authorities of Australia, Canada, Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States.

Senior Litigation Counsel Nanette Davis and Trial Attorneys Brittney Campbell and Sarah Ranney of the Tax Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Goemaat of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case.

A Florida tax return preparer was sentenced yesterday to 97 months in prison for preparing false tax returns for his clients.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Fred Pickett Jr., of Belle Glade, owned and operated a tax return business he used to prepare false individual income tax returns. From 2013 to 2016, Pickett prepared tax returns for some of his clients claiming they owned fictitious businesses that lost tens of thousands of dollars each year. Pickett included these nonexistent companies, as well as other false deductions and tax credits, on his clients’ returns to generate refunds they were not entitled to receive. In December 2021, Pickett was convicted at trial of 22 counts of aiding and assisting the preparation of false tax returns.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg ordered Pickett to serve one year of supervised release and pay approximately $169,639 in restitution to the IRS.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Parker Tobin and Patrick Elwell of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.

Enrique Chavez appeared Tuesday in federal court to face a federal indictment charging him with two counts of abusive sexual contact against a prison inmate at the Federal Correctional Institute Dublin (FCI Dublin).

“Above all else, the Bureau of Prisons is charged with providing safe and humane treatment of all who are in their custody,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “As this case makes clear, the Department of Justice is committed to holding BOP personnel accountable, including through criminal charges, when they fail to uphold their responsibility. Staff misconduct, at any level, will not be tolerated, and our efforts to root it out are far from over.”

“Inmates should never experience sexual abuse at the hands of the Bureau of Prisons employees, yet five BOP employee have recently been charged with such abuse of inmates at FCI Dublin,” said Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. “The safety, security and integrity of federal prisons are of the utmost importance, and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General will continue to aggressively pursue allegations of abuse at FCI Dublin and across the BOP.”

“Correctional officers have a trusted responsibility to protect those under their authority,” said U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds for the Northern District of California. “Sexually abusing inmates is a betrayal of that responsibility and undermines a just penal system. My office is committed to pursuing charges against anyone – including federal employees – who abuse the public’s trust in violation of federal law.”

“Holding a position of power comes with great responsibility. Chavez made a decision to abuse his authority and victimize inmates he was responsible for overseeing,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Fair of the FBI.  “Let this send a clear message that the FBI will investigate and hold accountable any and every individual who commits an act like this, regardless of your title or authority.” 

According to the indictment unsealed today, Chavez, 49, of Manteca, California, is employed as a correctional officer at FCI Dublin. FCI Dublin is a correctional institution that houses female prisoners and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). On the dates of the charged crimes, Chavez was assigned to the position of Cook Supervisor/Foreman. As a correctional officer, he supervised and had disciplinary authority over the female inmates incarcerated at FCI Dublin. Chavez was trained in BOP policies and procedures, which included instructions that sexual, financial and social relationships with inmates are prohibited. 

The indictment charges two counts of abusive sexual contact by Chavez against a prison inmate occurring on separate occasions in October 2020.  In each count, the indictment alleges that Chavez engaged in intentional sexual contact with “Victim 1.”  Victim 1 is identified as a female inmate detained at FCI Dublin and thereby under the custodial, supervisory and disciplinary authority of Chavez. 

Chavez was arrested in Arizona on Sunday, March 20. His initial court appearance occurred Tuesday, March 22, in U.S. District Court in Arizona, where he is being held pending transfer to the U.S. District Court in Oakland to face these charges. 

Chavez is charged with abusive sexual contact with a prisoner in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2244(a)(4).  Each of the two counts carries a maximum statutory sentence of two years imprisonment, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. However, any sentence following a conviction would be imposed by a court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

The charges contained in the indictment are allegations. As in any criminal case, the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Deputy Attorney General Monaco for the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Hinds for the Northern District of California, Department of Justice Inspector General Horowitz and FBI Special Agent in Charge Fair made the announcement.       

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mohit Gourisaria, Molly K. Priedeman and Andrew Paulson are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kay Konopaske and Leeya Kekona. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the FBI.

The United States and Canada have entered into formal negotiations for a bilateral agreement under the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act, to enhance the existing robust law enforcement cooperation between the two allies.

Attorney General Merrick Garland welcomed the opening of negotiations.

“The United States looks forward to working with the Government of Canada on negotiating this agreement,” said Attorney General Garland. “Such an agreement, if finalized and approved, would pave the way for more efficient cross-border disclosures of data between the United States and Canada so that our governments can more effectively fight serious crime, including terrorism, while safeguarding the privacy and civil liberties values that we both share. By increasing the effectiveness of investigations and prosecutions of serious crime, including terrorism, in both countries, we seek to enhance the safety and security of citizens on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.”

The United States enacted the CLOUD Act in 2018 to streamline access to electronic information held by providers that is critical to investigations of serious crime, including terrorism, while maintaining strong protections for the rule of law, privacy, and civil liberties. The act creates a new paradigm: an efficient, privacy and civil liberties-protective approach to ensure effective access to electronic information through executive agreements between the United States and trusted foreign partners. Pursuant to such agreements, legal barriers prohibiting service providers subject to U.S. laws from responding to lawful orders to disclose electronic evidence that are issued by the other party will be lifted, and reciprocal access will be permitted under the laws of the trusted foreign partner.

While such electronic information can currently be sought through the mutual legal assistance (MLA) process, the CLOUD Act provides an alternative expedited framework for obtaining it while protecting privacy and civil liberties. The number of MLA requests for electronic information held by service providers in the United States has increased dramatically in recent years, straining resources and slowing response times under the current MLA process. The CLOUD Act addresses delays in that process by providing an additional path for trusted partner countries to obtain electronic information.

For more information on the CLOUD Act, visit: https://www.justice.gov/dag/cloudact and https://www.justice.gov/dag/page/file/1153466/download.

Guided by our shared commitment outlined in President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau’s February 2021 Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership to re-establish the Cross-Border Crime Forum (CBCF), the Attorney General of the United States, Merrick Garland, and the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, along with Canada’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General, David Lametti, and Minister of Public Safety, Marco Mendicino, met today in Washington, D.C. to discuss how to enhance collaboration between our two countries to counter cross-border crime and make our communities safer.

Cybercrime

Given the interconnectedness of U.S. and Canadian industry and economies, we affirm our shared commitment to work bilaterally to combat common cyber threats, such as ransomware attacks, and to strengthen critical infrastructure cyber security and resilience. We will work together to improve coordination around reporting of ransomware attacks that can affect cross-border critical infrastructure. Further, we will identify and implement options to strengthen sectors of our economies that are increasingly targeted by criminals and to implement effective responses. We have agreed to promote the adoption of best practices on cyber hygiene to help defend against these threats as well as provide stakeholders with the tools needed to effectively and rapidly report cyber incidents. We are working vigilantly to protect the cybersecurity of our critical infrastructure sectors given Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine. We also reiterated our commitment to work together through the G7+ REPO Task Force to locate and freeze virtual and physical assets of sanctioned Russian individuals and entities, and to forfeit the proceeds of kleptocracy or other crimes.

We welcomed negotiations for a potential bilateral agreement in relation to the U.S. Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (CLOUD Act). Such an agreement, if finalized and approved, would allow Canadian and U.S. investigative authorities to, more efficiently and effectively, access communications and associated data in the other country when this information is needed for the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of serious crime, such as terrorism, child sexual exploitation and abuse, and cybercrime, while respecting privacy and civil liberties.

Violent Extremism

Violent extremism poses a real and ongoing threat to our communities, and we remain committed to addressing it in all its forms.  We applaud the ongoing efforts of the bilateral working group established under the Roadmap to enhance cooperation to counter exploitation of social media, strengthen threat-related information sharing, and improve our respective prevention strategies to address violent extremism in both countries.  We will continue to advance these efforts and  to counter the rise of violent extremism while staying vigilant against the threat of international terrorism.  In doing so, we recognize that due process, respect for the rule of law, and the protection of human rights are critical to the success of these efforts.

Enhancing Public Safety

Our two countries have longstanding and effective bilateral cooperation on law enforcement issues. These partnerships strengthen our ability to maximize law enforcement resources and make our communities safer. As partners, we must adapt law enforcement efforts and information sharing as priority areas evolve and new challenges arise, including, but not limited to facilitating investigations, and to improving prosecutorial processes. We are committed to combatting transnational crime such as human smuggling across our shared border. We are equally committed to minimizing ongoing threats posed by serious offenders, including convicted child sex offenders, by exploring actions we can take to improve reciprocal information sharing processes.

Reducing Firearms Violence

To keep our communities safe and secure, it is essential to reduce firearms violence on both sides of the border. We reiterate our commitment to advance our shared understanding of the threat posed by firearms violence and to work collaboratively, including sharing data, to reduce cross-border firearms smuggling and trafficking. Our law enforcement agencies will leverage their collective resources, including intelligence, to identify the source and movement of unlawful firearms into our countries, including those moving across our shared border.

Access to Justice

The United States and Canada are committed to strengthening and expanding access to justice by  changing policies and practices that lead to inequality and injustice for marginalized and underserved communities in our countries. Our respective Access to Justice offices will work together and with key stakeholders toward meeting the goal of the United Nations 2030 Agenda “to leave no one behind.” We have agreed to discuss our respective criminal justice system data collection and strategies to overcome systemic racial inequality, discrimination, and overrepresentation within the criminal justice system. We will also share research, innovative data collection techniques, and the use of data science to inform our legislation and policies. These discussions will support our collective efforts to realize the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), in particular SDG16, which seeks to advance peaceful, just, and inclusive societies and equal access to justice for all.

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The United States and Canada reiterated our commitment to advance law enforcement cooperation between our two countries and look forward to Canada hosting the next CBCF in 2023.

This afternoon U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, along with U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas, met in Washington, D.C. with Canada’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General, David Lametti and Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, Marco Mendicino, to reestablish the Cross-Border Crime Forum (CBCF). 

Today’s meeting marked the first principal-level meeting of the CBCF in more than a decade and focused upon the key law enforcement issues highlighted in the Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership, a blueprint announced in February 2021 by President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau to guide a renewed U.S.-Canada partnership.

The CBCF was first launched in April 1997 just as Attorney General Garland’s last tour at the Justice Department was coming to a close.  For nearly 25 years, the CBCF served as the principal forum for bilateral law enforcement cooperation between the United States and Canada. Under the leadership of the Attorney General, the Secretary of DHS, the Canadian Minister of Public Safety, and the Canadian Minister and Attorney General of the Department of Justice, the reestablished CBCF brings together senior law enforcement officials and prosecutors to address a number of cross-border issues. 

“The Justice Department has no higher priority than keeping the American people safe,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Our ability to fulfill that obligation depends upon our cooperation with trusted law enforcement agencies both here at home and around the world. Canada is our indispensable friend and partner in that effort. By reestablishing the United States-Canada Cross-Border Crime Forum, we are deepening cooperation on a number of law enforcement challenges — from combatting cybercrime to violent crime and from disrupting terrorist plots and human trafficking. I look forward to continuing to work with our Canadian law enforcement partners in advancing our shared interests and upholding our shared values.”

During today’s constructive dialogue, the leaders discussed enhancing collaboration to counter cybercrime, including by stepping up joint efforts to counter ransomware attacks, and to accelerate our joint efforts to freeze and seize key assets belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarchs worldwide. The leaders also discussed their shared commitment to strengthening information sharing in order to counter domestic and foreign terrorism; combat human trafficking and smuggling threats across North America; and disrupt gun trafficking and smuggling.

In addition, the leaders discussed their shared commitment to increasing access to justice for all, including by tackling racial inequality and discrimination in criminal justice systems.

“As the only agency in our federal government that bears the name of a value, the Justice Department has a unique mission both here at home and around the world,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, who joined Attorney General Garland for the bilateral talks on access to justice.  “Justice exists only if it is accessible to all.  I am grateful for the close and deepening cooperation between the Department’s Office for Access to Justice and Canada’s Access to Justice Secretariat to advance innovative effective strategies to expand equal access to justice for all.”

Alongside Secretary Mayorkas and Associate Attorney General Gupta, the Attorney General was joined by several senior Justice Department officials, including Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen of the National Security Division. 

A former IRS employee pleaded guilty today to tax evasion for filing false tax returns and providing fabricated records to the IRS in an attempt to obstruct an audit of those returns.

According to court documents, Wayne M. Garvin, 57, currently of Columbia, South Carolina, was a long-time IRS employee who most recently worked as a Supervisory Associate Advocate with the IRS’s Taxpayer Advocate Service in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For the years 2012 through 2016, Garvin prepared and filed with the IRS individual income tax returns on which he claimed false deductions and expenses associated with rental properties he owned, fictitious real estate taxes on his personal residence and made-up charitable contributions. On his 2013 tax return, Garvin also deducted nearly $16,000 in false expenses associated with his employment with the U.S. Army Reserves. Although Garvin was formerly a member of the U.S. Army Reserves, he did not perform any reservist duty in 2013 and was not entitled to deduct any expenses related to that employment. In total, Garvin admitted to causing a loss to the IRS of more than $74,000.

Court documents also show that after the IRS began an audit of Garvin’s 2013 and 2014 tax returns, Garvin attempted to obstruct the audit by submitting fictitious documents to the IRS. For example, to justify the false deductions and expenses on his tax returns, Garvin created and submitted receipts from a church, invoices from a contractor and a letter from the Department of the Army. After learning he was under criminal investigation, Garvin later submitted some of the same fraudulent documents to IRS-Criminal Investigation.

Garvin is scheduled to be sentenced on July 6. He 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 Jennifer Arbittier Williams for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Melissa S. Siskind of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiwana Wright for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania are prosecuting the case. 

A federal jury convicted a Utah man on Thursday of tax evasion, filing false tax returns and impeding the IRS.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Derald Wilford Geddes, of Ogden, was a dentist who owned and operated Mount Ogden Dental PC. From approximately 1998 through 2014, Geddes took numerous steps to evade approximately $1.8 million in back federal income taxes that he owed. He also obstructed the IRS’s efforts to collect these taxes, including by filing false liens against properties he owned and submitting to the IRS bogus “bonds to discharge debt” that he claimed were from the account of the former Treasury Secretary.

Geddes faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for tax evasion and three years in prison for each count of filing a false tax return and impeding the IRS. 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 Andrea T. Martinez for the District of Utah made the announcement.

This case is being investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.

Trial Attorneys Ahmed Almudallal, Christopher Lin and Matthew Hoffman of the Tax Division, and supervisory paralegal Melissa McKinnon of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, are prosecuting the case.

The Justice Department announced that United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) has agreed to pay approximately $5.3 million to resolve its potential liability under the False Claims Act for falsely reporting information about the transfer of U.S. mail to foreign posts or other intended recipients under contracts with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). UPS is an international package delivery company incorporated in Delaware with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

USPS contracted with UPS to pick up U.S. mail at six locations in the United States and at various Department of Defense and State Department locations abroad, and then deliver that mail to numerous international and domestic destinations. To obtain payment under the contracts, UPS was required to submit electronic scans to USPS reporting the time the mail was delivered at the identified destinations. The contracts specified penalties for mail that was delivered late or to the wrong location. The settlement resolves allegations that scans submitted by UPS falsely reported the time and fact that it transferred possession of the mail.

“Companies doing business with the government must meet their contractual obligations,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will pursue those who knowingly fail to live up to their bargain and falsely bill the government for goods or services that they did not provide.” 

“The USPS contracts with commercial airlines for the safeguarding and timely delivery of U.S. mail to foreign posts, including the mail sent to our soldiers deployed to foreign operating bases,” said Executive Special Agent in Charge Ken Cleevely of the USPS Office of Inspector General. “The Office of Inspector General supports USPS by aggressively investigating allegations of contractual non-compliance within the mail delivery process, including the falsification of delivery information. Our special agents worked hand-in-hand with the Department of Justice to help ensure a reasonable resolution and we applaud the exceptional work done by the investigative and legal teams.”

This is the fifth civil settlement involving air carrier liability for false delivery scans under the USPS International Commercial Air Contracts, and collectively the United States has recovered more than $70 million as a result of its investigation of such misconduct.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, with substantial assistance from the USPS Office of the Inspector General and the USPS Office of General Counsel. Senior Trial Counsel Don Williamson of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, represented the government in the civil case.

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

Two brothers who operated multiple South Florida addiction treatment facilities were sentenced to prison Friday for a $112 million addiction treatment fraud scheme that included paying kickbacks to patients through patient recruiters and receiving kickbacks from testing laboratories.

“These substance abuse treatment facility operators, through brazen tactics driven by greed, took advantage of vulnerable patients seeking treatment,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These sentences demonstrate the department’s unwavering commitment to protecting patients and prosecuting fraudulent substance abuse treatment facilities through our Sober Homes Initiative.”

Jonathan Markovich, 37, and his brother, Daniel Markovich, 33, both of Bal Harbour, were sentenced in the Southern District of Florida to 188 months and 97 months in prison, respectively.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the defendants conspired to unlawfully bill for approximately $112 million of addiction treatment services that were medically unnecessary and/or never provided, which were procured through illegal kickbacks at two addiction treatment facilities, Second Chance Detox LLC, dba Compass Detox (Compass Detox), an inpatient detox and residential facility, and WAR Network LLC (WAR), a related outpatient treatment program. The defendants obtained patients through patient recruiters who offered illegal kickbacks to patients, including free airline tickets, illegal drugs, and cash payments. The defendants shuffled a core group of patients between Compass Detox and WAR in a cycle of admissions and re-admissions to fraudulently bill for as much as possible. Patient recruiters gave patients illegal drugs prior to admission to Compass Detox to ensure admittance for detox, which was the most expensive kind of addiction treatment offered by the defendants’ facilities. In addition, therapy sessions were billed for but not regularly provided or attended, and excessive, medically unnecessary urinalysis drug tests were ordered, billed for, and paid. Compass Detox patients were given a so-called “Comfort Drink” to sedate them, and to keep them coming back. Patients were also given large and potentially harmful amounts of controlled substances, in addition to the “Comfort Drink,” to keep them compliant and docile, and to ensure they stayed at the facility.

“To manipulate and exploit patients seeking help in their most vulnerable state is unacceptable,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “These individuals orchestrated a scheme that sought profits over the well-being of patients, and they will be held accountable for their actions. With the help of our law enforcement partners, the FBI continues to investigate, bring down these criminal enterprises, and protect our citizens.” 

After a seven-week trial in November 2021, both defendants were convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. Jonathan Markovich was convicted of eight counts of health care fraud and Daniel Markovich was convicted of two counts of health care fraud. They were also both convicted of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks and two counts of paying and receiving kickbacks. Jonathan Markovich was separately convicted of conspiring to commit money laundering, two counts of concealment money laundering, and six counts of laundering at least $10,000 in proceeds of unlawful activities. He was also convicted of two counts of bank fraud related to fraudulently obtaining PPP loans for both Compass Detox and WAR during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The FBI’s Miami Field Office, Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Broward County Sherriff’s Office investigated the case.

Senior Litigation Counsel Jim Hayes and Trial Attorney Jamie de Boer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.

The National Rapid Response Strike Force, Miami Strike Force, and Los Angeles Strike Force lead the Department of Justice’s Sober Homes Initiative, which was announced in the 2020 National Health Care Fraud Takedown to prosecute defendants who exploit vulnerable patients seeking treatment for drug and/or alcohol addiction.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement between the department and the state of Ohio through its Secretary of State to help ensure that military service members, their family members, and U.S. citizens living overseas have an opportunity to participate fully in the upcoming May 3, 2022, federal primary election. The agreement is necessary to provide a remedy for a potential violation of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).

The agreement provides additional time for election officials in Ohio to receive and count absentee ballots from eligible UOCAVA voters, in order to ensure that such voters will have sufficient time to receive and submit their absentee ballots for the May 3, 2022, primary election. Under the agreement, UOCAVA ballots sent back will be accepted for an additional 10 days – until May 23 – so long as they are executed and sent by the close of the polls on May 3, and otherwise valid. The agreement also provides extended time for UOCAVA voters to vote, sign and transmit completed ballots through the close of polls on the election day for the May 3 election. The agreement also requires that election officials transmit ballots to UOCAVA voters by expedited means no later than April 5, 2022. The agreement provides that elections officials will send voters their ballots by email if requested by the voter, or by a form of express mail or other express delivery service if the voter requested that the ballot be sent by mail. The agreement also provides that the state will provide a means for voters to have expedited delivery for their voted ballots when returned to the county election boards, at the state’s expense. Under the terms of today’s agreement, Ohio will also provide notice of the remedial measures to the affected voters and reports to the department concerning the transmission and receipt of the UOCAVA ballots for the May 3 primary election.

“This agreement reflects the Justice Department’s deep commitment to protecting the right to vote for members of our armed forces deployed around the world, their families, and U.S. citizens overseas, and ensuring that these voters are afforded a meaningful opportunity to vote in all federal elections,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “I commend Ohio state officials, who worked with the department to achieve a resolution that will safeguard voting rights for the state’s military and overseas voters in the upcoming primary election.”

UOCAVA requires states to allow uniformed service voters, serving both overseas and within the United States, and their families, and U.S. citizens residing overseas to register to vote and to vote absentee for all elections for federal office. States are required to transmit absentee ballots to these voters, by mail or electronically at the voter’s option, no later than 45 days before each federal election.

The Supreme Court of Ohio required the post-decennial census districts for the Ohio General Assembly and Representative to Congress to be redrawn, and thus the districts for these offices were established much closer to the May 3, 2022, primary election than expected. In light of the delay in the ability to have ballots prepared due to the litigation, Ohio requested from the Department of Defense a hardship exemption, from UOCAVA’s 45-day advance transmission requirement for the May 3, 2022, primary election. On March 4, 2022, the application for a waiver was denied by the Department of Defense because Ohio’s original plan for sending UOCAVA ballots did not provide sufficient time for UOCAVA voters to receive, mark and return their ballots in time to have their votes counted.

Immediately following denial of the waiver by the Department of Defense, the Justice Department worked with Ohio officials to devise measures to remedy the anticipated UOCAVA violation. To implement the agreement on remedies reached with the department, Ohio enacted emergency legislation and the Secretary of State issued a directive to the county boards of elections.

More information about UOCAVA and other federal voting rights laws is available on the Department of Justice website at https://www.justice.gov/crt/uniformed-and-overseas-citizens-absentee-voting-act. Please report any complaints to the Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.

The Department of Justice published guidance today on web accessibility and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It explains how state and local governments (entities covered by ADA Title II) and businesses open to the public (entities covered by ADA Title III) can make sure their websites are accessible to people with disabilities in line with the ADA’s requirements.

The guidance discusses a range of topics, including the importance of web accessibility, barriers that inaccessible websites create for some people with disabilities, when the ADA requires web content to be accessible, tips on making web content accessible and other information and resources. The guidance offers plain language and user-friendly explanations to ensure that it can be followed by people without a legal or technical background.

“We have heard the calls from the public on the need for more guidance on web accessibility, particularly as our economy and society become increasingly digitized,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This guidance will assist the public in understanding how to ensure that websites are accessible to people with disabilities. People with disabilities deserve to have an equal opportunity to access the services, goods and programs provided by government and businesses, including when offered or communicated through websites.”

Finally, the guidance reviews the department’s ongoing work to advance website accessibility for people with disabilities through statements of interest and enforcement matters. For example, the department recently entered into numerous settlements with businesses — including Hy-Vee, Inc., The Kroger Co., Meijer, Inc., and Rite Aid Corporation to ensure that websites for scheduling vaccine appointments are accessible. 

The full guidance is available here.

To learn more about the department’s disability rights work, please visit www.ADA.gov.

Today, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced a new Collaborative Reform Initiative. Managed out of the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), this initiative will be offering three different levels of assistance and expert services to state, local, and Tribal law enforcement partners nationwide. Each level of the initiative’s assistance is completely voluntary and provided at the request of law enforcement agencies. Attorney General Garland and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta unveiled the new initiative at the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) 2022 CEO symposium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

“The Justice Department recognizes how much is being asked of law enforcement officers every single day, and we are committed to providing them with the support they need to build the collaboration, trust, and legitimacy that is essential to public safety,” said Attorney General Garland. “The Department’s new Collaborative Reform Initiative will provide our law enforcement partners nationwide with the opportunity to request support from a suite of customizable, targeted tools that will shape their capacity to keep communities safe and foster community trust.”

“Extensive consultation with law enforcement, community groups, and civil rights organizations identified a real opportunity to expand technical assistance options for law enforcement agencies that need it – and want it,” said Associate Attorney General Gupta. “This new collaborative reform approach builds on our highly successful CRI-TAC program and draws on the expertise of our partners to support law enforcement agencies as they implement best practices in community policing.”

The initiative will consist of three programs designed to build trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve; improve operational efficiencies and effectiveness; enhance officer safety and wellness; and develop and disseminate evidence-based, promising, and innovative public safety practices. This will be the first time in history that the COPS Office is managing and providing these various levels of assistance at the same time.

The new Collaborative Reform Initiative continuum will include:

• A continuation of the Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center (CRI-TAC). This is the first level of assistance – and the most targeted and discrete. Established in 2017, CRI-TAC provides a wide range of targeted technical assistance services. The Department’s COPS Office leads CRI-TAC. But CRI-TAC involves a coalition of support and expertise from 10 leading law enforcement stakeholder organizations. Through CRI-TAC’s “by the field, for the field” approach, the Department is able to facilitate customizable, short-term technical assistance on more than 60 topics. Those topics range from gun violence reduction and prevention, to officer safety and wellness, to community engagement. Subject matter experts from the field design tailored solutions in collaboration with each agency to address its individual needs. Technical assistance timelines are established at the pace of the requesting agency, ranging from three to six months. Last year, CRI-TAC worked with 171 law enforcement agencies. The new initiative will maintain CRI-TAC as its first level of support.
• An updated Critical Response program. A law enforcement agency experiencing a high-profile event or other special circumstance, and that determines it could use assistance, will be able to reach out to the COPS Office for help. Like CRI-TAC, this program is also customizable and provides flexible assistance to law enforcement agencies in a variety of ways. Once an agency connects with the Department of Justice, tools will be in place to offer support ranging from after-action reviews, to peer-to-peer exchanges, to data analysis and recommendations, to facilitating discussions with experts. The timeline for these engagements will vary depending on the needs and scope of the situation, but it will range anywhere from two weeks to nine months. As is the case with CRI-TAC, this program is completely voluntary and will be offered as a way for the Justice Department to support the work of its law enforcement partners. The initiative will maintain the Critical Response program as its second level of support.
• An updated Organizational Assessments program. Building on lessons learned from the initial Collaborative Reform model that launched in 2012 but ended in 2017, the third and most intensive piece of this new model will be our Organizational Assessments program. This program will offer the most intensive form of support, involving in-depth assessments on systemic issues. Under the new initiative, when an agency participates in the Organizational Assessments program, areas for reform will be addressed with timely, ongoing, and actionable guidance. Participating agencies will be provided with the technical assistance they need to accomplish reforms as they are identified. To help ensure transparency and accountability, the Department will also routinely report the status of its efforts to the public. This level of support is intensive; it is designed to transform a law enforcement agency’s operations and its relationship with the community. This program is a voluntary opportunity for an agency that knows it needs to make changes, and wants to make changes. The Department will prioritize offering this level third level of support to agencies that have a clear desire to engage with the model.

In the coming weeks, the COPS Office will be releasing open solicitations for experienced service providers to reestablish the Critical Response program and the Organizational Assessments program. CRI-TAC is currently operational and will continue to be a resource that is part of the continuum of services.

Additional information on these new programs can be found on the COPS website at https://cops.usdoj.gov/CRIprogram.

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 agency 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. The COPS Office 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 135,000 officers.

A North Carolina man was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for accepting bribes to smuggle drugs and other contraband into Caledonia Correctional Institution (now Roanoke River Correctional Institution), and another North Carolina man pleaded guilty to a similar scheme.

Ollie Rose III, 62, of Pleasant Hill, was sentenced on March 15 to 46 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $42,000. According to court documents, Rose worked as a case manager at Caledonia Correctional Institution, a state prison in Halifax County. Rose admitted to using his position to smuggle contraband — including marijuana, tobacco, and synthetic cannabinoids (K2) — into the prison for inmates in exchange for bribes totaling at least $42,000, paid in cash and via a mobile application, and that he sometimes also took a portion of the drugs he smuggled into the prison as payment. The scheme lasted from at least November 2018 through October 2020, when Rose was arrested.

Warren Reed, 38, of Scotland Neck, pleaded guilty on March 18 to extortion under color of official right. According to court documents, Reed worked as a correctional officer at Caledonia Correctional Institution. He admitted to using his position as a public official to smuggle contraband — including marijuana and cell phones — into the prison for inmates in exchange for bribes. Reed is scheduled to be sentenced on June 20, and 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.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Special Agent in Charge Robert R. Wells of the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office made the announcement.The FBI investigated the case with significant assistance from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

Trial Attorneys Rebecca M. Schuman and Lauren E. Britsch of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the cases.

The cases are part of the Justice Department’s ongoing efforts to combat prison corruption. In addition to the above matter, the Public Integrity Section has obtained convictions against two other former North Carolina prison officials who smuggled contraband, including illegal narcotics, into Caledonia Correctional Institution in exchange for bribe payments. See United States v. Jeremy Chambers, No. 4:21-CR-00038 (E.D.N.C.); United States v. Kenneth Farr, No. 4:21-CR-00009 (E.D.N.C.). Separately, the Public Integrity Section has obtained convictions against several federal prison officials who smuggled contraband into Leavenworth Detention Center. See United States v. Willie Golden, Case No. 2:21-CR-20061 (D. Kan.); United States v. Janna Grier, Case No. 2:22-CR-20001 (D. Kan.); United States v. Jeane Arnette, Case No. 2:21-cr-20063 (D. Kan.); United States v. Cheyonte Harris, No. 2:21-CR-20054 (D. Kan.); United States v. Jacqueline Sifuentes, No. 2:21-CR-20053 (D. Kan.).

The Department of Justice’s International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) and the Department of State’s Counterterrorism Bureau (DOS/CT) recently launched a new program to support women in leadership roles in counterterrorism.

The project, Engaging Multinational Police Women on Equality and Rights (EMPoWER), builds the capacity of women to combat terrorism by supporting them through leadership opportunities and inclusion in counterterrorism efforts. The EMPoWER Program conducted its first-ever regional symposium this week in Opatija, Croatia, drawing more than two dozen law enforcement participants from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Kenya.

“It is said that when it comes to terrorism, the world is small,” said ICITAP Director Gregory Ducot. “We recognize the need to increase the participation of women in counterterrorism law enforcement by educating leaders, creating opportunities for networking, and connecting with professional colleagues.”

“As leaders, we are supposed to listen to everyone around us,” said Samuel L. Pineda, Director of the Programs Office with DOS/CT. “We are supposed to empower people to be their best. And that’s what the EMPoWER Program is supposed to do: help us all become better through education, through support, and through operational networks that help us carry out our mission.”

“We hope that this is the first of many symposiums that not only help women to succeed in their role in the country-specific law enforcement agencies, but will also help U.S. counterterrorism efforts abroad,” said ICITAP Senior Law Enforcement Advisor – EMPoWER Lynn Holland.

The inaugural symposium in Croatia included executive law enforcement and counterterrorism subject matter experts, who provided weeklong advanced professional training.

Developing advanced training, providing mentorship programs, and offering insight into current trends in new technology are key elements for building the capacity of women engaged in combatting terrorism globally.

The EMPoWER Program plans to expand its initiatives in other regions, including Asia and Africa and the Middle East and serve as the beginning of the process of identifying and engaging up-and-coming  leaders in the field of counterterrorism in their respective countries. Consecutively, this initiative will lead to the creation of regional task forces in which selected leaders will engage in international collaboration, strategic communication, and information sharing with U.S. government agencies, jointly working toward the goal of countering terrorism on the global platform.

To learn more about ICITAP, visit: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-icitap.

A California man pleaded guilty today in the Central District of California to stealing government funds designed to aid medical providers in the treatment of patients suffering from COVID-19. He also admitted to stealing additional government funds intended to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to court documents, Gurgen Israyelyan, 39, of West Hills, admitted he owned Saint Christopher Hospice Inc. (SCH), a hospice agency in North Hollywood, which closed around September 2019. SCH, which was never operational during the COVID-19 pandemic, received approximately $89,162 designated for the medical treatment and care of COVID-19 patients. Israyelyan admitted he stole the funds by spending them for his personal use and by transferring them to family members, including a family member in Armenia, rather than using the funds in conjunction with pandemic relief efforts as required.

The charges against Israyelyan resulted from his intentional misuse of funds distributed from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Provider Relief Fund, money specially apportioned by the CARES Act to help health care providers who were financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to provide care to patients who were suffering from COVID-19, and to compensate providers for the cost of that care. These funds were critical to delivering relief to health care providers and maintaining access to medical care during the pandemic.

As part of his guilty plea, Israyelyan further admitted that he submitted, or caused to be submitted, five fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications to the Small Business Administration (SBA) on behalf of SCH and four other entities that Israyelyan controlled: GMG Holdings LLC, Double G Ventures LLC, One Touch Assistants LLC, and G.I. Construction Group. As a result of the fraudulent EIDL applications, the SBA disbursed approximately $428,100 of EIDL funds to Israyelyan, all of which were proceeds that Israyelyan knew he was not entitled to and which Israyelyan used for his own personal benefit, contrary to EIDL requirements. The EIDL program, which was expanded under the CARES Act, was designed to provide loans to small businesses that suffered substantial economic injury from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Israyelyan pleaded guilty to three counts of theft of government property. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 13 and faces up to 10 years in prison for each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison for the Central District of California; Special Agent in Charge Timothy B. Francesca of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General’s Los Angeles Regional Office; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; and Assistant Director Kristi Johnson of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.

Trial Attorney Chris Wenger and Senior Litigation Counsel Jim Hayes of the National Rapid Response Strike Force of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

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, among other methods, 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.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted 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.

Following the launch meeting of the Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO) Task Force, the members from participating countries released the following joint statement:

“We, the undersigned Finance, Justice, Home Affairs, and Trade Ministers and European Commissioners, jointly commit to prioritizing our resources and working together to take all available legal steps to find, restrain, freeze, seize, and, where appropriate, confiscate or forfeit the assets of those individuals and entities that have been sanctioned in connection with Russia’s premeditated, unjust, and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the continuing aggression of the Russian regime. 

“Russia’s latest invasion of Ukraine represents a further assault on the fundamental norms and laws, including the UN charter, that underpin the international order. By working together to hunt down the assets of key Russian elites and proxies and to act against their enablers and facilitators, we take a further step to isolate them from the international financial system and impose consequences for their actions, and we encourage other countries to also take up this critical effort.

“The Task Force that we have launched today demonstrates our unwavering support for Ukraine and our collective resolve and joint commitment to holding accountable those who have complicity in Russia’s unjust war. We are determined to deny them the ability to hide and benefit from their assets in all jurisdictions, and to undermine the integrity of the international financial system.”

• Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Trade Tourism and Investment, Australia
• Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Canada
• Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice, European Commission
• Mairead McGuinness, Commissioner for financial services, financial stability and Capital Markets Union, European Commission
• Bruno Le Maire, Minister for Economy, Finance and Recovery, France
• Eric Dupond-Moretti, Minister of Justice, France
• Christian Lindner, Federal Minister of Finance, Germany
• Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Germany
• Marta Cartabia, Minister of Justice, Italy
• Daniele Franco, Minister of Economy and Finance, Italy
• Ninoyu Satoshi, Chairperson of the National Public Safety Commission, Japan
• Furukawa Yoshihisa, Minister of Justice, Japan
• Suzuki Shunichi, Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Financial Services, Japan
• Priti Patel MP, Secretary of State for the Home Department, United Kingdom
• Rishi Sunak MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, United Kingdom
• Janet L. Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury, United States
• Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General, United States

The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host a series of listening forums to hear from those who have experienced firsthand the effects of mergers and acquisitions beyond antitrust experts, including consumers, workers, entrepreneurs, start-ups, farmers, investors and independent businesses. The four forums will be held virtually over the next three months and helmed by Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Antitrust Division and FTC Chair Lina M. Khan.

The four forums will focus on industries and labor markets that are commonly impacted by mergers that may reduce competition. The dates are as follows:

• Monday, March 28 at 3pm ET – Food and Agriculture
• Thursday, April 14 at 2pm ET – Health Care
• Wednesday, April 27 at 1:30pm ET – Media and Entertainment
• Thursday, May 12 at 2pm ET – Technology

The listening forums will be open to the public, webcast on the FTC’s website, transcribed, posted online, and included as part of the public record.

Assistant Attorney General Kanter and Chair Khan will attend each event with staff from both agencies. At each event, Assistant Attorney General Kanter and Chair Khan will provide a brief introduction followed by remarks from each speaker. Speakers will include independent business owners, entrepreneurs, farmers, workers and other market participants. At the conclusion of the speakers’ remarks, members of the public will have an opportunity to comment. Those who wish to participate may register to speak virtually at one of the events. Due to challenges related to the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis, these forums will be held virtually. Additional forums may be added at a later date.

The forums will supplement the agencies’ recent request for comments on merger enforcement guidelines to ensure that the agencies hear from affected groups who might not otherwise participate in the process. The agencies have also extended the deadline for written comments submitted through regulations.gov. Comment submission will be open through April 21.

In January, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and FTC launched a joint public inquiry aimed at strengthening enforcement against illegal mergers. Recent evidence indicates that many industries across the economy are becoming more concentrated and less competitive – imperiling choice and economic gains for consumers, workers, entrepreneurs and small businesses. These problems are likely to persist or worsen due to an ongoing merger surge that has more than doubled merger filings from 2020 to 2021. To address mounting concerns, the agencies are soliciting public input on ways to modernize federal merger guidelines to better detect and prevent illegal, anticompetitive deals in today’s modern markets.

In addition to the public comment period and these listening forums, the agencies will hold a Spring Enforcers Summit on April 4. The summit will include conversations about merger enforcement as well as discussions on how to work with industry regulators as part of a whole-of-government approach to competition policy. 

For more information on these listening forums, please visit the event page.

The Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit today to stop Grupo Verzatec S.A. de C.V. (Verzatec) from acquiring its biggest competitor, Crane Composites (Crane), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crane Co. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleges that the proposed $360 million transaction would harm competition in production and sale of pebbled fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) wall panels, whose product and performance characteristics make it the wall covering of choice for many restaurants, grocery stores, hospitals and convenience stores across the United States.

“Verzatec’s proposed acquisition of Crane is a brazen attempt to eliminate a rival and cement a monopoly in this market,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Acquisitions that create or entrench monopoly power are illegal and violate the Sherman and Clayton Acts. The proposed transaction would leave countless American businesses facing higher prices and reduced quality, choice and innovation for this important building material.” 

As alleged in the complaint, Verzatec’s internal documents acknowledged that the proposed acquisition would eliminate the “fierce competition” that Verzatec has faced from its “biggest competitor” Crane in the production and supply of pebbled FRP wall panels. Building supply distributors and home-improvement retailers across the nation benefit from the head-to-head competition that exists between these rivals today, resulting in better pricing, financial incentives, and delivery terms, which accrue to the benefit of restaurants, retail outlets and hospitals, among others, that use pebbled FRP in applications where low cost, durability and sanitary performance are paramount.

The department further alleged in its complaint that Verzatec’s senior management wanted to acquire Crane to gain “pricing and market control” and to achieve “FRP dominance.” As a result of the acquisition, Verzatec would dominate the industry, controlling about 80% of current sales and production capacity of pebbled FRP wall panels in the United States. As alleged in the complaint, the proposed acquisition would allow Verzatec to unlawfully monopolize the U.S. market for the production and sale of pebbled FRP in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act and substantially lessen competition in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act.

Verzatec is a privately held Mexican corporation with its headquarters in Monterrey, Mexico. Stabilit America Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Verzatec with headquarters and principal place of business in Moscow, Tennessee. Verzatec and its subsidiary Stabilit sell building materials and wall coverings, including pebbled FRP wall panels, in the United States under several business units, including Glasteel, Marlite and Nudo. 

Crane Company is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Crane Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Crane Composites Inc. manufactures and sells pebbled FRP wall panels in the United States. Crane Composites’ headquarters and principal place of business is located in Channahon, Illinois. Crane sells pebbled FRP wall panels in the United States under several brand names, including Glasbord and Sequentia.

Today the Justice Department reached a settlement agreement with Ready to Work, a not-for-profit residential, work and social services program for individuals who are homeless, with facilities in Aurora and Boulder, Colorado.

The settlement agreement addresses civil rights violations identified during the course of an investigation conducted by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  It resolves a complaint under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that Ready to Work discriminated against an individual with opioid use disorder (OUD) by denying her admission to its residential, work and social services program because she uses a prescribed medication to treat her OUD.

Under the agreement, Ready to Work will not deny services on the basis of disability, including OUD, or apply standards or criteria that screen out individuals with disabilities. The agreement also requires Ready to Work to adopt non-discrimination policies, train staff on its non-discrimination obligations, and report on compliance. Ready to Work will also pay damages to the Complainant.

“People with opioid use disorder are too often subject to discrimination rooted in myths and stereotypes rather than in science,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This agreement will ensure that people with opioid use disorder do not face discriminatory barriers when seeking access to housing, jobs and social services, which are critical to support recovery and combat the epidemic of opioid addiction.  Ensuring that people with opioid use disorder can obtain essential services without facing discrimination is an important priority for the Civil Rights Division.”

For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov. For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. The settlement agreement can be viewed here.

The Justice Department today announced the recipients of the Fifth Annual Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing. This year’s awards recognize the exceptional work of 18 law enforcement officers and deputies from 12 jurisdictions across the country.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced the award recipients in Atlanta. Later, he attended a ceremony for three award recipients from the DeKalb County Police Department. 

“The work of law enforcement has always been difficult — but perhaps no more so than in the recent past, as officers have faced a host of significant challenges. The officers and deputies receiving this year’s awards demonstrate how so many go above and beyond, even in the midst of trying circumstances,” said Attorney General Garland. “Every day, thousands of people who work in law enforcement forge and maintain strong community ties that are essential for ensuring public safety. The recipients of this award represent quintessential examples of such critical efforts. It is an honor to recognize them.”

The Attorney General’s Award recognizes individual state, local, Tribal, and territorial police officers, deputies, and troopers for exceptional efforts in community policing. The awarded officers and deputies have demonstrated active engagement with the community in one of three areas: innovations in community policing, criminal investigations, or field operations. This year, the Department received 185 nominations from 145 agencies, recognizing a total of 347 individual officers, deputies, and troopers. There were 39 states represented in the nomination pool, covering state, local, campus, sheriff, and other agency types.

The work being honored this year reflects numerous examples of law enforcement officers working closely with the community to build trust, solve problems, reduce crime, and improve public safety.

The Department of Justice works closely with national law enforcement stakeholder groups during the award review period, taking advantage of their expertise and experience to determine the recipients in a competitive nomination process. The Department also works closely with its components, utilizing the breadth of knowledge within the Department to ensure a successful program that honors the exceptional service of our nation’s law enforcement officers and deputies.

Complete information on the Fifth Annual Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing can be found at https://www.justice.gov/ag/policing-award.

Attorney General Awards for Distinguished Service in Community Policing 2021

INNOVATIONS IN COMMUNITY POLICING

Detective Latosha Prather, Detective Khary Ricketts, and Detective Dan-nae Webber, DeKalb County (Georgia) Police Department

Detective Latosha Prather, Detective Khary Ricketts, and Detective Dan-nae Webber’s work for the Police Athletic League (PAL) has taken their outreach efforts to new heights and helped many children stay connected in the process. This was especially true during the summer of 2020, when the pandemic threatened to leave at-risk youth with no summer programs. The detectives implemented a virtual summer academy that connected participants via Zoom, Instagram, and Facebook, focusing on mentorship, education, and athletics. Community leaders, teachers, coaches, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and other nonprofits partnered with the PAL to make this innovative event happen. The program reached a total of 1,018 children and adults. When the summer ended, the unit launched its Back-to-School Backpack Giveaway, providing supplies to students who otherwise would have had trouble getting them. Next, was the second annual virtual Gaming with a Cop event, to keep students busy while they were out of school for the Presidents’ Day holiday. The event allowed kids to bond with DeKalb County police officers while competing against them in live video games.

When officers began noticing children selling bottled water on interstate ramps, they knew this was both a safety hazard and a potential breeding ground for other crimes. The detectives of the DeKalb County PAL once again put their heads together and implemented a career development program — a four-month life skills program to provide students with personal growth opportunities and to prepare them for future careers. PAL partnered with Georgia Piedmont Technical College, local entrepreneurs, youth mentors, volunteers, and other police department support units. After the first session, eight of the nine participants were helped through the interview process and are now employed, with the remaining participant enrolling in the Georgia Piedmont College dual enrollment program.

Deputy Sheriff Joseph Angelico, Martin County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office

Since joining the Community Oriented Policing Unit in 2005, Deputy Sheriff Joseph Angelico has established excellent relationships with the community and earned the trust of community members, who often provide him with critical information. A recent example occurred in May 2021, when a local restaurant fire was declared a case of arson. Within days, Angelico had identified the suspect.

Deputy Sheriff Angelico views problems as challenges, and his goal is looking for solutions. For example, Angelico sought a proactive solution to the problem of crime in the summer, when the beach community is flooded with tourists. He coordinated countless hours of all-terrain vehicle beach patrols and bicycle parking lot patrols, giving out criminal opportunity reports to visitors to educate them and enlist them in crime prevention efforts.

Deputy Sheriff Angelico has also established a strong working relationship with the local Department of Human Services to work on helping the homeless population. One homeless Navy veteran, who consistently refused services and shelter, now has both housing and a new outlook on life because of Angelico’s compassion and tireless work.

Deputy Sheriff Angelico especially made his skills work for the community during the pandemic, when he spearheaded many small operations. He used a substation facility at the local mall to meet with community members, answering their questions and giving them information. During the summer of 2020, he also worked hard to allow protesters to voice their concerns while preventing violence and ensuring public safety. His professionalism and dedication are unparalleled, and his knowledge and experience in community policing have established him as a leader and mentor to others in the office.

Officer Tom Hart, Walpole (Massachusetts) Police Department

Officer Tom Hart’s community policing efforts have gone a long way toward building relationships between law enforcement and the community in Walpole, and his efforts have had an impact well beyond the city limits. Hart joined the department in 2013 after a career as a special education teacher. He quickly became involved in many community policing initiatives involving Walpole’s youth. He initially served as a mentor in Walpole schools, with a focus on positive interactions with children who suffer from developmental disabilities. Hart’s efforts include a “positive ticket” campaign to reward “kids caught doing right;” a basketball-cop program, where officers play sports with area youth; and a ride to school program, where each month a student is given a full police escort from his or her home to school. Hart also serves as a leader in the Student Police Advisory Council, and he leads a community-based crisis intervention team that assists with finding resources for those with mental illness.

Officer Hart’s efforts to bridge the gap between Walpole’s youth and the police department resulted in him being named a school resource officer in 2017. He hit the ground running and established the Walpole Junior Police Academy, where middle school students spend a week learning about discipline, physical fitness, and police functions. He also took students with learning disabilities on a field trip to visit an organization called Golden Opportunities for Independence (GOFI), which trains service dogs for a variety of needs.

The visit was so well-received that Officer Hart began discussing the idea of police using service dogs as an ice breaker, as well as to assist individuals when responding to traumatic incidents. Hart received approval from town officials, and GOFI donated a golden retriever named “Rebel” to the police. The program has proved such a success that a number of other departments in the state now have a service dog assigned to them, and the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office announced that they would be funding a grant to purchase service dogs for other jurisdictions. Other states have also expressed an interest in replicating the program. Hart’s innovative ideas have proved invaluable in furthering the department’s community policing efforts (and Rebel, the service dog, has now become the face of the Walpole Police Department).

Officer Danielle St. Peter, Barnstable (Massachusetts) Police Department

Officer Danielle St. Peter’s commitment to the Barnstable Police Community Impact Unit (CIU) has dramatically benefited local residents. The CIU works with partner agencies to bring medical care, substance abuse treatment, mental health counseling, and housing services to homeless and disadvantaged populations. St. Peter routinely assumes the role of case manager, counselor, and problem-solver by using an individualized approach to de-escalate tense situations and connect people with services tailored to their needs.

In the fall of 2020, the CIU received information about a mother with mental illness living with her baby in a homeless camp. Officer St. Peter forged a relationship with the young mother, building trust with her over a period of time, and addressing her fear of criminal enforcement. She connected her with the appropriate services and eventually was able to move the mother and child into more suitable housing, watching as their quality of life improved dramatically.

Recently, Officer St. Peter skillfully managed a tense situation, as police officers tried to persuade a mentally-ill woman who was living in her car to leave her vehicle for a psychiatric committal. Using compassion and skills honed over time, St. Peter provided comfort to the scared woman and de-escalated the situation. She ultimately oversaw her transfer to a care facility and reconnected with her after treatment, helping her to secure temporary housing and get the mental health treatment she needed. Because of St. Peter’s compassion, care, and philosophy of community policing, the woman remains stabilized and they communicate regularly. St. Peter’s upbeat attitude, conflict resolution skills, patience, and work ethic are part of her extreme effectiveness and a true demonstration of community policing.

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS

Sergeant Kurt Berardino and Sergeant Christopher Perez, Miami-Dade (Florida) Police Department

In July 2020, a ShotSpotter alert showed that 21 shots had been fired on a Miami street. The aftermath left a seven-year-old dead and another child and two adults injured. The investigation revealed that the victims were returning home from shopping and were fired on as they were getting out of their car. Detectives Kurt Berardino and Christopher Perez (now both sergeants) immersed themselves in the subsequent investigation, poring over multiple Crime Stoppers tips, reviewing hours of surveillance footage, and questioning potential witnesses. As Berardino and Perez developed the case, they established a rapport with two of the survivors, and those survivors provided a positive identification of the subjects involved in the shooting. This positive identification was key in furthering other leads that were gathered. Evidence collected was crucial in solidifying victim statements and the timeline of the events. Arrest warrants were eventually issued, and in September 2020, the detectives traveled to Georgia, where one suspect was taken into custody and later confessed; a second suspect was also arrested. It was the tenacity, persistence, and determination of Detectives Berardino and Perez that closed this case and brought justice to the families of the victims and to the community.

Detective Victor Powell† and Detective Jonathan Smith, Norfolk (Virginia) Police Department

In September 1980, a woman was brutally murdered in her Norfolk apartment. No solid leads into the case were developed until cold case detectives Victor Powell and Jonathan Smith took on the case 38 years later and pursued a DNA analysis. The results showed a potential suspect in Michigan. Powell and Smith conducted numerous witness interviews, on the basis of which they obtained a warrant and arrested the suspect. The suspect was extradited to Norfolk and eventually confessed to the 1980 murder. He also admitted to previously unresolved, uncharged sexual assaults between 1976 and 1977 in San Diego, California. In the summer of 2020, the defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, rape, and burglary arising from the brutal attack on the victim in 1980. The court sentenced the defendant to a life term of imprisonment on both the first-degree murder and the rape convictions, and 20 years in prison on the burglary conviction. Also, as a result of the resolution of the case in Norfolk, the state of Michigan was able to return the defendant to the state to stand trial for pending charges related to the 1989 death of his adopted daughter. Smith and Powell’s dedication to this investigation brought great credit to the Norfolk Police Department from across the United States, and brought peace to a family who fought for justice for 40 years.

†Detective Powell, a 31-year veteran of the Norfolk Police Department, passed away May 21, 2020; he is remembered for his outstanding service to the department.

Detective Ben Pender, Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake (Utah)

In November 2010, a woman was found brutally murdered in her South Salt Lake, Utah bookstore. The scene was processed and fingerprints, a palm print, and DNA were recovered, which later provided a profile of an unknown male suspect. In 2018, cold case Detective Ben Pender worked with a genetic genealogist and was eventually given more than 300 names for target testing. Pender researched their names and addresses and sent letters to those individuals across the country, requesting voluntary participation in the investigation. He ultimately traveled to eight states and was able to foster relationships with 50 target test subjects, who provided swabs for DNA testing. In the fall of 2020, Pender was provided a close genetic match with the DNA left at the crime scene.

After more research and questioning potential relatives, Detective Pender identified the name of a suspect. Pender worked with detectives from the Major Investigations Unit to conduct surveillance on the suspect and collect a DNA sample, which turned out to be a match with the DNA collected at the murder scene. Pender arrested the suspect, who admitted to the murder and provided critical details. If not for Pender’s tenacious efforts, this homicide might never have been solved and a grieving family might still not have found justice. Pender has closed several unresolved homicides and missing persons cases and worked homicides for other agencies. In addition, in 2018 he organized the first annual Hope Conference for families of unresolved homicide victims, during which participants learned that every open unresolved case would be examined no less often than every 18 months.

Detective-Sergeant Jeffrey Araujo and Major Christopher Reed, Central Falls (Rhode Island) Police Department

In July 2007, a cab driver was shot in his cab and died by the time he was transported to the hospital. Witnesses reported seeing three young men run from the scene, some tossing their baseball caps as they ran. When processing the scene, Detective (now Detective-Sergeant) Jeffrey Araujo and Detective (now Major) Christopher Reed discovered two baseball caps in the vicinity of the shooting. The detectives later spoke with the victim’s wife, who said she was on the phone with her husband just before the shooting. She said her husband had called to say he was not comfortable with the three men in his taxi and wanted to keep her on the phone in case something went wrong. Shortly after, his wife heard a struggle and the phone disconnected.

Detectives Araujo and Reed were later contacted by a confidential informant, who identified a man he said had shot the driver. The detectives also received information about the other two men in the car. The detectives continued to pursue the investigation over the years but lacked hard evidence. Through their continued efforts, however, in May 2017, the detectives spoke with a subject who wanted to talk about the taxi driver’s murder and provided information on the suspects who were involved. At the same time, the detectives spoke with another individual who reported the suspects had talked about the murder the day after it happened. Araujo and Reed then resubmitted both baseball hats and requested they be tested against the profiles of the three suspects. There was a match, and thanks to this match and other evidence, the detectives secured an indictment. After a trial, the suspect was convicted and sentenced. Although the victim’s wife had passed away in the interim, because of the detectives’ tenacious work, the victim’s children and family were able to see that justice was finally served.

FIELD OPERATIONS

Deputy Sarah Merriman, Richland County (South Carolina) Sheriff’s Department

When Deputy Sarah Merriman was dispatched to a call for a domestic dispute in progress, she was told in advance that the suspect had a firearm and had already assaulted a woman. Upon her arrival outside of the residence, she saw a very agitated man with a shotgun in his hand, and one of several women on the scene was bleeding profusely from her head. Merriman had to decide instantly whether to draw her weapon; recognizing the subject’s state of mind, she chose to talk to him. She pleaded with him to drop the weapon — and once additional patrol deputies arrived and aimed their guns at him, she encouraged him to focus on talking to her. The suspect taunted Merriman for several minutes, yelling at her to pull her weapon and shoot him. Finally, Merriman was able to calm him down and he lowered the shotgun; she then took him into custody.

Deputy Merriman’s actions exemplify what it is to be a guardian. Her ability to recognize the individual’s state of mind — and her realization that drawing her weapon would escalate the situation — prevented a tragic outcome and saved at least one life that day.

Officer Kristen Schmidt, Portland (Oregon) Police Bureau

Officer Kristen Schmidt is part of the Enhanced Crisis Intervention Team at the Portland Police Bureau. She responded to a call from the local humane society, where a woman trying to recover her cats from the shelter had become belligerent. Schmidt did not know at the time that the woman was in the midst of an extended period of psychosis; the sudden appearance of several uniformed officers, an ambulance, and staff from a community health agency exacerbated her condition.

In an effort to calm the situation, Officer Schmidt sat with the woman and patiently explained the need to go to the hospital. When the ambulance driver told the woman to get on the gurney and her agitation returned, Schmidt then drove the woman to the hospital herself. She talked to her during the drive; the woman reported, “She treated me with dignity and respect and looked for ways to connect with me.”

Officer Schmidt kept in touch with the woman during her three-week hospitalization, picked her up when she was released, and drove her to the shelter to retrieve her dog, who had also been left there. The woman said she felt treated with “compassion and humanity.” A year after the incident, the woman met Schmidt at the precinct to express her gratitude and share how differently she felt that day could have gone if Schmidt had not been the officer on the scene. She believes that Schmidt is a powerful role model for sensitive and compassionate police work for people in vulnerable situations.

Officer Travis Allen and Officer Brendan Fowler, Irving (Texas) Police Department

In the winter of 2021, officers responded to a call of a drowning in-progress. A family had ventured out onto an ice-covered canal to take photos, but the father and mother had fallen through the ice into the frigid waters. When Officer Brendan Fowler arrived on the scene, he threw a lifeline out to both, telling them to wrap it around themselves to remain above water. Officer Travis Allen arrived next and communicated with Fowler to develop a rescue plan. The fire department arrived and slid two ladders out onto the ice, but the woman was succumbing to the cold and began to go under. Allen immediately crawled out on the ladder and held the woman’s face above the water. A firefighter crawled out on the other ladder just as the ice broke under Allen, dumping him into the water. Allen and the firefighter, now exposed to the extremely cold water, worked quickly and managed to lift the woman onto a ladder. Other officers who were now on the scene made sure that everyone was attached to the ladder and pulled the ladder onto the shore. The husband was responsive, but the wife was unresponsive and showed signs of hypothermia onset. They were then transported to the hospital, where both recovered. If it were not for the quick response and heroic actions taken by Allen and Fowler, the outcome could have been very different.

Officer Cody Hubbard, Pottsville (Arkansas) Police Department

In May 2021, officer Cody Hubbard responded to a call of a cardiac arrest of a three-week-old child who was not breathing. Immediately upon his arrival, Hubbard began life-saving efforts and started the Heimlich maneuver for infants. The baby soon began to cry and breathe on his own. The Pope County emergency medical services team then arrived and took over the scene. Hubbard was awarded the department’s Life Saving Award for his actions. Under a very stressful situation, he was able to retain, recall, and apply the lifesaving training he had received. Officer Hubbard saved a young life and earned the respect of the community.

Former Logan Police Department Officer Everett Maynard, 45, was sentenced to nine years in prison and three years of supervised release for violating an arrestee’s civil rights by using excessive force against him.

On Nov. 17, 2021, a federal jury convicted Maynard of using excessive force against an arrestee while Maynard was a police officer with the Logan Police Department in West Virginia. At trial, the jury heard evidence that Maynard assaulted the victim in the bathroom of the Logan Police Department before dragging him into an adjoining room, hauling him across the room, and ramming his head against a doorframe. The assault initially rendered the victim unconscious and left him with a broken shoulder, a broken nose, and a cut to his head that required staples to close. While the defendant assaulted the victim, the defendant berated the victim for “making demands” of him by, among other things, asking to go to the bathroom. After the assault left the victim unconscious in a pool of his own blood, the defendant bragged about his use of force.

“This defendant’s abuse of law enforcement authority inside a police station was egregious and caused serious injuries,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Police misconduct undermines community trust in law enforcement, and impedes effective policing. This sentence confirms that law enforcement officers who use excessive force against arrestees will be held accountable.”

“The outstanding work of the FBI, the West Virginia State Police, and the prosecution team ensured that justice was served in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Will Thompson of the Southern District of West Virginia. “When Mr. Maynard abused his position of authority to violate the civil rights of an arrestee, he betrayed the public’s trust and dishonored the policing profession. We will continue to work with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and our law enforcement partners to protect the civil rights of all citizens and hold officers accountable for criminal misconduct.”  

“The actions of Mr. Maynard are disturbing and violate the trust placed in him by the community,” said Special Agent in Charge Mike Nordwall of the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office. “Today’s sentencing is the result of the FBI’s dedication to Civil Rights by holding people accountable when they abuse their authority and violate the constitutional rights of those they swore to protect. No one is above the law. “

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office with the support of the West Virginia State Police and was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kathryn E. Gilbert of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nowles Heinrich for the Southern District of West Virginia.

A federal jury in the Western District of North Carolina convicted two men today for the submission of fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $1.7 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. 

According to evidence presented during a six-day trial, Izzat Freitekh, 55, of Waxhaw, North Carolina, and his son Tarik Freitekh, aka Tareq Freitekh, 33, whose last known residence was in Glendale, California, obtained $1.7 million by submitting multiple fraudulent PPP loan applications for companies owned by Izzat Freitekh: La Shish Kabob, La Shish Kabob Catering, Green Apple Catering, and Aroma Packaging. The loan applications misrepresented the number of employees and payroll expenses. After obtaining the fraudulent loan proceeds, the defendants engaged in unlawful monetary transactions with the proceeds of the scheme, including making $30,000 payments to family members.

Izzat Freitekh was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, three counts of money laundering, and one count of making false statements. He faces up to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering, 10 years in prison for each of the money laundering counts, and five years in prison for the false statements count.

Tarik Freitekh was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of money laundering, and one count of falsifying and concealing material facts. He faces up to 30 years in prison for the bank fraud count, 20 years in prison for the wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies, 10 years in prison for the money laundering count, and five years in prison for the falsifying material facts count.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Dena J. King for the Western District of North Carolina; Inspector in Charge Tommy Coke of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Atlanta Division; Special Agent in Charge Donald E. Eakins of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Charlotte Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Mark Morini of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Southeast Field Division, made the announcement.

The US Postal Inspection Service, IRS-CI, and TIGTA investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Joshua N. DeBold and Matt Kahn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Odulio of the Western District of North Carolina prosecuted the case.

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.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

A federal grand jury in the Western District of Texas returned an indictment charging two South Korean nationals for their roles in a conspiracy to restrain trade and a scheme to defraud the United States in connection with operation and maintenance work for U.S. military installations in South Korea.

According to the indictment, Hyun Ki Shin and Hyuk Jin Kwon were officers of a South Korean construction company that performed subcontract work on U.S. military installations in South Korea. Kwon was also a part owner of the company. Beginning at least as early as November 2018, Kwon and Shin, along with others, conspired to rig bids and fix prices for subcontract work, and defrauded the U.S. Department of Defense in order to obtain millions of dollars in repair and maintenance subcontract work at U.S military installations in South Korea.

“Bid rigging, price fixing and fraud are crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “We will not stand by as criminals engage in illegal conduct to harm our military installations overseas.”

“By allegedly rigging bids with their competitors, the defendants cheated to obtain U.S. Army-funded repair and construction subcontracts,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Park of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division’s (Army CID) Major Procurement Fraud Field Office-Pacific. “U.S Army CID Special Agents remain on guard to investigate and hold individuals accountable who corrupt the integrity of the Army's procurement process.”

“The defendants allegedly conspired to fix prices and rig bids for repair and maintenance work at U.S. military bases,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “These actions are not only illegal, but they fundamentally violate the tenets of fair trade. This indictment shows that the FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to investigating schemes intended to defraud others, even those devised on foreign soil.”  

The seven-count indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas charges Kwon and Shin with one count of conspiracy to restrain trade and six counts of wire fraud. This indictment is the first in an ongoing investigation into bid rigging and price fixing for operation and maintenance work for U.S. military installations in South Korea.

The maximum penalty for conspiracy to restrain trade under the Sherman Antitrust Act is 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of $1 million. For the wire fraud counts, Kwon and Shin face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime, or twice the loss suffered by victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The charges are a result of a federal investigation conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section, Army CID and the FBI, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.

Anyone with information in connection with this investigation is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section at 202-598-4000 or visit https://www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.

In November 2019, the Department of Justice created the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF), a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government – federal, state and local. In fall 2020, the Strike Force expanded its footprint with the launch of PCSF: Global, designed to deter, detect, investigate and prosecute collusive schemes that target government spending outside of the United States. To learn more about the PCSF, or to report information on market allocation, price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to defense-related spending, go to https://www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force.

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

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen today met virtually with representatives from Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the European Commission, to launch the Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO) multilateral task force. The task force was first announced by leaders on Feb. 26.

The task force, consisting of Finance Ministry and Justice or Home Ministry in each member jurisdiction, each committed to using their respective authorities in concert with other appropriate ministries to collect and share information to take concrete actions, including sanctions, asset freezing, civil and criminal asset seizure, and criminal prosecution.

Cooperation between the U.S. government and foreign partners has already yielded notable successes. In the last three weeks alone, information provided by U.S. law enforcement to foreign partners has contributed to the restraint of multiple vessels controlled by sanctioned individuals and entities. Collectively, these vessels are estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. 

“We are already working with our international partners to freeze and seize properties belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarchs worldwide,” said Attorney General Garland. “We will continue to work together to take all appropriate actions against those whose criminal acts enable the Russian government to continue its unjust war against Ukraine.”

“Our sanctions, trade restrictions, and other measures have already imposed significant costs on Russia, its leadership, and those who enabled Putin’s unprovoked invasion into Ukraine,” said Secretary Yellen. “This multilateral task force will raise those costs even more, by galvanizing coordinated efforts to freeze and seize assets of these individuals in jurisdictions around the world and deny safe haven for their ill-gotten gains.”

The REPO task force members discussed ways to ensure the effective, coordinated implementation of the group’s collective financial sanctions relating to Russia, as well as assistance to other nations to locate and freeze assets located within their jurisdictions. Participants also discussed the need to preserve evidence and determine whether these frozen assets, or other assets linked to these sanctioned individuals or entities, are subject to forfeiture. Finally, the task force discussed ways to bring to justice enablers and gatekeepers who have facilitated the movement of sanctioned assets or other illicit funds.

The Department of Justice’s newly launched Task Force KleptoCapture, which the Attorney General established on March 2, will help support this international effort. Task Force KleptoCapture is designed to help deploy U.S. prosecutorial and law enforcement resources to identify sanctions evasion and related criminal conduct.

In addition to the launch of the REPO task force, Treasury took steps to boost cooperation and intelligence sharing. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today will join in a statement with counterparts in task force member countries and others to increase information sharing. FinCEN will also release an alert for financial institutions about the importance of identifying and reporting suspicious transactions by sanctioned Russian elites, oligarchs, and their proxies that involve real estate, luxury goods, and high-value assets. FinCEN continues robust engagement with financial institutions through its public-private partnership authorities to enhance collaboration and information sharing and analysis.

Treasury will also launch the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Program today, which offers rewards payments for information leading to seizure, restraint, or forfeiture of assets linked to foreign government corruption, including the Government of the Russian Federation. The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence administers the Program in coordination with the Departments of Justice and State and U.S. federal law enforcement agencies. More information on eligibility for rewards payments and on submission of relevant information to the U.S. government can be found here. Those individuals with information are encouraged to contact Kleptocracy_Rewards@Treasury.gov or call +1 202-622-2050.  

In connection with the meeting, Treasury is providing attendees with a list of 50 individuals who are priorities for the United States. Treasury has publicly released 28 names of individuals from the list who have been sanctioned by multiple jurisdictions, including the United States. The names are available here.

Today, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed settlement with the North Slope Borough of Alaska to resolve federal hazardous waste and oil spill violations. The settlement requires the Borough to take comprehensive actions and make infrastructure investments to comply with solid and hazardous waste management rules and oil spill prevention rules. The Borough will also hire an independent third-party auditor to ensure that the compliance requirements in the settlement are successfully implemented and pay a civil penalty of $6.5 million.

A multi-year environmental investigation of the Borough uncovered violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which regulates solid and hazardous waste, and the Clean Water Act (CWA) at numerous facilities owned and operated by the Borough in Utqiagvik, Anaktuvuk Pass, Atqasuk, Kaktovik, Nuiqsut, Point Hope, Point Lay, Wainwright, Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay. Many of the violations resulted from the Borough’s failure to properly manage and store thousands of drums of oil and hazardous waste in these communities, some of which led to oil spills.

“Today’s settlement will ensure that the Borough completely upgrades its waste and oil management practices to protect its residents and future generations from exposure to hazardous waste and to prevent spills to the surrounding environment,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The work to be performed under this settlement will protect the vital tundra wetlands and waterways that surround many of the Borough’s communities.”

“When improperly managed, hazardous wastes and oil can damage the environment and pose a health risk to those who come into contact,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield of the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This settlement will help protect the health of the communities and the sensitive ecosystems in the North Slope Borough.”

The alleged RCRA violations include the Borough’s unpermitted storage of hazardous waste; failure to identify and characterize hazardous waste; unauthorized transport of hazardous waste; shipment of hazardous waste without proper manifesting and land disposal restriction notices; non-compliant management of universal wastes; and failure to properly label used oil containers. Numerous drums of solid and hazardous waste were improperly stored outdoors, accessible to Borough residents and exposed to the environment. Some drums contained corrosive, ignitable, or toxic waste and were not properly labeled as hazardous.

In addition, the Borough failed to safely store and manage oil in accordance with the CWA’s Oil Pollution Prevention regulations, intended to prevent oil spills, at 70 of its facilities. The violations contributed to at least two oil spills into wetlands near the Kasegaluk Lagoon, Kaktovik Lagoon and Pipsuk Bight. Oil spills in this sensitive arctic tundra habitat can harm fish and other wildlife, as well as downstream waters which are important to Native Alaskans, including for subsistence hunting, fishing and gathering.

To resolve the alleged violations and come into compliance with federal requirements, the Borough has agreed to close all unpermitted hazardous waste storage facilities; develop a comprehensive waste management plan to minimize generation of and ensure proper tracking and management of solid and  hazardous waste; build or retrofit a permitted hazardous waste storage facility; revise its CWA Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Plan; install adequate secondary containment around oil storage containers; and develop an integrity testing program for oil storage containers that complies with applicable industry standards. The Borough has also agreed to identify a full-time environmental official and will hire an independent third-party auditor to ensure that the compliance requirements in the consent decree are successfully implemented.

The Borough’s compliance actions represent a significant investment in its waste management and pollution prevention programs to help protect the residents of the North Slope and their environment from exposure to oil spills and hazardous waste. The Borough began making improvements to its hazardous waste management and oil storage programs during negotiations for the proposed settlement.

The North Slope Borough is the northernmost municipality in the United States and the largest of Alaska’s 19 organized boroughs. It includes nearly 95,000 square miles and is bordered to the west by the Chukchi Sea and to the east by the Beaufort Sea. Most of its residents live in eight communities throughout the Borough: Anaktuvuk Pass, Atqasuk, Utqiagvik, Kaktovik, Nuiqsut, Point Hope, Point Lay and Wainwright, in addition to two industrial complexes at Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay. EPA has taken two previous administrative enforcement actions against the Borough in 1998 and 2015 for RCRA hazardous waste management, storage and treatment violations.

The Department of Justice announced today that it reached a settlement with Bianchi Home Care Inc. (Bianchi), a home care provider based in Washington state. The settlement resolves the department’s claims that Bianchi violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when it discriminated against non-U.S. citizens through its use of E-Verify. Run by the Department of Homeland Security, E-Verify is an electronic program that enables enrolled employers to confirm that their employees have permission to work in the United States.

“Employers cannot use E-Verify to discriminate against employees because of their citizenship or immigration status,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division is committed to protecting workers from unlawful citizenship discrimination and removing discriminatory barriers from all stages of the hiring process.”

The department opened its investigation to determine whether Bianchi discriminated against non-U.S. citizens when using E-Verify. Based on its investigation, the department determined that Bianchi only used E-Verify to confirm the permission to work of its non-U.S. citizen employees and did not use the program for its U.S. citizen employees. Even though E-Verify found that all of Bianchi’s non-U.S. citizen employees had permission to work, by only subjecting them to E-Verify, Bianchi imposed an additional burden on them in the hiring process because of their citizenship or immigration status. Under the INA and the E-Verify program rules, employers cannot discriminate in their use of E-Verify based on citizenship or immigration status.

The settlement prohibits Bianchi from selectively using E-Verify to discriminate against employees based on their citizenship or immigration status. Additionally, Bianchi must train its employees on the requirements of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, change its policies and procedures and be subject to monitoring for a three-year period.  

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 citizenship or immigration status and national origin discrimination 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. Job 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, can file a charge. The public also can contact IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688; call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); email IER@usdoj.gov; sign up for a free webinar; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe to GovDelivery to receive updates from IER. View the Spanish translation of the press release here.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco, and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta today applauded the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). VAWA was reauthorized as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, which President Joe Biden signed into law this week.

“Domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking are serious violations of criminal law that demand our sustained attention and action,” said Attorney General Garland. “The Department of Justice welcomes the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and will continue to use the resources at our disposal to prevent and respond to gender-based violence and provide critical services for survivors.”

“One of the many achievements of this bipartisan reauthorization of VAWA is recognizing expanded jurisdiction for American Indian and Alaska Native tribes to protect their communities from domestic and sexual violence, which I highlighted as a priority in my testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last October,” said Deputy Attorney General Monaco. “It is fitting that this important legislation was passed during Women’s History Month, as it will help combat the epidemic levels of gender-based violence that stand in the way of equality in our society. We have made substantial progress since I worked on the original VAWA in Congress in the 1990s, but VAWA’s programs, protections, and new initiatives remain critical to address unmet needs in our communities.”  

“VAWA’s reauthorization helps ensure all survivors can live safe and healthy lives, free from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, and stalking,” said Associate Attorney General Gupta. “Preventing and ending violence creates a more equal and equitable world for women and girls, and people of all genders who experience harm. I look forward to working with the Office on Violence Against Women to implement and administer new programs and services that support underserved communities.”

In addition to recognizing expanded jurisdiction for American Indian and Alaska Native tribes, the VAWA reauthorization addresses numerous Department of Justice priorities, including:

• Reauthorizing until 2027 VAWA’s vitally important grant programs, which will allow communities to provide critical services to survivors, as well as the right tools and training to make sure that responses to these crimes are survivor-centered and trauma-informed. 
• Increasing services and support for underserved populations, including culturally specific communities, LGBTQ survivors, individuals with disabilities, immigrant survivors, older adults, and victims in rural communities, among others.
• Closing gaps in federal sex crimes statutes and promoting accountability for law enforcement officers, by strengthening the ability to prosecute federal officers who sexually assault or abuse those in their custody, and by appropriately penalizing defendants who commit civil rights offenses involving sexual misconduct, which includes those who commit sexual assault while acting under color of law and those who commit sexual assault as part of a hate crime.
• Enhancing efforts to reduce homicides through enforcement of federal and state firearms laws, including by enacting the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Denial Notification Act to help state law enforcement investigate and prosecute unlawful firearms purchasers and amending the Gun Control Act to make clear that the firearm prohibitions apply to domestic violence offenders convicted under municipal ordinances.
• Improving access to justice for survivors by expanding grant funding for legal services and authorizing post-conviction legal assistance to survivors in matters arising out of their domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or sex trafficking victimization.

A former Kansas businessman man pleaded guilty today to employment tax crimes.

According to court documents, starting in approximately 2010, Lance Ashley was the sole owner and operator of Ashley Home Care Services (AHCS), an Overland Park home health care business that provided daily living services to individuals. Ashley was responsible for all financial matters relating to AHCS, including handling the company’s payroll and collecting and paying over employment taxes to the IRS. From 2013 through 2016, however, AHCS did not pay all the employee withholdings it collected to the IRS. Rather, Ashley used some of the funds to pay corporate expenses and a number of his personal expenses. After the IRS began collecting AHCS’s unpaid taxes in 2016, Ashley provided fraudulent bank records to the IRS and did not fully disclose his bank accounts. In all, Ashley’s conduct caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $321,476.

Ashley is scheduled to be sentenced on June 6 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 Duston J. Slinkard for the District of Kansas made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Julia Rugg of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Huschka of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas are prosecuting the case.

A federal grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky, returned an indictment today charging an Indiana woman with violating an individual’s rights while acting as an officer of the Louisville Metro Police Department.

According to court documents, Katie R. Crews, 29, of Jeffersonville, Indiana, has been charged with using a pepperball gun to fire a pepperball at an individual, while the individual was standing on private property and not posing a threat to the defendant or others. The incident took place on June 1, 2020.

Crews is charged with using unreasonable force. If convicted, she faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge would determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI’s Louisville Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI and the Louisville Metro Police Department’s Public Integrity Unit jointly investigated the case through the Louisville Public Corruption Civil Rights Task Force.

Civil Rights Trial Attorney Anita Channapati and Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda E. Gregory of the Western District of Kentucky 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.

El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha llegado a un acuerdo con Bianchi Home Care Inc. (Bianchi), un proveedor de atención en el hogar radicado en el estado de Washington. El acuerdo resuelve las acusaciones del Departamento de que Bianchi vulneró la ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad («INA», por sus siglas en inglés) al discriminar a individuos que no eran ciudadanos de los EE. UU. mediante su uso de E-Verify. Administrado por el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional, E-Verify es un programa electrónico que da a los empleadores inscritos la posibilidad de confirmar que sus empleados tienen permiso para trabajar en los Estados Unidos.

«Los empleadores no pueden usar E-Verify para discriminar a empleados por motivos de su estatus migratorio o de ciudadanía», afirmó Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. «La División de Derechos Civiles está comprometida a proteger a los trabajadores de la discriminación ilícita por motivos de su ciudadanía y a quitar barreras discriminatorias en toda etapa del proceso de contratación».

El Departamento inició su investigación para determinar si Bianchi discriminó a no ciudadanos de los EE. UU. a la hora de usar E-Verify. Con base en su investigación, el Departamento determinó que Bianchi solamente usó E-Verify para confirmar el permiso para trabajar de sus empleados no ciudadanos de los EE. UU. y que no usó el programa para sus empleados que son ciudadanos estadounidenses. Aunque, según E-Verify, todos los empleados de Bianchi que no eran ciudadanos de los EE. UU. sí contaban con permiso para trabajar, al someterlos solo a ellos a E-Verify, Bianchi les impuso una carga adicional en el proceso de contratación debido a su estatus migratorio o de ciudadanía. Conforme la INA y las normas del programa E-Verify, los empleadores no pueden distinguir en su uso de E-Verify según el estatus migratorio o de ciudadanía.

La conciliación prohíbe que Bianchi use E-Verify de manera selectiva para discriminar a empleadores con base en su estatus migratorio o de ciudadanía. Asimismo, Bianchi deberá capacitar a sus empleados acerca de los requisitos de la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA, cambiar sus políticas y procedimientos y someterse a la supervisión del Departamento durante un período de tres años. 

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.

Aquellos solicitantes de trabajo o empleados que creen haber sido discriminados por motivos de su estatus migratorio, ciudadanía o nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido, reclutamiento o durante el proceso de 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; 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 la página web de la IER en inglés o español. Para recibir las últimas noticias de la IER, inscríbase a GovDelivery. 

En inglés