District Not Recorded

A federal jury convicted a Houston-area physician for unlawfully prescribing more than 1.3 million doses of opioids.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Parvez Qureshi, 56, of Houston, Texas, a medical doctor, conspired to and did unlawfully prescribe controlled substances from 2014 through February 2016 for patients at Spring Shadows Medical Clinic of Houston (Spring Shadows), a clinic owned by Rubeena Ayesha, an advanced practice nurse practitioner. Ayesha, 52, of Houston, previously pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme and is awaiting sentencing before U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt of the Southern District of Texas.

Trial evidence showed that Qureshi issued unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances to over 90 people on the clinic’s busiest days. So-called “runners” brought numerous people to pose as patients at Spring Shadows and paid for their visits. Spring Shadows charged approximately $250-$500 for each patient visit and required payment in cash.

The evidence also showed that Qureshi pre-signed prescriptions for controlled substances and issued prescriptions for patients who were not evaluated by a physician. Throughout the scheme, Qureshi wrote prescriptions for over 1.3 million dosage units of hydrocodone, and over 40,000 dosage units of oxycodone, both Schedule II controlled substances. Ayesha wrote prescriptions for over one million dosage units of carisoprodol, commonly known as Soma, a Schedule IV controlled substance, usually for patients who had also been prescribed oxycodone or hydrocodone by Qureshi. The combination of oxycodone/hydrocodone and carisoprodol is a dangerous drug cocktail with no known medical benefit. The clinic made over $4 million from prescriptions issued in the scheme, over $1.5 million of which went to Qureshi.

Qureshi was convicted of one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances and four counts of unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 10, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison per 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, Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer K. Lowery of the Southern District of Texas, and Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeux of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA’s) Houston Division made the announcement.

DEA investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Devon Helfmeyer and Monica Cooper of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

 A New York man was sentenced to 18 months in prison today in the Western District of New York for violating the Lacey Act and the Animal Welfare Act by trafficking African wild cats.

Christopher Casacci, 39, of Amherst, was doing business as “ExoticCubs.com,” through which he advertised, imported and sold exotic African cats. Between February and June of 2018, Casacci imported and sold dozens of caracals (Caracal caracal) and servals (Leptailurus serval), for $7,500 to $10,000 each. Casacci claimed that he was operating as a big cat rescue organization in an attempt to avoid New York prohibitions against possessing and selling wild animals. Casacci also falsified transport documents to hide the true species of the cats, instead calling the animals domestic crossbreeds, such as Bengal cats or Savannah cats. Further, Casacci was not permitted to sell the cats because he was not approved to do so under the Animal Welfare Act.

“Selling wild animals as pets not only breaks the law, but also endangers local communities and environments,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “The Department of Justice is dedicated to protecting the public and our native wildlife from the irresponsible actions of wildlife traffickers.”

“The purpose of the Lacey Act and the Animal Welfare Act is to protect fish, wildlife and other animals, especially those that may be endangered, from individuals who seek to profit from trafficking,” said U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross for the Western District of New York. “Enforcing these measures is important to ensure that animals, such as the exotic African cats in this case, are safeguarded.”  

“Criminals who flout wildlife laws such as the Lacey Act put humans and animals at great risk,” said Assistant Director Edward Grace of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Office of Law Enforcement. “Wildlife trafficking is decimating the world’s natural resources, so it is essential we work with our partners to put a stop to these types of illegal activities. This will help protect against risks to human health and safety and to native wildlife and their habitats and ensure future generations can enjoy and benefit from our cherished wild heritage.”

Caracals, also known as the “desert lynx,” are wild cats native to Africa that grow to approximately 45 pounds. Servals, also wild cats native to Africa, grow to approximately 40 pounds. All of the animals were sold while still kittens and despite their size and wild nature, Casacci marketed them as “house pets.” Both species are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and their commercial possession and sale is restricted under New York state law. Multiple kittens imported by Casacci died while in his care or days after he sold them, and many live kittens were seized from Casacci during the investigation. The seized animals are now permanently residing within accredited animal sanctuaries.

Casacci was previously indicted for his actions in January of 2020. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ryan Noel, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan of the ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango of the Western District of New York.

A federal jury convicted an Illinois man today for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a foreign terrorist organization.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Thomas Osadzinski, 22, of Chicago, designed a process using a computer script to make ISIS propaganda more conveniently disseminated online. The process would automatically copy and preserve ISIS media postings in an organized format, allowing social media users to continue to conveniently access and share the content.

In 2019, Osadzinski shared his script and instructions for how to use it with individuals whom he believed to be ISIS supporters and members of pro-ISIS media organizations. Unbeknownst to Osadzinski, the individuals were covert FBI employees and a person confidentially working with law enforcement.

Osadzinski was convicted of attempting to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization and faces a maximum statutory penalty of up to 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mark J. Lesko of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. for the Northern District of Illinois and Special Agent in Charge Emmerson Buie Jr. of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office made the announcement.

The Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is comprised of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barry Jonas and Melody Wells for the Northern District of Illinois and Trial Attorney Alexandra Hughes of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

Two former employees of G4S Secure Solutions NV (G4S NV), pleaded guilty today to criminal antitrust charges stemming from their involvement in a conspiracy to rig bids, fix prices, and allocate customers for defense-related security services contracts. Both defendants are Belgian nationals residing in Belgium.

According to court documents, Bart Verbeeck, former Director of Sales, and Robby Van Mele, former Director of Operations, admitted that they, with their co-conspirators at competing firms, colluded to allocate security services contracts and to fix the prices at which the firms bid for contracts. The allocated contracts included those for guarding, mobile monitoring, and surveillance services with the United States, through the Department of Defense, and those with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Communications and Information Agency. As a result, the customers of the security services providers were deprived of a competitive bidding process and paid inflated, non-competitive prices for services.

Earlier this year, G4S NV pleaded guilty and was sentenced for its involvement in the conspiracy. The Department of Justice has also indicted several other members of the conspiracy. The department’s investigation remains ongoing.

“These individual guilty pleas, which follow the sentencing of G4S NV, demonstrate the division’s commitment to the vigorous enforcement of antitrust laws,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard A. Powers of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The division and its Procurement Collusion Strike Force partners will continue to investigate and prosecute both individual and corporate wrongdoers who seek to exploit the government procurement process.”

“Safeguarding the integrity of the defense procurement process is a vital aspect of our work at the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS),” said DCIS Deputy Director Paul K. Sternal. “Today’s pleas demonstrate our ability to work collaboratively to investigate and prosecute illegal conduct.”

“This result is an important step in enforcing the integrity of the government procurement process,” said Frank Robey, Director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit. “We will continue to safeguard the interests of both the U.S. Army and the taxpayer.”

A criminal violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum fine of $1 million. The fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

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 the federal, state, and local levels. In Fall 2020, the Strike Force expanded its footprint with the launch of PCSF: Global, which is designed to deter, detect, investigate, and prosecute collusive schemes that target government spending outside of the United States.

To contact the PCSF, or to report information on market allocation, price fixing, bid rigging, or other anticompetitive conduct, go to https://www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force.

In honor of Police Week, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta hosted a roundtable discussion Thursday with various leaders from state and local law enforcement to discuss the importance of health and wellness.

Deputy Attorney General Monaco opened the discussion by thanking everyone for their partnership in this area and reiterating the department’s commitment to the health and wellness of those in law enforcement. Associate Attorney General Gupta acknowledged how the weight of the pandemic has been borne by so many communities, including first responders and law enforcement professionals. Throughout the discussion, the department’s leadership emphasized the importance of having meaningful and honest conversations about mental health and meeting the needs of those who work and serve our communities under tremendous stress. They described some of the heartrending trends of officer suicide, and recognized the tireless work of those in attendance to address officer wellness.

Moderating the discussion was Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) Acting Director Robert Chapman, who spoke about the office’s commitment to engaging the law enforcement community in order to better understand their needs. He also noted that the COPS Office announced $7 million in mental health and wellness grant funding for law enforcement. Those in attendance also shared recommendations on ways the department could better support law enforcement on these issues.

Associate Deputy Director Vince Davenport of the department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) spoke about BJA’s commitment to funding, training and supporting law enforcement across health and wellness topics. For instance, he discussed the recent release of BJA’s COVID-19 toolkit for law enforcement.

Themes throughout the hour-long discussion ranged from the impact that COVID-19 has had on law enforcement and the need to fund mental health and wellness programs for not just sworn officers but professional staff and prosecutors, as well; to the need for investment in long-term sustainable care, such as counseling and therapy, to providing better training specific to mental and physical health to leadership. Deputy Attorney General Monaco and Associate Attorney General Gupta closed by emphasizing that officer wellness is a top priority across the federal government and pledged the department’s full support to improving the wellbeing of law enforcement professionals, their loved ones and the communities they serve.

The Department of Justice Antitrust Division participated in the International Competition Network’s (ICN) 20th annual conference, virtually hosted by the Hungarian Competition Authority, on Oct. 13-15. Delegates from the ICN’s member jurisdictions, included agency leadership and staff, competition experts from international organizations and the legal, business, academic and consumer communities. Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard A. Powers of the Antitrust Division led the Department of Justice’s delegation.

“As we mark this significant milestone in the ICN’s history, it is an opportunity to reflect on our shared commitment to economic justice,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Powers. “As the global competition landscape expands and changes, the ICN will continue to foster important collaboration and convergence amongst its members.”

The conference showcased the achievements of the ICN’s Advocacy, Agency Effectiveness, Cartel, Merger, and Unilateral Conduct working groups and examined a range of competition enforcement and policy issues, including the continuing economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference also featured the preliminary results of the Federal Trade Commission-led “Third Decade” project, which seeks to assess the tools, topics, and operations of the ICN and provide a roadmap for its work during its third decade.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Powers spoke on a panel discussing issues and challenges in international cooperation in the fight against cross-border cartels. The Cartel Working Group breakout sessions focused on anti-cartel enforcement in the COVID-19 and digital eras. These sessions complemented the Cartel Working Group’s work product this year, which included a report summarizing trends and developments in anti-cartel enforcement during ICN’s second decade. 

The Merger Working Group’s panel discussed merger control in the ICN’s third decade. The Merger Working Group’s breakout sessions explored topics stemming from key work product this year, including a report on joint ventures and updates to the ICN merger notification and procedures template.

The Advocacy Working Group’s panel focused on the importance of compliance programs, specifically for small and medium-size companies. Advocacy Working Group breakout sessions examined the ICN Advocacy Toolkit and the effectiveness of compliance from the business and compliance advisor perspectives. These sessions complemented the Advocacy Working Group’s work product this year, including a report on competition compliance.

The Agency Effectiveness Working Group’s panel focused on opportunities and challenges competition agencies may face in the post-COVID-19 era in areas such case prioritization, investigations, and digitalization and innovation efforts. Deputy Executive Officer Scott Minning participated in a breakout session to discuss the findings of the Agency Effectiveness Working Group’s report on digitalization, innovation and agency effectiveness. A second breakout session focused on a how competition agencies set enforcement priorities. 

The Unilateral Conduct Working Group’s panel explored challenges competition agencies face when analyzing theories of harm and designing remedies in unilateral conduct cases in digital markets. The Working Group also discussed its working paper on dominance in digital markets.

Two other panels explored emerging topics of great interest and importance to members: effective international enforcement cooperation and the intersection of competition, consumer, and data privacy rules.

The ICN was created in October 2001 to increase understanding of competition policy and promote convergence toward sound antitrust enforcement around the world. It was founded by 15 agencies, including the Antitrust Division, and has grown to 140 agencies from 130 jurisdictions, supported by a wide network of non-governmental advisors from around the world.

The Department of Justice today announced a tip line to help assist its Anticorruption Task Force fight corruption in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, a key component of the Vice President’s work to address the root causes of migration.   

“As the Vice President recognized during her visit to Guatemala earlier this year, corruption and impunity in the region undermine democracy, fuel irregular migration, and pose a threat to our national security because they sustain criminal organizations and transnational crime,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “In June, the Justice Department announced an Anticorruption Task Force, and has now created a tip line so that anyone with information about corrupt actors in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras who are violating U.S. laws or moving proceeds of their crimes in or through the United States, may now report the conduct in Spanish or English at combatiendocorrupcion@fbi.gov.”           

Tips regarding possible corruption or movements of ill-gotten funds that are received through the email address will be reviewed by the Department of Justice’s Anticorruption Task Force. The Task Force will determine whether the tip indicates a possible jurisdictional link to the United States – including use of the U.S. financial system – that would allow the Task Force to investigate, to prosecute, and, where appropriate, to forfeit and return stolen assets to the people of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

The Task Force encourages our law enforcement partners in the region, or anyone with information about corruption-related crimes and possible violations of U.S. law, to contact the Task Force by emailing the FBI at combatiendocorrupcion@fbi.gov.     

Background on the Northern Triangle Anticorruption Task Force

As previously announced by U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, the Department of Justice is committed to work to combat official corruption in countries in Central America where the conduct violates U.S. law. To that end, the Department of Justice created an Anticorruption Task Force focused on El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras with representatives from each of the following Criminal Division components: 

• The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Unit of the Fraud Section, which enforces the U.S. criminal statute that generally prohibits certain persons — including U.S. companies and individuals, foreign companies whose shares trade on a U.S. stock exchange, and non-U.S. persons who engage in corrupt acts in the United States — from paying bribes overseas to obtain or retain business;
• The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative in the International Unit of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), which is focused on recovering assets linked to foreign corruption and prosecuting related money laundering, especially when corruption proceeds are found in the United States or were obtained or transferred through abuse of the U.S. financial system; and
• The Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS), which enforces federal narcotics laws against the manufacturing, importation, and distribution of illegal drugs into and out of the United States and laundering of profits or of funds to promote or facilitate narcotics trafficking, including corruption resulting from narcotics trafficking.

The work of the Task Force is also supported by special agents of the FBI’s International Corruption Unit, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Allegations will be investigated by these law enforcement agencies, working in cooperation with the legal attachés and country representatives at our U.S. embassies, as well as with the Justice Department’s Task Force and the Department’s Office of International Affairs. 

The task force is part of the Administration’s commitment to consistently engage in the region to address the root causes of migration. Corruption undermines government services and the rule of law, including critical institutions that provide health, education, and other services to those most in need. Corruption also deters attracting quality investment needed to create jobs. It is essential that we join efforts to increase transparency and bring swift prosecution for corruption.

Click here to view Spanish language press release. 

WASHINGTON – El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy el establecimiento de una línea de denuncias para apoyar a la Fuerza de Tarea Anticorrupción que combate la corrupción en El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, un componente clave del trabajo de la Vice-Presidente para tratar con las causas fundamentales de la migración.

“Conforme reconoció la Vice Presidenta durante su visita a Guatemala a principios de año, la corrupción y la impunidad en la región debilitan la democracia, incentivan la migración,  y representan una amenaza a la seguridad nacional toda vez que sostienen las organizaciones criminales y los crímenes transnacionales,” dijo Kenneth A. Polite Jr., Sub-Procurador General de la División Criminal del Departamento de Justicia. “En junio, el Departamento de Justicia anunció una Fuerza de Tarea para combatir la corrupción y ahora ha creado una línea de denuncias para que cualquier persona con información sobre actores corruptos en El Salvador, Guatemala y Honduras, quienes hayan violado las leyes de los Estados Unidos o quienes hayan movido el capital producto del crimen en o a través de los Estados Unidos, puedan informar tal conducta en español o inglés a través de combatiendocorrupcion@fbi.gov.”           

Denuncias sobre posibles actos de corrupción o movimientos de capitales mal habidos que hayan sido recibidas a través de la dirección de correo electrónico serán examinadas por la Fuerza de Tarea del Departamento de Justicia. La Fuerza de Tarea habrá de determinar si la denuncia indica un posible nexo jurisdiccional con los Estados Unidos -incluyendo el uso del sistema financiero de los Estados Unidos- lo que permitirá que la Fuerza de Tarea pueda investigar, procesar criminalmente y donde proceda, incautar y devolver los bienes robados al pueblo de El Salvador, Guatemala y Honduras.

La Fuerza de Tarea exhorta a nuestros colegas de las agencias de ley y orden en la región, así como a cualquiera con información relacionada a crímenes de corrupción y de posibles violaciones a las leyes de los Estados Unidos, a contactar a la Fuerza de Tarea enviando un correo electrónico a la siguiente dirección: combatiendocorrupcion@fbi.gov.      

Trasfondo de la Fuerza de Tarea de Anticorrupción del Triángulo del Norte

Según fuera anunciado por el Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos, Merrick B. Garland, el Departamento de Justicia está comprometido con trabajar para combatir la corrupción de oficiales en Centroamérica cuando la conducta viola las leyes de los Estados Unidos. A esos fines, el Departamento de Justicia ha creado una Fuerza de Tarea de Anticorrupción enfocada en El Salvador, Guatemala, y Honduras con representantes de los siguientes componentes de la División Criminal:

• La Unidad de la Ley de Prácticas Corruptas en el Extranjero de la División de Fraude (FCPA por sus siglas en inglés), la cual ejecuta los estatutos criminales que generalmente prohíben a ciertas personas – incluyendo a individuos y compañías de los E.U., compañías extranjeras que mercadean acciones en la bolsa de valores de E.U., y personas que no son ciudadanos de E.U., pero que llevan a cabo actos de corrupción en E. U. – de pagar sobornos fuera de E.U. para obtener o retener negocios.

• La Iniciativa de Cleptocracia y Recuperación de Activos de la Unidad Internacional de la Sección de Lavado de Dinero y Recuperación de Activos (MLARS por sus siglas en inglés), la cual está enfocada en recuperar activos vinculados a la corrupción extranjera y procesar criminalmente el lavado de dinero (blanqueo de capitales), especialmente cuando el capital de la corrupción es encontrado en Estados Unidos o fue obtenido o transferido a través del abuso del sistema financiero de los E.U.; y

• La Sección de Narcóticos y Drogas Peligrosas (NDDS por sus siglas en inglés), la cual ejecuta las leyes federales de narcóticos en contra de la manufactura, importación y distribución de drogas ilegales dentro y fuera de los Estados Unidos y el lavado de las ganancias y capital que promueve o facilita el tráfico de narcóticos, incluyendo la corrupción resultante del tráfico de narcóticos.

La labor de la Fuerza de Tarea es también apoyada por los agentes especiales de la Unidad de Corrupción del Buró Federal de Investigaciones (FBI por sus siglas en inglés), de la Administración de Control de Drogas (DEA por sus siglas en inglés), y el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS por sus siglas en inglés). Las alegaciones serán investigadas por este grupo de agencias de ley y orden, trabajando en cooperación con los agregados legales y los representantes de los países en cada nación extranjera, así como con la Fuerza de Tarea del Departamento de Justicia y la Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales del Departamento.

La Fuerza de Tarea es parte del compromiso de la Administración de envolverse consistentemente en la región para atender las causas principales que causan la migración.  La corrupción socava los servicios gubernamentales y el estado de derecho. Socava instituciones críticas que proveen servicios de salud, educación y otros servicios a aquellos quiénes más lo necesitan. La corrupción impide que surjan las inversiones de calidad que son necesarias para crear empleos.  Es imprescindible que unamos esfuerzos para aumentar la transparencia y llevar a cabo enjuiciamientos contra la corrupción en una manera efectiva y rápida.

Fuerza de Tarea del Departamento de Justicia de los Estados Unidos para Combatir la Corrupción en Centroamérica

Acting United States Attorney Bob Murray announced today that PHILIP JAY SCALES, age 44, of Cheyenne, Wyoming pleaded guilty to being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm during a plea hearing held on October 12, 2021 in front of Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal.
Scales was arrested on July 29, 2021 in Cheyenne and indicted by a federal grand jury. He faces up to 10 years imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and a $100 special assessment.
This crime was investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the Cheyenne Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan C. Coppom.
Case Number 0:21-cr-00093

Acting United States Attorney Bob Murray announced today that PHILIP JAY SCALES, age 44, of Cheyenne, Wyoming pleaded guilty to being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm during a plea hearing held on October 12, 2021 in front of Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal.
Scales was arrested on July 29, 2021 in Cheyenne and indicted by a federal grand jury. He faces up to 10 years imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and a $100 special assessment.
This crime was investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the Cheyenne Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan C. Coppom.
Case Number 0:21-cr-00093

The Justice Department today announced that it is dismissing its Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) lawsuit against Stafford County, Virginia, because it achieved the relief it sought in the case. Specifically, in response to the department’s complaint, the County repealed ordinances that prevented the All Muslim Association of America (AMAA) from developing a religious cemetery for persons of the Islamic faith, approved the AMAA’s site plan for the cemetery, and, in a private settlement with the AMAA to resolve the AMAA’s lawsuit, agreed to pay $500,000 in damages to the AMAA.   

The notice of dismissal, which was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, describes additional steps the County undertook to comply with RLUIPA after the department notified the County of its investigation. For example, the County has implemented an internal procedure to address complaints by any person who believes that the County may have violated RLUIPA, provided RLUIPA training to County employees who are responsible for implementing and enforcing zoning and land use regulations, posted notices of its obligations to comply with RLUIPA on several County website pages, and placed RLUIPA notices in land use application documents.

“RLUIPA protects people of all faiths in their right to exercise their religion,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously enforce RLUIPA — through litigation if necessary — against zoning regulations that unreasonably burden religious exercise, including by restricting a religious group’s right to bury its dead in accordance with religious rituals and customs.”       

The complaint, filed in June 2020, alleged that Stafford County violated RLUIPA when it enacted an ordinance in December 2016 that prevented the AMAA from developing an Islamic cemetery; County officials had previously confirmed that the proposed cemetery was a permitted use at this property. The ordinance imposed new requirements, unsupported by any legitimate health or safety concerns, that the County knew the AMAA could not meet. After the United States sued, the County replaced the ordinance with another one, but it, too, imposed unreasonable constraints on the group’s ability to build a religious cemetery. In October 2020, the County repealed the second ordinance as well, and replaced it with one that allows for the establishment of cemeteries as a permitted use, without the approval of the County, in the zoning district where the AMAA’s property is located and removes other restrictions specific to cemeteries.

RLUIPA is a federal law that protects religious institutions from unduly burdensome or discriminatory land use regulations. In June 2018, the Justice Department announced its Place to Worship Initiative, which focuses on RLUIPA’s provisions that protect the rights of houses of worship and other religious institutions to worship on their land.  More information is available at www.justice.gov/crt/placetoworship.

Individuals who believe they have been subjected to discrimination in land use or zoning decisions may contact the Civil Rights Division Housing and Civil Enforcement Section at (833) 591-0291, or may submit a complaint through the complaint portal on the Place to Worship Initiative website. More information about RLUIPA, including questions and answers about the law and other documents, may be found at http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/hce/rluipaexplain.php.

A money launderer for the Sinaloa Cartel was sentenced yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine for laundering approximately $15 million from the sale of methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin that were smuggled into the United States by the Sinaloa Cartel.

Bianca Acedo-Ojeda, 34, of Sinaloa, Mexico, was extradited from Mexico to San Diego in November 2019, and on March 10, 2021, she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to court documents, Acedo-Ojeda agreed with others to arrange, and did arrange, for the drug proceeds in the form of U.S. bulk currency to be smuggled into Mexico through ports of entry in Southern California in vehicles with hidden compartments. She also agreed with others to and did arrange for much of the U.S. bulk currency to be converted into Mexican pesos and transferred to drug traffickers.

“Money launderers are the lifeblood of criminal organizations,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “We will continue to vigorously prosecute money launderers associated with violent transnational drug trafficking organizations such as the Sinaloa Cartel. I want to thank the Government of Mexico for extraditing Acedo-Ojeda to the United States to face criminal charges. Through such partnerships, we will attack and work to dismantle dangerous drug cartels and their money laundering facilitators.”

“Those who launder funds in support the Sinaloa Cartel’s efforts to flood our borders with deadly drugs will face justice in this district,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. “Stopping the flow of funds to one of the most violent criminal organizations in the world is essential to disrupting their narcotics trafficking and other criminal efforts.”

“This investigation and prosecution serve as a prime example of how Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and federal prosecutors work together to bring down those involved in large scale money laundering in support of international drug trafficking organizations,” said Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz for HSI San Diego. “HSI will continue to identify and investigate criminal organizations who seek to exploit our borders in furtherance of their illicit activity – if you engage in illegal finance activity to aid drug cartels, you will be caught and prosecuted.”

Six other defendants, including Acedo-Ojeda’s brother, have previously pleaded guilty in this case and been sentenced (Omar Ayon-Diaz; Osvaldo Contreras-Arriaga; Joel Acedo-Ojeda; Cesar Hernandez-Martinez, Gibran Rodriguez-Mejia, and Oscar Rodriguez-Guevara). Another defendant, Robert Gallegos-Lechuga, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and is pending sentencing. In addition, approximately 20 other individuals linked to the conspiracy who served as drug and money couriers and drug stash house operators have entered guilty pleas and been sentenced in related cases.

The investigation was conducted by HSI. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Acedo-Ojeda in Mexico.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Counsel Mark Irish of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Casper of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.

A Rhode Island man was sentenced today to 400 months in prison for his role in an international fentanyl distribution conspiracy.

Steven Barros Pinto, 40, of Rhode Island, was sentenced by Chief District Court Judge Peter D. Welte in Fargo, North Dakota today. Pinto was part of a Rhode Island organization that was distributing fentanyl and fentanyl analogues from Canada and China. After a five-week trial that began on June 8 in Fargo, the jury returned guilty verdicts against Pinto on various charges including conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, money laundering conspiracy, continuing criminal enterprise, and obstruction of justice. One of Pinto’s principal U.S.-based partners in this criminal conspiracy, Anthony Santos Gomes, 36, was sentenced to 30 years in prison on July 30.

This investigation started on Jan. 3, 2015, with the overdose death in Grand Forks, North Dakota, of Bailey Henke, and eventually led to the indictment, and subsequent conviction, of multiple defendants including Daniel Vivas Ceron, 41, of Colombia, who pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alice R. Senechal in Fargo in July 2019 to continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and controlled substance analogues resulting in serious bodily injury and death, and money laundering.

In 2021, three Canadian nationals from Quebec, Canada, Jason Joey Berry, 38; Xuan Cahn Nguyen, 41; and Marie Um, 41, were extradited from Canada to the United States. These defendants are detained and are currently awaiting trial scheduled on Oct. 4, 2022 in Fargo. On Aug. 31, 2021, the U.S. Department of State offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of People’s Republic of China national Zhang Jian, aka Hong Kong Zaron, 42, a fugitive in this transnational investigation.

Assistant Attorney General, Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas W. Chase of the District of North Dakota, and Acting U.S. Attorney Scott Asphaug of the District of Oregon made this announcement.

This case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation; U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; IRS-Criminal Investigation’s Fargo Field Office; Grand Forks Narcotics Task Force; Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Portland Oregon Police Bureau – Drugs and Vice Division, Portland HIDTA Interdiction Task Force; Oregon State Police; and the Grand Forks Police Department. 

The case is part of “Operation Denial,” an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation into the international trafficking of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues and was significantly aided by the national and international coordination led by the multi-agency Special Operations Division.

Trial Attorneys Kaitlin Sahni and Imani Hutty of the Justice Department’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section; Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher C. Myers of the District of North Dakota; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin of the District of Oregon prosecuted this case.

Three U.S. subsidiaries of Dutch chemical giant LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (Lyondell) have agreed to make upgrades and perform compliance measures estimated to cost $50 million to resolve allegations they violated the Clean Air Act and state air pollution control laws at six petrochemical manufacturing facilities located in Channelview, Corpus Christi, and LaPorte, Texas, and Clinton, Iowa. Lyondell will also pay a $3.4 million civil penalty. The settlement, announced today by the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will eliminate thousands of tons of air pollution from flares.

According to the complaint, the companies failed to properly operate and monitor their industrial flares, which resulted in excess emissions of harmful air pollution at five facilities in Texas and one in Iowa. Lyondell’s subsidiaries regularly “oversteamed” the flares at their facilities and failed to comply with other key operating constraints to ensure the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants contained in the gases routed to the flares are effectively combusted. 

The EPA identified potential environmental justice concerns at the two Channelview facilities for exposure to particulate matter (2.5 micron), ozone, toxic cancer risk, and respiratory hazard. The significant emissions reductions of VOCs, HAPs, and greenhouse gases that today’s settlement secures at the Channelview facilities serve to reduce exposure in the community to some of the same air pollutants that they are disproportionately exposed to.

“The Justice Department and EPA will continue to enforce the law against petrochemical plants that violate the Clean Air Act,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “In particular, we are committed to reducing harmful air pollution from unnecessary and improper flaring, especially near overburdened communities with environmental justice concerns.”

“This settlement will require LyondellBasel to install pollution control and emissions monitoring equipment at six facilities in Texas and Iowa, reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and other harmful gases by thousands of tons per year,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Those controls, plus a requirement for fence line monitoring of benzene emissions, will result in significant benefits for the local communities in Texas and Iowa.”

The settlement requires the companies to install and operate air pollution control and monitoring technology to reduce flaring and the resulting harmful air pollution from 21 flares at the six facilities. Once fully implemented, the pollution controls are estimated to reduce emissions of climate-change-causing greenhouse gases, including CO2, methane, and ethane, by almost 92,000 tons per year. The settlement is also expected to reduce emissions of ozone-forming VOCs by almost 2,700 tons per year and of toxic air pollutants, including benzene, by nearly 400 tons per year.

The pollutants addressed by the settlement can cause significant harm to public health. VOCs are a key component in the formation of smog or ground-level ozone, a pollutant that irritates the lungs, exacerbates diseases such as asthma, and can increase susceptibility to respiratory illnesses, such as pneumonia and bronchitis. Chronic exposure to benzene, which EPA classifies as a carcinogen, can cause numerous health impacts, including leukemia and adverse reproductive effects in women. Flares are also often large sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

Flares are devices used to combust waste gases that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere during certain industrial operations. Well-operated flares should have high “combustion efficiency,” meaning they combust nearly all harmful waste gas constituents, like VOCs and hazardous air pollutants, and turn them into water and carbon dioxide. The agreement is designed to improve Lyondell’s flaring practices. First, it requires Lyondell to minimize the amount of waste gas that is sent to the flares, which reduces the amount of flaring. Second, Lyondell must improve the combustion efficiency of its flares when flaring is necessary. 

Lyondell will take several steps to minimize the waste gas sent to its flares at each facility. At certain facilities, Lyondell will operate flare gas recovery systems that recover and “recycle” the gases instead of sending them to be combusted in a flare. The flare gas recovery systems will allow Lyondell to reuse these gases as a fuel at its facilities or a product for sale. Lyondell will also create waste minimization plans for each facility to further reduce flaring. For flaring that must occur, the agreement requires that Lyondell install and operate instruments and monitoring systems to ensure that the gases sent to its flares are efficiently combusted.

Lyondell will also perform air quality monitoring that is designed to detect the presence of benzene at the fence lines of the six covered plants. Monitoring results must be publicly posted, providing the neighboring communities with more information about their air quality. The monitoring requirements also include triggers for root cause analysis and corrective actions if fence line emissions exceed certain thresholds. Flare compliance is an ongoing priority for EPA under its National Air Toxics Initiative.

The consent decree, lodged in the Southern District Court of Texas, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. The consent decree will be available for viewing at https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.

For more information about this settlement please visit: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/equistar-chemicals-lp-lyondellbasell-acetyls-llc-and-lyondell-chemical-company-clean.

The U.S. Department of Justice, the Eastern District of Texas, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) announced a settlement with E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) and Performance Materials NA, Inc. (PMNA) to resolve alleged violations of hazardous waste, air and water environmental laws at the PMNA Sabine River chemical manufacturing facility in Orange, Texas. Under this settlement agreement, DuPont and PMNA will conduct compliance audits, control benzene emissions and perform other injunctive relief to address violations at the facility. Defendants will also pay a $3.1 million civil penalty and attorney’s fees to the State of Texas. These measures will benefit nearby communities already overburdened by pollution by reducing uncontrolled emissions of hazardous air pollutants and unpermitted discharges from surface impoundments at the facility.

In a joint complaint filed on Oct. 13, the United States, on behalf of the EPA, and the State of Texas asserted claims against DuPont and PMNA for alleged violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Clean Air Act (CAA), Section 7.002 of the Texas Water Code and applicable regulations at the former DuPont facility now owned and operated by PMNA. The alleged RCRA violations include failure to make hazardous waste determinations, the treatment, storage or disposal of hazardous waste without a RCRA permit and failure to meet land disposal restrictions. The alleged CWA violations include unpermitted discharges of process wastewater in violation of the facility’s Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits. The alleged CAA violations include failure to comply with the national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for benzene waste operations and for miscellaneous organic chemical manufacturing for certain waste streams.

“The petrochemical industry must operate in compliance with environmental laws,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We will continue to hold operators accountable to address pollution from industrial operations that violate the law, such as those at the Sabine River facility, and to enhance public health and the environment, particularly in surrounding communities overburdened by industrial pollution.”

“The Eastern District of Texas is a proud home to numerous natural resources including lakes, rivers and streams, which span the district,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei for the Eastern District of Texas. “We are also home to some of the leading names in industry. Generally, these two co-exist harmoniously. However, when industry violates applicable laws and harms the environment, the Eastern District of Texas is committed to taking steps to hold that actor accountable and require better compliance in the future.” 

“This settlement ensures proper management of hazardous wastes, requires a comprehensive review of the facility’s environmental compliance across all media, and ensures cleanup of contamination from past operations,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield of the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This case not only benefits the environment but demonstrates our commitment to advancing justice and equity to communities across Texas.”

“TCEQ is committed to protecting human health and the environment consistent with sustainable economic development,” said Executive Director Toby Baker for TCEQ. “This settlement is a representation of that commitment.”

Under the settlement, an independent third party will conduct multimedia compliance audits to review the facility’s compliance with RCRA, the CWA and the CAA, as well as related state laws and regulations. Additionally, the defendants will undertake measures to monitor and control benzene emissions and pH levels in wastewaters. They also will conduct soil, sediment or groundwater sampling to determine the extent of contamination within and from certain surface impoundments. The defendants will perform this sampling and necessary cleanup work pursuant to the Texas Risk Reduction Program.

The consent decree was lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on Oct. 13 and is subject to publication in the Federal Register and an opportunity for public comment.

For more information on this settlement: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/dupont-sabine-settlement.

The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Neenah Enterprises Inc. (NEI), U.S. Holdings Inc. (U.S. Holdings), and U.S. Foundry and Manufacturing Corporation (US Foundry) to divest certain gray iron municipal castings assets in order to proceed with NEI’s proposed acquisition of substantially all of the assets of US Foundry. NEI and US Foundry are two of only three significant suppliers of gray iron municipal castings in eleven eastern and southern states. Gray iron municipal castings are customized molded iron products such as manhole covers and frames used to access subterranean areas and grates and drains used to direct water in roadway, parking, and industrial areas.

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

“NEI and US Foundry provide castings that are essential to public works and construction projects in towns and municipalities throughout the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard A. Powers of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The transaction, as originally proposed, would have led to higher prices, lower quality, and slower delivery times for essential pieces of infrastructure. Today’s settlement will ensure that towns and municipalities across the country will continue to benefit from competition for these critical products.” 

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, the parties must divest all rights, titles, and interests in over 500 gray iron municipal casting patterns to D&L Foundry Inc. (D&L Foundry), or an alternate acquirer approved by the United States. D&L Foundry is an established provider of gray iron municipal castings in the United States, but with sales primarily outside the states where NEI and US Foundry compete. With the divested patterns, D&L, or an alternate qualified acquirer, will be able to expand into the states where NEI and US Foundry had competed.

NEI, a corporation headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin, produces gray and ductile iron castings for the industrial and municipal sectors. NEI operates two foundries in Neenah, Wisconsin, and Lincoln, Nebraska.

US Foundry is a wholly-owned subsidiary of U.S. Holdings, a corporation headquartered in Hialeah, Florida. US Foundry produces gray iron municipal castings at its foundry located in Medley, Florida.

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with a competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement during a 60-day comment period to Jay Owen, Acting Chief, Defense, Industrials, and Aerospace Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street NW, Suite 8700, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia may enter the final judgment upon finding it is in the public interest.

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

Today, at a roundtable with state and local law enforcement, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta announced alongside Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) Acting Director Rob Chapman $7 million in grants for the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) Program. These program funds are used to improve the delivery of and access to mental health and wellness services for law enforcement through training and technical assistance, demonstration projects, implementation of promising practices related to peer mentoring mental health and wellness and suicide prevention programs.

“Each day, law enforcement officers across the country put their lives on the line for the communities they serve,” said Deputy Attorney General Monaco. “This has been especially true since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed hundreds of officers’ lives and added to the stress of an already difficult job. Mental health is as important as physical health, and the Department of Justice is committed to investing in mental health and wellness programs that help keep our nation’s law enforcement healthy and safe.”

“Law enforcement officers shoulder the solemn responsibility of protecting the public and experience high-stress and traumatic events throughout their careers,” said Associate Attorney General Gupta. “The pandemic has only increased the strain on the policing profession. Maintaining – and improving – officers’ mental health is critically important, not only for them, but also for their fellow officers, their loved ones, and the communities they serve. The department is firmly committed to supporting the mental health of those who serve our communities so that they can best fulfill their duties to protect the public.”

Law enforcement professionals anticipate and accept the unique dangers and pressures of their chosen profession. However, people under stress find it harder than people not experiencing stress to connect with others and regulate their own emotions. They can experience narrowed perception, increased anxiety and fearfulness, and degraded cognitive abilities. This can be part of a healthy fight-or-flight response, but it can also lead to significantly greater probabilities of errors in judgment, compromised performance, and injuries.

As part of the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act of 2017, Congress authorized the COPS Office to establish peer mentoring mental health and wellness pilot programs within state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies. Successful applicants identified specific program goals that will be directly accomplished if awarded LEMHWA funding. The 65 awards announced today meet the goals of the 2017 Act and support the Department of Justice and the Administration’s commitment to law enforcement. The full list of awards is available here: https://cops.usdoj.gov/lemhwa-award.     

The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Department of Justice agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. 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 134,000 officers.

A Florida man was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in prison for tax evasion, at a proceeding in federal district court in Miami. 

According to court documents, Alejandro Gomez, of Broward County, operated Fleischmann’s Produce, a company that imported fresh herbs for wholesale distribution. In March 2015, Gomez filed a 2014 corporate tax return for Fleischmann’s, which falsely reported $896,951 in personal gambling expenditures as cost of goods sold, thereby overstating total business expenditures. The next year, Gomez caused a 2015 corporate tax return to be filed, which again falsely characterized $1,051,213 in gambling expenditures as cost of goods sold. Because the information on the corporate returns flowed through to his individual tax returns, Gomez also substantially underreported his personal income for 2014 and 2015. In total, Gomez caused a tax loss to the IRS of over $545,000.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman ordered Gomez to serve one year of supervised release. As a further part of the plea agreement, Gomez paid $545,205 in restitution to the IRS.

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

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case. 

Trial Attorneys Grace Albinson and David Zisserson of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Kentucky returned an indictment today charging a former elected county coroner with illegally distributing controlled substances such as oxycodone and OxyContin. 

According to court documents, David W. Suetholz, 73, of Ludlow, Kentucky, a medical doctor who served as the elected county coroner for Kenton County, Kentucky, until June 30, 2021, unlawfully distributed opioids to three patients on 10 separate occasions between approximately September 2018 and February 2020.

A summons was issued and Suetholz has been directed to appear on Oct. 27. If convicted, Suetholz faces a maximum penalty of 20 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, Acting U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Special Agent in Charge Keith W. Martin of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Detroit Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Derrick Jackson of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Atlanta Region; Acting Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Gray of the FBI’s Louisville Field Office; and Executive Director W. Bryan Hubbard of the Kentucky Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) in the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the DEA’s Detroit Field Division, Cincinnati District Office Diversion Group, the FBI’s Louisville Field Office, HHS-OIG’s Louisville Field Office, and the Kentucky MFCU.

Trial Attorneys Chris Jason and Dermot Lynch and Assistant Chief Kilby Macfadden of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO) Strike Force. Since its inception in October 2018, the ARPO Strike Force, which operates in 10 districts, has charged more than 90 defendants who are collectively responsible for distributing more than 105 million pills. In addition, the Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

Individuals who believe that they may be a victim in this case should visit the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness website for more information.

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

UPDATE

On March 23, 2022, a federal jury acquitted Mark A. Forkner of all charges alleged in the indictment described in the press release below.

A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Texas returned an indictment today charging a former Chief Technical Pilot for The Boeing Company (Boeing) with deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration’s Aircraft Evaluation Group (FAA AEG) in connection with the FAA AEG’s evaluation of Boeing’s 737 MAX airplane, and scheming to defraud Boeing’s U.S.‑based airline customers to obtain tens of millions of dollars for Boeing.

According to court documents, Mark A. Forkner, 49, formerly of Washington State and currently of Keller, Texas, allegedly deceived the FAA AEG during the agency’s evaluation and certification of Boeing’s 737 MAX airplane. As alleged in the indictment, Forkner provided the agency with materially false, inaccurate, and incomplete information about a new part of the flight controls for the Boeing 737 MAX called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). Because of his alleged deception, a key document published by the FAA AEG lacked any reference to MCAS. In turn, airplane manuals and pilot-training materials for U.S.-based airlines lacked any reference to MCAS — and Boeing’s U.S.-based airline customers were deprived of important information when making and finalizing their decisions to pay Boeing tens of millions of dollars for 737 MAX airplanes. 

“Forkner allegedly abused his position of trust by intentionally withholding critical information about MCAS during the FAA evaluation and certification of the 737 MAX and from Boeing’s U.S.‑based airline customers,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “In doing so, he deprived airlines and pilots from knowing crucial information about an important part of the airplane’s flight controls. Regulators like the FAA serve a vital function to ensure the safety of the flying public. To anyone contemplating criminally impeding a regulator’s function, this indictment makes clear that the Justice Department will pursue the facts and hold you accountable.”     

“In an attempt to save Boeing money, Forkner allegedly withheld critical information from regulators,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham for the Northern District of Texas. “His callous choice to mislead the FAA hampered the agency’s ability to protect the flying public and left pilots in the lurch, lacking information about certain 737 MAX flight controls. The Department of Justice will not tolerate fraud – especially in industries where the stakes are so high.”

“Forkner allegedly withheld crucial information about the Boeing 737 MAX and deceived the FAA, showing blatant disregard for his responsibilities and the safety of airline customers and crews,” said Assistant Director Calvin Shivers of the FBI. “The FBI will continue to hold individuals like Forker accountable for their fraudulent acts which undermine public safety.”

“There is no excusing those who deceive safety regulators for the sake of personal gain or commercial expediency,” said Inspector General Eric J. Soskin of the U.S. Department of Transportation. “Our office works continuously to help keep the skies safe for flying and protect the traveling public from needless danger. Today’s charges demonstrate our unwavering commitment to working with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to hold responsible those who put lives at risk.”

According to court documents, Boeing began developing and marketing the 737 MAX in and around June 2011. The FAA AEG was responsible for determining the minimum level of pilot training required for a pilot to fly the 737 MAX for a U.S.-based airline, based on the nature and extent of the differences between the 737 MAX and the prior version of Boeing’s 737 airplane, the 737 Next Generation (NG). At the conclusion of this evaluation, the FAA AEG published the 737 MAX Flight Standardization Board Report (FSB Report), which included, among other things, the FAA AEG’s differences-training determination for the 737 MAX, as well as information about differences between the 737 MAX and the 737 NG. All U.S.-based airlines were required to use the information in the 737 MAX FSB Report as the basis for training their pilots to fly the airplane.

As Boeing’s 737 MAX Chief Technical Pilot, Forkner led the 737 MAX Flight Technical Team and was responsible for providing the FAA AEG with true, accurate, and complete information about differences between the 737 MAX and the 737 NG for the FAA AEG’s evaluation, preparation, and publication of the 737 MAX FSB Report.

In and around November 2016, Forkner discovered information about an important change to MCAS. Rather than sharing information about this change with the FAA AEG, Forkner allegedly intentionally withheld this information and deceived the FAA AEG about MCAS. Because of his alleged deceit, the FAA AEG deleted all reference to MCAS from the final version of the 737 MAX FSB Report published in July 2017. As a result, pilots flying the 737 MAX for Boeing’s U.S.‑based airline customers were not provided any information about MCAS in their manuals and training materials. Forkner sent copies of the 737 MAX FSB Report to Boeing’s U.S.-based 737 MAX airline customers, but withheld from these customers important information about MCAS and the 737 MAX FSB Report evaluation process.

On or about Oct. 29, 2018, after the FAA AEG learned that Lion Air Flight 610 — a 737 MAX — had crashed near Jakarta, Indonesia, shortly after takeoff and that MCAS was operating in the moments before the crash, the FAA AEG discovered the information about the important change to MCAS that Forkner had withheld. Having discovered this information, the FAA AEG began reviewing and evaluating MCAS. 

On or about March 10, 2019, while the FAA AEG was still reviewing MCAS, the FAA AEG learned that Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 — a 737 MAX — had crashed near Ejere, Ethiopia, shortly after takeoff and that MCAS was operating in the moments before the crash. Shortly after that crash, all 737 MAX airplanes were grounded in the United States.

Forkner is charged with two counts of fraud involving aircraft parts in interstate commerce and four counts of wire fraud. He is expected to make his initial court appearance on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count of wire fraud and 10 years in prison on each count of fraud involving aircraft parts in interstate commerce. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Chicago field offices of the FBI and DOT-OIG are investigating the case, with the assistance of other FBI and DOT-OIG field offices.

Trial Attorney Cory E. Jacobs, Assistant Chief Michael T. O’Neill, and Trial Attorney Scott Armstrong of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Lewis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas 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.

Gulfport, Miss. – A Biloxi man pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Brad Byerley of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”).

According to court records, Kristopher Weaver, 29, was indicted on June 29, 2021, for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy which included the acquisition and distribution of marijuana, prescription pills, and firearms.  Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on Weaver’s home where they found approximately 58.5 pounds of THC edibles, marijuana, cocaine, and other suspected controlled substances.  Some of the controlled substances, eight firearms, a large cache of ammunition, and a drug ledger were all discovered in Weaver’s bedroom. 

Weaver pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 20, 2022. He faces a minimum sentence of 5 years imprisonment and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.  A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The DEA, Gulfport Police Department, and Biloxi Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Buckner is prosecuting the case.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

A Georgia man was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining $285,742 through a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

Dennes Garcia, 28, of Atlanta, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on July 6. According to court documents, Garcia admitted to obtaining a PPP loan of $285,742 for his own company, Dhanda Corporation, based on false information about the company’s number of employees and average payroll, and based on false supporting tax documents. Garcia also admitted that he wrote himself a check for $100,000 using the PPP loan proceeds, and further admitted that he paid more than $71,000 to an alleged co-conspirator, James Stote, as a kickback for his assistance in preparing and submitting the fraudulent loan application. In addition to his prison sentence, Garcia was ordered to pay $285,742 in restitution and $285,742 in forfeiture.   

Relatedly, Cindi Denton, 63, of Eastvale, California, was sentenced on Oct. 8 to six months in prison and 12 months of home confinement after pleading guilty in the Southern District of Florida to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on July 22. According to court documents, Denton admitted to obtaining a PPP loan of $491,310 for her own company, Emerald Jade Solutions Inc., based on false information about the company’s number of employees and average payroll and based on false supporting tax documents. Denton also admitted that she sent a $150,000 wire to her personal checking account using the PPP loan proceeds, and further admitted that she paid more than $98,000 to alleged co-conspirator Stote as a kickback for his assistance in preparing and submitting the fraudulent PPP loan application. In addition to her prison sentence, Denton was ordered to pay $377,883.91 in restitution and $377,883.91 in forfeiture.   

Stote was charged by complaint on June 24, 2020, with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His case remains pending.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio “Tony” Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Michael J. De Palma of the IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the SBA’s Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG) Eastern Region made the announcement.

IRS-CI, the FBI, and SBA-OIG investigated the cases.

Trial Attorney Philip Trout of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Lazopoulos Friedman of the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the cases.

The Fraud Section leads the department’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the PPP began, Fraud Section attorneys have prosecuted more than 100 defendants in more than 70 criminal cases. The Fraud Section has also seized more than $65 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, 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.

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

Daniel Jenkins, 22, of Dallas was sentenced today for committing violent crimes as part of a conspiracy to target users of the dating app Grindr. Jenkins was sentenced to a federal prison term of 280 months for his involvement in the scheme to target gay men for violent crimes. He is the last of four defendants to be sentenced in this case.

According to documents filed in connection with this case, the defendant admitted that he conspired to and then targeted nine men in and around Dallas for violent crimes, including kidnapping, carjacking and hate crimes, because of his perception of the victims’ sexual orientation, that is, because he believed the victims were gay men. Beginning on or around Dec. 6, 2017, members of the conspiracy used Grindr, a social media dating platform used primarily by gay men, to lure men to an apartment complex in Dallas. When the men arrived, the conspirators held the men at gunpoint and forced them to drive to local ATMs to withdraw cash from their accounts.

“This defendant targeted innocent victims for violent crimes simply because he believed they were gay,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This sentence affirms that bias-motivated crimes run contrary to our national values and underscores the Justice Department’s commitment to aggressively prosecuting bias-motivated crimes, including crimes against the LGBTQI community. We will continue to pursue justice for victims of bias-motivated crimes, wherever they occur.”

“This defendant singled out victims based on their perceived sexual orientation, then viciously assaulted them. The Department of Justice will not tolerate these sorts of heinous, hate-based attacks,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham for the Northern District of Texas. “Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, bigots often lurk online. We urge users of dating apps like Grindr to remain vigilant.”

“This sentence sends a strong message that individuals who conduct violent, targeted attacks will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno of the FBI Dallas Field Office.  “Investigating hate crimes is one of the FBI's highest priorities and we will continue to vigorously pursue offenders that threaten our families and communities. Everyone deserves to be and feel safe and we take this opportunity to urge the public to report suspected hate crimes to the FBI and local law enforcement.”

With his guilty plea on June 2, Jenkins admitted to joining the conspiracy to target gay men for violent crimes. Starting in December of 2017, Jenkins and a coconspirator created user profiles on Grindr and used the profiles to lure men they perceived to be gay to a location to rob them.  Jenkins further admitted that on Dec. 11, 2017, he and others lured multiple victims to the apartment complex, pointed a handgun at them, took their personal property and assaulted them, causing at least one victim physical injury. Jenkins admitted that he knew that members of the conspiracy used gay slurs and taunted the victims, and that at least one member of the conspiracy attempted to sexually assault a victim. Jenkins also admitted to participating in the carjacking of at least one victim.

Jenkins was the last of four defendants to plead guilty in this case. Jenkins pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit hate crimes, kidnapping, and carjacking; one hate crime count; and one count of use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Under the plea agreement, Jenkins faced a maximum sentence of 26 years in prison. Jenkins’ coconspirators: Michael Atkinson, Pablo Ceniceros-Deleon and Daryl Henry, had previously pleaded guilty. Atkinson was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison, Ceniceros-Deleon was sentenced to 22 years in prison and Henry was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The FBI’s Dallas Field Office conducted the federal investigation; a separate criminal investigation is being conducted by the Dallas Police Department. Deputy Chief Rose E. Gibson and Trial Attorney Kathryn Gilbert of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Dana, prosecuted the case.

A North Dakota man, formerly the executive vice president of U.S. operations at a publicly traded Canadian oil-services company, pleaded guilty today to perpetrating a scheme to fraudulently inflate the company’s reported revenue that resulted in shareholder losses in excess of $886 million. 

According to court documents, Joseph A. Kostelecky, 60, of Dickinson, admitted that he engaged in a scheme to defraud while serving as the highest-ranking U.S. executive of Poseidon Concepts Corporation (Poseidon) from approximately November 2011 to December 2012. Kostelecky admitted that, in his role, he caused Poseidon to falsely report approximately $100 million in revenue from purported long-term contracts with oil and natural-gas companies that were Poseidon’s customers. Kostelecky’s misconduct included fraudulently directing Poseidon’s accounting staff at the U.S. corporate headquarters in Denver, Colorado, as well as its field office in Dickinson, to record revenue from such contracts and then assuring management that the associated revenue was collectable, when he knew that the contracts either did not exist or that the associated revenue was not collectable. After Poseidon reported a partial write-down of uncollectable accounts in its financial statements, resulting in a drop in the company’s stock price, Kostelecky fraudulently caused the issuance of a public filing falsely reporting that he had purchased a substantial number of shares of the company, when in fact he had made no such purchase. Kostelecky admitted that when the inflated revenue came to light at the end of 2012, Poseidon’s stock price plunged and the company was forced into bankruptcy, causing over $886 million in shareholder losses. Kostelecky further admitted that he perpetrated the scheme to inflate the value of the company’s stock price and to enrich himself through the continued receipt of compensation and appreciation of his own stock and stock options.

“Joseph Kostelecky engaged in a fraudulent scheme with catastrophic consequences to Poseidon Concepts Corporation and its shareholders, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in victim losses,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates the department’s continued commitment to prosecuting executives at all levels of public companies, holding them accountable for their misconduct, and protecting the investing public from corporate malfeasance.”

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has a history of protecting American investors from fraudulent schemes perpetrated by individuals driven by sheer greed,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group. “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates corporate executives are not exempt from justice. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and its federal law enforcement partners will continue to exhaust all their efforts to protect American shareholders from corporate fraud.”

Kostelecky pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud in the District of North Dakota. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 10, 2022, and faces a maximum total penalty of 40 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service Criminal Investigation Group’s DOJ Mail Fraud Team is investigating the case.

Assistant Deputy Chief Anna G. Kaminska and Trial Attorney Jason M. Covert of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of North Dakota provided valuable assistance in this matter.

In recognition of World Mental Health Day, today the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) jointly issued a fact sheet to support students with mental health disabilities, their families, and their schools in the era of COVID-19. Along with the fact sheet, OCR released a letter to educators highlighting the civil rights obligations of schools and postsecondary institutions to students with mental health disabilities. 

“The Department of Justice is committed to safeguarding the rights of students with mental health disabilities through vigorous enforcement of the civil rights laws, particularly given the continuing effects of the pandemic,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. “Students should be supported and not excluded from educational opportunities on the basis of disability.”     

“The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on student mental health are widespread and deeply concerning,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Suzanne B. Goldberg of the Department of Education. “OCR is committed to providing resources to support students with mental health disabilities, including those who may be at risk for self-harm.” 

OCR’s June 2021 report, Education in a Pandemic: The Disparate Impacts of COVID-19 on America’s Students, showed that COVID-19 has had disproportionately harsh effects on many students with disabilities. Today’s action responds to pandemic’s effects on students’ mental health and provides information about the federal civil rights laws that protect students with mental health disabilities.

The fact sheet entitled Supporting Students at Risk of Self-Harm in the Era of COVID-19, provides information about federal civil rights laws that protect students with mental health disabilities. The fact sheet includes scenarios that illustrate when the department might investigate a potential violation; gives schools and postsecondary institutions a list of action steps to create an environment that is responsive to students with mental health disabilities; and provides educational and crisis resources for students, families, and educators.   

World Mental Health Day is an international day to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health. More than 18 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, it is particularly important to acknowledge the pandemic’s impact on mental health at home and around the world, to present an opportunity for meaningful conversations about mental health, and to celebrate schools and other institutions that have found new and promising ways to provide mental health services to their populations. 

The Biden-Harris Administration has taken significant action to address the mental health needs of Americans, and the President's Build Back Better agenda includes funding and support for a wide range of programs aimed at improving access to mental health services. 

If you believe that you or another person has been discriminated against at school based on a mental health disability, you may file a complaint with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ or https://www.ada.gov/fact_on_complaint.htm, or with the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights at https://www2.ed.gov/ocr/complaintintro.html to file a complaint in English or www.ed.gov/ocr/docs/howto.html to file a complaint in other languages.

The guidance is on the Justice Department’s website here and on OCR’s website here.

The Justice Department announced today that it has opened a statewide investigation into the conditions in the five secure juvenile correctional facilities run by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. 

The investigation will examine whether Texas provides children confined in the facilities reasonable protection from physical and sexual abuse by staff and other residents, excessive use of chemical restraints and excessive use of isolation. The investigation will also examine whether Texas provides adequate mental health care.

“Too often children held in juvenile detention facilities are subject to abuse and mistreatment, and deprived of their constitutional rights,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “State officials have a constitutional obligation to ensure reasonable safety for children in these institutions. The Department of Justice stands ready to protect the rights of children who end up in juvenile facilities and our investigation will ensure that the treatment of these children comports with constitutional standards.”

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Texas is committed to protecting the constitutional rights of all persons, including vulnerable young persons incarcerated in Texas Juvenile Justice Department secure facilities,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff for the Western District of Texas. “We look forward to partnering with the Civil Rights Division and other U.S. Attorney’s Offices in our state to conduct a fair and thorough investigation of these allegations.”

“Young people, even though they are confined in a juvenile facility, should not be abused, mistreated or deprived of essential services,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery of the Southern District of Texas. “We have a duty to ensure young people incarcerated in our state are held under safe and constitutional conditions.”

“No matter who they are – or what they’ve done – our state’s kids deserve safe environments,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham of the Northern District of Texas. “We cannot expect juvenile offenders to thrive later in life if they emerge from confinement traumatized by sexual abuse, excessive force, or incessant isolation.”

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas is committed to protecting the constitutional rights of all Texas children, including those incarcerated in Texas Juvenile Correctional Facilities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei of the Eastern District of Texas. “We are proud to partner with the Civil Rights Division and the other U.S. Attorney’s Offices of Texas to conduct a fair and thorough investigation of these allegations.”

The department has not reached any conclusions regarding the allegations in this matter. The investigation will be conducted under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. Both statutes give the department the authority to investigate systemic violations of the rights of young people in juvenile correctional facilities. The department’s work has led to important reforms to protect the rights of young people housed in those facilities. 

The Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section is conducting this investigation jointly with the U.S. Attorneys’ offices in the Western, Eastern, Southern and Northern Districts of Texas. Individuals with relevant information are encouraged to contact the department via phone at 1-866-432-0438 or by email at TX.Juveniles@usdoj.gov.

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division’s work regarding juvenile correctional facilities and the administration of juvenile justice is available on its website at https://www.justice.gov/crt/rights-juveniles.

A Florida man pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to deceive banks and credit card companies into processing credit and debit card payments on behalf of merchants involved in prohibited and high-risk businesses, including online gambling, debt collection, payday lending, and prescription drugs. 

According to court documents and statements made during the plea proceeding, Thomas Wells, 74, of Martin County, fraudulently represented that his merchant clients were engaged in the sale of low-risk retail goods to obtain debit and credit card payment processing for those clients from banks and credit card companies. Wells, through his company Priority Payout, introduced merchant clients seeking payment processing to Allied Wallet Inc., a payment processing company that served as an intermediary between merchants seeking to accept debit and credit cards and financial institutions that were members of the global electronic payment networks run by credit card companies such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. Wells’ clients included merchants engaged in prohibited or high-risk transactions and merchants that had already been terminated from card payment processing networks such as Visa and Mastercard for fraud, chargeback, or other compliance concerns. Wells admitted that he conspired with others to defraud several financial institutions and credit card companies by fraudulently inducing them to provide payment processing services to these merchant clients. Wells accomplished this with his co-conspirators by, among other means, creating shell companies, designing fake websites that purported to sell low-risk retail goods, and using industry-standard codes that miscategorized the true nature of the transactions. Wells admitted that he earned approximately $700,000 from the scheme. 

Wells faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, three years’ supervised release, restitution, and forfeiture. 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; Acting U.S. Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell of the District of Massachusetts; Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Ebersole of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, New York Field Office; Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Special Agent in Charge Matthew B. Millhollin of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston made the announcement.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Randall Warden of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney and Deputy Chief Seth B. Kosto of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

MLARS’s Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes banks and other financial institutions, including their officers, managers, and employees, whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system.

The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

A Florida man pleaded guilty today in the District of New Jersey to fraudulently obtaining more than $4.6 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, and subsequently laundering the loan proceeds through a series of illicit financial transactions.

According to court documents, Gregory J. Blotnick, 34, of West Palm Beach and formerly of New York City, submitted 21 fraudulent PPP loan applications to 13 lenders on behalf of at least nine purported businesses that Blotnick controlled, including BSC Opportunistic Equity LP and Brattle Street GP LLC. In these fraudulent applications, Blotnick falsified various information, including the number of his employees, the federal tax returns for his businesses, and payroll documentation. Blotnick sought more than $6.8 million in total PPP loans and obtained more than $4.6 million. Blotnick then laundered and misused the loan proceeds, including by transferring the funds to brokerage accounts that he controlled from which he placed more than $3 million in losing stock trades.

Blotnick pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 1, 2022, and faces a maximum total penalty of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig for the District of New Jersey; Special Agent in Charge Robert Manchak of the Northeast Region of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG); Special Agent in Charge John F. Grasso of the Social Security Administration OIG (SSA-OIG) New York Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Patricia Tarasca of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation OIG (FDIC-OIG) New York Region; and Special Agent in Charge Michael Montanez of IRS—Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Newark office made the announcement.

The FHFA-OIG, SSA-OIG, FDIC-OIG, and IRS-CI are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Cory E. Jacobs of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Fatime Meka Cano of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the department’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the PPP began, Fraud Section attorneys have prosecuted more than 100 defendants in more than 70 criminal cases. The Fraud Section has also seized more than $65 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, 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.

The owner and operator of a pipeline have agreed to pay a $1.5 million civil penalty under the Clean Water Act and $7.2 million in damages and mitigation to resolve federal and state Oil Pollution Act and Clean Water Act claims arising from a 2010 spill of over 1,800 barrels of oil into a globally rare dolomite wetland from a pipeline near Lockport, Illinois. The complaint, filed along with the settlement, alleges that the crude oil spill injured a critical habitat for the federally-endangered Hine’s emerald dragonfly.

“Pipeline companies have a responsibility to protect our waters, people, wildlife and diverse habitats from oil spills, and will be held accountable for the harms they cause,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This major settlement will not only deter future oil spills, but also help restore and enhance the diminishing habitat of an endangered species.”

“The settlement funds will help us improve the remaining habitat for the dragonfly and increase their population, as well as provide benefits for other wildlife injured by the spill,” said Regional Director Charlie Wooley for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Great Lakes Region.

“EPA and our partners have worked extensively to clean up and mitigate damage from this pipeline breach that released more than 1,800 barrels of crude oil into wetlands,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today’s settlement marks the culmination of a 10-year project to clean up the spill and prepare the site for restoration activities.”

“Illinois wetlands are some of our most valuable natural resources that provide residents and visitors with opportunities for recreation and study, as well as providing scarce habitat for some of Illinois’ endangered species,” said Attorney General Kwame Raoul for Illinois. “I am pleased that this settlement will mitigate contamination from the oil spill and support the restoration of wetlands near Lockport for future generations.”

“In partnership with federal and state trustees, the Corps reviewed the extent of the unauthorized fill material in the Hine’s emerald dragonfly wetlands and approved a comprehensive mitigation proposal to offset the impacts,” said Chief Kathleen Chernich of the East Section Regulatory Branch for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District. “We were proud to partner with the federal and state trustees to craft a solution that is designed to mitigate more than 100 acres of wetland losses caused by the spill.”

The December 2010 spill resulted from a breach in a 12-inch buried pipeline that discharged crude oil into a wetland adjacent to the Illinois-Michigan Canal near Lockport, Illinois. West Shore Pipe Line Co. of Lemont, Illinois, the owner of the crude oil pipeline, and Houston-based Buckeye Pipe Line Co., the operator, previously undertook responsibility for the cleanup of the spill site overseen by the EPA.

In the settlement filed today, Buckeye and West Shore have also agreed to pay $7.2 million for injury to the Hine’s emerald dragonfly and other natural resources in the wetland which the federal and state trustees, and the U.S. Army Corps of Trustees (Corps), will jointly use to plan, design and perform restoration projects to compensate for the harms caused by the oil spill, as well as mitigation for impacts to wetlands.

Today’s action was filed by the Department of Justice and the State on behalf of the federal and state trustees for natural resources. The designated federal trustees for the natural resources impacted by Buckeye’s oil spill are the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service. The designated state trustees are the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The federal and state trustees have worked together to perform substantial injury assessment work and are engaged in joint restoration planning efforts. The complaint was also filed on behalf of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to address violations of a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit in connection with the cleanup of the oil spill in waters of the United States.

The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. The consent decree will be available for viewing here.

Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal sentenced NATOSHA MARTIN, 37, of Cody, Wyoming on October 12, 2021 for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. She received 37 months of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. Martin was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment and a $300.00 community restitution. The Postal Inspector with the United States Postal Service and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation investigated this case.

Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal sentenced CHRISTOPHER RYAN GROSS, 34, of Cheyenne, Wyoming on September 30, 2021 for felon in possession of a firearm. He received 37 months of imprisonment to be followed by 37 months of supervised release. Gross was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment.  The Laramie County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case.

Chief Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl sentenced EDRAS PANTOJA-VILLAFRANCA, 22, of San Francisco, California on February 12, 2021 for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, and aiding and abetting. Pantoja-Villafranca was arrested in Evanston, Wyoming. He received 70 months of imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $200.00 in community restitution and a $100.00 special assessment. The Uinta County Sheriff’s Office and Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this case. Luis Ramon Medina-Saucedo was a co-conspirator in this case.

Chief Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl sentenced LUIS RAMON MEDINA-SAUCEDA, 23, of Aurora, Colorado on February 12, 2021 for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, and aiding and abetting. Medina-Saucedo was arrested in Evanston, Wyoming. He received 70 months of imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $200.00 in community restitution and a $100.00 special assessment. The Uinta County Sheriff’s Office and Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this case.

A federal grand jury in Baltimore, Maryland, has indicted a Texas man for sending a threatening communication to a Maryland doctor.

The indictment was unsealed today following the arrest of Scott Eli Harris, 51, of Aubrey, Texas, who is scheduled to have an initial appearance on Wednesday, Oct. 13, in U.S. District Court in Plano, Texas.

The indictment charges Harris with a single count of willfully transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure another person. Specifically, it alleges that Harris sent a message from his cellular phone to the doctor, who had been a vocal proponent of the COVID-19 vaccine, that included violent and explicit threats, such as, “Never going to take your wonder drug. My 12 gauge promises I won’t,” and “… I can’t wait for the shooting to start.” The message also referenced the doctor’s race and national origin.

If convicted, Harris faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.  

The indictment was announced by Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the FBI Baltimore Field Office.

This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney P. Michael Cunningham of the District of Maryland and Trial Attorney Katherine G. DeVar of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

A Brazilian man who previously served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Braskem S.A. (Braskem), a publicly-traded Brazilian petrochemical company, was sentenced today in the Eastern District of New York to 20 months in prison for a scheme to divert hundreds of millions of dollars from Braskem into a secret slush fund and to pay bribes to government officials, political parties, and others in Brazil.

Jose Carlos Grubisich, 64, of Brazil, pleaded guilty on April 15 to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and one count of conspiracy to violate the books and records provision of the FCPA and to fail to accurately certify Braskem’s financial reports. According to court documents, between approximately 2002 and 2014, Grubisich, who served as the CEO and a member of the board of directors of Braskem — as well as in various capacities for Braskem’s parent company, Odebrecht S.A. (Odebrecht) — engaged in a scheme to bribe Brazilian government officials. As part of the scheme, Grubisich and his co-conspirators diverted approximately $250 million from Braskem into a secret slush fund, which Grubisich and others generated through fraudulent contracts and offshore shell companies secretly controlled by Braskem. In addition to his prison sentence, Grubisich was ordered to forfeit $2.2 million and pay a $1 million fine.

In December 2016, Braskem and Odebrecht each pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York to conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. Braskem also resolved related civil proceedings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the same day.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn M. Kasulis for the Eastern District of New York, and Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll of the FBI’s New York Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI’s International Corruption squad in New York investigated the case. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance. The department also expresses its appreciation for the assistance provided by the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, Ministério Público Federal and the Departamento de Polícia Federal in Brazil, the Office of the Attorney General and the Federal Office of Justice in Switzerland, and the governments of Portugal, Andorra, the United Kingdom, and Panama.

Acting Co-Principal Deputy Chief Lorinda Laryea and Trial Attorney Leila Babaeva of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julia Nestor and Alixandra Smith of the Eastern District of New York prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Mantell of the Asset Recovery Section of the Office’s Criminal Division is handling related forfeiture matters.

Hagatña, Guam – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant Edjay Jaime Sablan, age 24, from Saipan, was sentenced in the United States District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands to 97 months imprisonment for Possession of Child Pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B).  The Court also ordered five years of supervised release following imprisonment, 40 hours of community service, and a mandatory $100.00 special assessment fee.  Sablan will also be required to register as a sex offender for 15 years following his release from prison.

On January 6, 2021, federal agents executed a search warrant at Sablan’s apartment on Saipan.  At the time, Sablan was a police officer with the CNMI Department of Public Safety.  Based on an undercover investigation, agents believed that the apartment contained evidence of child sex abuse material.  Sablan arrived at his apartment during the search.  Upon learning the subject of the investigation, he gave a recorded statement admitting that he frequently viewed this material, including videos of infants and toddlers, and that such files would be found on his laptop computer.  Subsequent forensic analysis of the computer revealed images and videos depicting extreme acts of sadomasochism on children.

U.S. Attorney Anderson stated, “Our public servants are held to high standards of conduct.  This is particularly true for members of law enforcement.  The possession of child sexual abuse material is an unconscionable crime.  Unfortunately, once the images reach the internet, a victim endures a lifetime of continued exploitation.  The Department of Justice will pursue justice for these victims at every opportunity.  We applaud the work of our federal task force partners in keeping our communities safe.”

“Sexual predators who prey on the most vulnerable members of our society will be identified, investigated and find themselves in prison. The fact that Sablan was an active-duty police officer - sworn to protect the public - makes this case particularly appalling," said FBI Honolulu Steven Merrill. "This verdict case demonstrates the importance of the FBI’s commitment to work closely with our partners on the Marianas Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force (MCEHTTF) to investigate cases such as this with a sense of urgency and to the fullest extent allowable by law."

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in partnership with the Marianas Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Eric S. O’Malley, Assistant United States Attorney in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.

A federal grand jury in Detroit, Michigan, charged a Detroit tax preparer on Oct. 7 with 15 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. 

According to the indictment, Daneilla Allen, who at times resided in Detroit, was one of the owners and operators of a tax preparation business through which she prepared false individual income tax returns. Allen allegedly prepared 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2020 tax returns that falsely claimed deductions, business losses and tax credits in an effort to obtain refunds for clients greater than those to which the clients were entitled. The indictment alleges that even after being notified by special agents of IRS–Criminal Investigation that she was under criminal investigation for preparing false tax returns, Allen allegedly prepared additional false returns.

If convicted, Daneilla Allen faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each false return count. 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 made the announcement.

Trial Attorneys Jeffrey A. McLellan and Sam Bean of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.  

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

The Justice Department announced today that it will not pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against a Kenosha Police Department (KPD) officer for his involvement in the Aug. 23, 2020, shooting of 30-year-old Jacob Blake.

Officials from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin informed representatives of the Blake family of this determination. The department makes this decision because the evidence obtained is insufficient to prove that the KPD officer willfully used excessive force.

A team of experienced federal prosecutors from the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office reviewed evidence obtained by the FBI and state investigators to determine whether the police officer violated any federal laws, focusing on the application of deprivation of rights under color of law, a federal criminal civil rights statute that prohibits certain types of official misconduct. They conducted a detailed and lengthy analysis of numerous materials, including police reports, law enforcement accounts, witness statements, affidavits of witnesses, dispatch logs, physical evidence reports, photographs and videos of some portions of the incident. 

Under the applicable federal criminal civil rights laws, prosecutors must establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, that an officer “willfully” deprived an individual of a constitutional right, meaning that the officer acted with the deliberate and specific intent to do something the law forbids. This is the highest standard of intent imposed by the law. Neither accident, mistake, fear, negligence, nor bad judgment is sufficient to establish a willful federal criminal civil rights violation.

After a careful and thorough review, a team of experienced federal prosecutors determined that insufficient evidence exists to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the KPD officer willfully violated the federal criminal civil rights statutes. Accordingly, the review of this incident has been closed without a federal prosecution.

Three defendants have been sentenced for their roles in an interstate dog fighting network across the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey.

According to court documents, from at least 2013 to 2018, Chester A. Moody, Jr., 47, of Glenn Dale, Maryland; Emmanuel A. Powe, Sr., 46, of Frederick, Maryland; and Odell S. Anderson, Sr., 52, of the District of Columbia, sponsored and exhibited dogs, as well as participated in almost every other aspect of dog fighting: selling, buying, possessing, training, transporting, delivering and receiving dogs so that those dogs could be used in dog fighting ventures. The defendants also possessed significant dog fighting equipment, such as dog treadmills, medical veterinary kits, breeding stands used to forcibly immobilize female fighting dogs, dog collars with embedded weights and chains weighing several pounds used to restrain the dogs.

“Dog fighting is a form of cruelty with no place in our society,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This cruelty will not be tolerated, nor will exposing a child to such horrific acts.”

“The violent and cruel act of dog fighting is a heinous form of animal abuse,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh for the Eastern District of Virginia. “These defendants served as leaders, breeders and trainers for a multi-year dog fighting operation and brazenly promoted this barbaric form of ‘entertainment’ for illegal personal gain. We must treat these animals — who are among society’s most vulnerable victims — with dignity and respect. As this prosecution demonstrates, those who engage in this intolerable and abhorrent conduct will be brought to justice in our courts.”

“The provisions of the Animal Welfare Act were designed to protect animals from being used in illegal fighting ventures, which often entail other forms of criminal activity,” said Special Agent in Charge Bethanne M. Dinkins of the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General (USDA-OIG). “Together with the Department of Justice, animal fighting is an investigative priority for USDA-OIG, and we will work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and assist in the criminal prosecution of those who participate in animal fighting ventures.”

Throughout the conspiracy, the defendants participated in multiple dog fights, from “roll” or “play” fights used to test a dog’s willingness to fight, to full-blown dog fighting shows planned months in advance and limited to known attendees. One of these dog fight events occurred in King George, Virginia, in April 2016 where most of the participants were led to the fight’s secret location. The event involved two separate dog fights with dogs owned and sponsored by Anderson, Powe and Moody. The two losing dogs died following their injuries sustained in the fights. Both Anderson and Moody trained and fought dogs who attained Champion and/or Grand Champion status – terms used to indicate a dog who has won three and five contract matches respectively, with no losses.

Moody will serve one year and one day in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release and 120 hours of community service. Moody pleaded guilty on April 28 to one felony count of conspiracy to engage in dog fighting activities over several years.

Powe will serve 18 months in prison to be followed by 3 years supervised release. Powe pleaded guilty on May 10 to one felony count of conspiracy to engage in dog fighting activities over several years.

Anderson will serve 18 months in prison to be followed by three years supervised release. Anderson pleaded guilty on June 1 to the same felony count of conspiracy to engage in dog fighting activities as the other two defendants. Anderson also pleaded guilty to one count of causing a child under the age of 16 to attend an illegal animal fight venture.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Olivia L. Norman of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Shennie Patel of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section prosecuted this case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Operation Grand Champion, a coordinated effort across numerous federal judicial districts to combat organized dog fighting. The Humane Society of the United States, along with other entities, assisted with the care of the dogs seized by federal law enforcement.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland tonight issued the following statement regarding the U.S. District Court’s decision to issue a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of Texas Senate Bill 8. On Sept. 9, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit to prevent the State of Texas from enforcing the law, which effectively bans most abortions in the state.

“Today’s ruling enjoining the Texas law is a victory for women in Texas and for the rule of law. It is the foremost responsibility of the Department of Justice to defend the Constitution. We will continue to protect constitutional rights against all who would seek to undermine them.”

Yesterday, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra co-hosted a listening session with stakeholders on the bipartisan COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which was signed into law by President Biden on May 20. Under the legislation, the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in coordination with the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force and community-based organizations, are required to issue guidance aimed at raising awareness of hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The session was moderated by Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta.  

In keeping with the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to combat hate in all of its forms, the listening session was an opportunity for stakeholders, including Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) and other community-based and anti-hate advocacy organizations, to provide feedback to HHS and the Justice Department on the guidance. The diverse set of stakeholders represented the wide impact of increased hate and bias, and mutual support among impacted communities. 

Attorney General Garland and Secretary Becerra opened the listening session by acknowledging that many in the AA and NHPI communities have faced two plagues during the pandemic — COVID-19 and violence motivated by bias — and expressed the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to confront both. They then detailed steps the administration is already taking through their agencies to address these urgent issues.

Attorney General Garland described how he has directed the Justice Department to take steps to improve incident reporting, increase law enforcement training and coordination at all levels of government, prioritize community outreach, and make better use of civil enforcement mechanisms. These efforts have included increasing investigative resources dedicated to civil rights cases, expediting the department’s review of hate crimes, increasing language access, and revitalizing the Community Relations Service. 

Secretary Becerra described how HHS has established the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, re-invigorated the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, which is housed at HHS, and invested millions of dollars in funding for AA and NHPI health care entities, among many others.

Following Attorney General Garland and Secretary Becerra’s opening remarks, Associate Attorney General Gupta moderated a conversation with stakeholders about the rise in hate crimes and hate incidents across the country, barriers to reporting these incidents, and what the guidance the Justice Department and HHS are required to issue should include. In response, community-based organizations emphasized the need for language access to communities, robust reporting systems for hate crime across federal and state agencies, various perspectives on the types and forms of guidance that would best serve impacted communities and policy ideas that will help treat hate crimes and bias-related incidents as a public health issue, among many others. Secretary Becerra, Attorney General Garland and Associate Attorney General Gupta closed the listening session by thanking the advocacy organizations for their participation, thoughtful dialogue, and commitment to advancing justice.

Stakeholders who would like to provide recommendations on the guidance are encouraged to submit their public comments to the Justice Department and HHS at COVID19HateCrimesGuidance@hhs.gov.

The Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced over $33 million in funding to advance the practice of community policing in law enforcement. Community Policing Development (CPD) program funds are used to support promising practices through the development and testing of innovative strategies; building knowledge about effective practices and outcomes; and supporting new, creative approaches to preventing crime and promoting safe communities.

“Keeping communities safe requires building relationships and increasing trust between law enforcement and those they serve,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The wide range of programs these funds will support – from de-escalation training and anti-bias efforts to technical assistance and accreditation programs – are critical to achieving our public safety goals. It is particularly meaningful to announce these awards during National Community Policing Week, which recognizes the importance of community policing and the positive results we can achieve when law enforcement and community members work together.”

In proclaiming Oct. 3-9 as National Community Policing Week, the Biden Administration emphasized its continuing efforts to both support the facilitation of police-community relationship building and to keep the community at the heart of everything that the  nation’s law enforcement agencies do on a daily basis.

Highlights of the 2021 CPD funding include:

• Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT). Over $9 million will go toward expansion of the use of crisis intervention teams to embed mental and behavioral health services with law enforcement.
• Tolerance, Diversity, and Anti-Bias Training. Over $1.7 million will be used for the creation and delivery of tolerance, diversity and anti-bias training for law enforcement officers.
• De-escalation Training. Approximately $13 million will support the creation and delivery of national level de-escalation training efforts, as well as state and local law enforcement agency efforts to build and maintain their officers’ de-escalation proficiency.
• COPS Microgrants. More than $2.7 million will support COPS Microgrants demonstration or pilot projects in local agencies. These are projects that offer creative ideas to advance crime fighting, community engagement, problem solving or organizational changes to support community policing.
• Accreditation. Over $3.8 million will be used to expand accreditation programs and assist agencies with gaining accreditation to ensure compliance with national and international standards, covering all aspects of law enforcement policies, procedures, practices and operations.

Also announced today is an additional $2 million dedicated to continuing the COPS Office Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center (CRI-TAC). CRI-TAC provides a continuum of technical assistance services to the law enforcement field to increase accountability and build trust between police and the communities they serve; improve effectiveness and efficiency in agency operations; enhance officer safety and wellness; and widely share practices that are evidence-based, promising, innovative and representative of national standards.

More information on all the awards announced today can be found on the COPS Office website at https://cops.usdoj.gov/cpd-award.

For a message about the Community Policing Development grants from Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, see: https://www.justice.gov/opa/video/associate-attorney-general-vanita-gupta-provides-remarks-national-community-policing-week.

The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Department of Justice agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. 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 134,000 officers.

A Chinese citizen was sentenced today to 38 months in prison and one year of supervised release on a federal money laundering conviction.

Kang Juntao, 25, of Hangzhou City, China, had previously pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Camden, New Jersey, to financing a nationwide ring of individuals who smuggled at least 1,500 protected turtles, valued at more than $2,250,000, from the United States to Hong Kong. The court also ordered Kang to pay a $10,000 fine, equaling the total assets he held in the United States.

From at least June 12, 2017, to Dec. 3, 2018, Kang recruited a network of poachers, shippers and middlemen to illegally obtain and export turtles. He sent money through U.S. banks, including one in New Jersey, to pay for the turtles and their shipments. He arranged for the turtles to be sold illegally in the Chinese pet market for thousands of dollars each. 

Kang had never entered the United States, but the U.S. money laundering statute provides jurisdiction when someone outside of the country passes more than $10,000 through the U.S. financial system to promote specified unlawful activities, such as smuggling wildlife.

In furtherance of the United States’ request for provisional arrest with a view to extradition, the Royal Malaysia Police arrested Kang when he traveled to Kuala Lumpur on Jan. 23, 2019. Kang was extradited to the United States to stand trial in the District of New Jersey in December 2020 pursuant to the extradition treaty between the United States and Malaysian governments.

“The Department of Justice will vigorously prosecute those who finance and profit from illegal wildlife trafficking, even if they do so from abroad,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

“The extradition of a foreign national who had never set foot on American soil for financing a turtle-trafficking ring in the U.S. sends an important message: those who exploit imperiled wildlife for profit will be brought to justice,” said Assistant Director Edward Grace for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement. “This investigation illustrates the global reach of the Service’s Office of Law Enforcement made possible by close coordination with partners, including the government of Malaysia, and our resolve to stop international wildlife trafficking from source to consumer.”

The United States, Malaysia, China and approximately 181 other countries are signatories to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES is an international treaty that restricts trade in species that may be threatened with extinction.

Kang trafficked in five turtle species protected by the treaty. The eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina), the Florida box turtle (Terrapene carolina bauri) and the Gulf Coast box turtle (Terrapene carolina major) are subspecies of the common box turtle (Terrapene carolina) and have been listed in CITES since 1995. The spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata) is a semi-aquatic turtle listed in CITES as of 2013. The wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) has been protected under CITES since 1992. The turtles are worth on average between $650 to $2,500 each in the Asian market. Female turtles with rare markings have been sold for as much as $20,000.

Kang sent money via PayPal, credit cards or bank transfers to the United States to purchase turtles from sellers advertising on social media or reptile trade websites. These suppliers then shipped the turtles to middlemen across five different states. The middlemen were typically Chinese citizens who entered the country on student visas. Kang paid and instructed these intermediaries to repackage the turtles in boxes with false labels for clandestine shipment to Hong Kong. The turtles were inhumanely bound with duct tape and placed in socks so as not to alert customs authorities. Neither Kang nor his associates declared the turtles to U.S. or Chinese customs or obtained the required CITES permits.

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim made the announcement.

The government is represented by Trial Attorneys Ryan Connors and Lauren Steele of the Environmental Crimes Section. The USFWS conducted the investigation.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Malaysia Attaché, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the U.S. Embassy in Malaysia, the Attorney General’s Chambers of Malaysia and the Royal Malaysia Police provided invaluable assistance in supporting the extradition and coordinating the return of Kang to the United States.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced today the launch of the department’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, which will combine the department’s expertise in civil fraud enforcement, government procurement and cybersecurity to combat new and emerging cyber threats to the security of sensitive information and critical systems.

“For too long, companies have chosen silence under the mistaken belief that it is less risky to hide a breach than to bring it forward and to report it,” said Deputy Attorney General Monaco. “Well that changes today. We are announcing today that we will use our civil enforcement tools to pursue companies, those who are government contractors who receive federal funds, when they fail to follow required cybersecurity standards — because we know that puts all of us at risk. This is a tool that we have to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used appropriately and guard the public fisc and public trust.”

The creation of the Initiative, which will be led by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, is a direct result of the department’s ongoing comprehensive cyber review, ordered by Deputy Attorney General Monaco this past May. The review is aimed at developing actionable recommendations to enhance and expand the Justice Department’s efforts against cyber threats.

Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative Details

The Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative will utilize the False Claims Act to pursue cybersecurity related fraud by government contractors and grant recipients. The False Claims Act is the government’s primary civil tool to redress false claims for federal funds and property involving government programs and operations. The act includes a unique whistleblower provision, which allows private parties to assist the government in identifying and pursing fraudulent conduct and to share in any recovery and protects whistleblowers who bring these violations and failures from retaliation. 

The initiative will hold accountable entities or individuals that put U.S. information or systems at risk by knowingly providing deficient cybersecurity products or services, knowingly misrepresenting their cybersecurity practices or protocols, or knowingly violating obligations to monitor and report cybersecurity incidents and breaches. The benefits of the initiative will include:

• Building broad resiliency against cybersecurity intrusions across the government, the public sector and key industry partners.
• Holding contractors and grantees to their commitments to protect government information and infrastructure.
• Supporting government experts’ efforts to timely identify, create and publicize patches for vulnerabilities in commonly-used information technology products and services.
• Ensuring that companies that follow the rules and invest in meeting cybersecurity requirements are not at a competitive disadvantage.
• Reimbursing the government and the taxpayers for the losses incurred when companies fail to satisfy their cybersecurity obligations.
• Improving overall cybersecurity practices that will benefit the government, private users and the American public.

The department will work closely on the Initiative with other federal agencies, subject matter experts and its law enforcement partners throughout the government. 

Report Cyber-Fraud

Tips and complaints from all sources about potential cyber-related fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported by accessing the webpage of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section, which can be found here.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced today the creation of a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), to tackle complex investigations and prosecutions of criminal misuses of cryptocurrency, particularly crimes committed by virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and money laundering infrastructure actors. Under the supervision of Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr., the NCET will combine s the expertise of the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and other sections in the division, with experts detailed from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices. The team will also assist in tracing and recovery of assets lost to fraud and extortion, including cryptocurrency payments to ransomware groups.

“Today we are launching the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team to draw on the Department’s cyber and money laundering expertise to strengthen our capacity to dismantle the financial entities that enable criminal actors to flourish — and quite frankly to profit — from abusing cryptocurrency platforms” said Deputy Attorney General Monaco. “As the technology advances, so too must the Department evolve with it so that we’re poised to root out abuse on these platforms and ensure user confidence in these systems.”

“The Criminal Division is already an established leader in investigating and prosecuting the criminal misuse of cryptocurrency,” said Assistant Attorney General Polite. “The creation of this team will build on this leadership by combining and coordinating expertise across the Division in this continuously evolving field to investigate and prosecute the fraudulent misuse, illegal laundering, and other criminal activities involving cryptocurrencies.”

The head of the NCET will report to the Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division and will be selected after an application process seeking an individual with experience with complex criminal investigations and prosecutions, as well as the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies and the blockchain. Once selected, the Team Leader will lead the team of attorneys from MLARS, CCIPS, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs) detailed from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country to identify, investigate, support, and pursue cases against cryptocurrency exchanges, infrastructure providers, and other entities that are enabling the misuse of cryptocurrency and related products to commit or facilitate criminal activity.

Importantly, the NCET will draw and build upon the established expertise across the Criminal Division to deter, disrupt, investigate, and prosecute criminal misuse of cryptocurrency, as well as to recover the illicit proceeds of those crimes whenever possible. Because cryptocurrency is used in a wide variety of criminal activity, from being the primary demand mechanism for ransomware payments, to money laundering and the operation of illegal or unregistered money services businesses, to being the preferred means of exchange of value on “dark markets” for illegal drugs, weapons, malware and other hacking tools, the NCET will foster the development of expertise in cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies across all aspects of the Department’s work. The NCET will also play a critical support role for international, federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement authorities grappling with these new technologies and new forms of criminal tradecraft.

National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team Details

The NCET builds upon MLARS’s Digital Currency Initiative and will be informed by the Department’s Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework, released in October 2020. Because crimes involving cryptocurrency can take many forms, the NCET will not only pursue its own cases, but also support existing and future cases brought across the Criminal Division and in the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country.

NCET team members will be drawn from three initial sources: MLARS, CCIPS, and detailees to the Criminal Division from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country. Team members will draw upon the expertise of their home offices while working collaboratively under the Team Leader to combine their expertise in financial systems, blockchain technology, tracing transactions, and applicable criminal statutes to address illegal activity involving cryptocurrency in a structured way. The NCET will:

• Investigate and prosecute cryptocurrency cases, comprising a central part of a nationwide enforcement effort to combat the use of cryptocurrency as an illicit tool.
• Develop strategic priorities for investigations and prosecutions involving cryptocurrency, in consultation with the USAOs, Department components, and investigative agencies involved in cryptocurrency investigations.
• Identify areas for increased investigative and prosecutorial focus, including professional money launderers, ransomware schemes, human traffickers, narcotics traffickers, and financial institutions working with cryptocurrency.
• Build and enhance relationships with cryptocurrency focused AUSAs and prosecutors with other Department litigating components and offices to pursue cryptocurrency investigations and prosecutions.
• Develop and maintain relationships with federal, state, local, and international law enforcement agencies that investigate and prosecute cryptocurrency cases.
• Train and advise federal prosecutors and law enforcement agencies in developing investigative and prosecutorial strategies. Such training and advice will include providing guidance concerning search and seizure warrants, restraining orders, criminal and civil forfeiture allegations, indictments, and other pleadings.
• Support the coordination and sharing of information and evidence among law enforcement offices to maximize the effectiveness of the Department’s investigations, prosecutions, and forfeitures involving cryptocurrency.
• Collaborate and build relationships with private sector actors with expertise in cryptocurrency matters to further the criminal enforcement mission.

The NCET will work closely with other federal agencies, subject matter experts, and its law enforcement partners throughout the government.

တၢ ၢ်စဲက ံုးထ ုးထျီ ၢ်ရၤလျီၤအံၤဘ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်က ဲုးက ိ ၢ်ထံက ၤအျီၤလၢက ိ ၢ်အမိ မိ န  ၢ်လျီၤ. 
က ၢ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်ဂ ၢ ၢ်ဘ ုးစဲလၢလ ၢ်တဖ ၢ်တက ၢ.

ဝ ၢ်ရ   ၢ်တ ၢ် – တၢ ၢ်တျီတၢတၢ်တၢ ၢ်ဝဲၤက ိၤတနံၤအံၤဘိုးဘ ၢ်ပ ၢ်ဖ ါထျီ ၢ်ဝဲဒ ၢ်လၢ တၢ ၢ်စံ ၢ်ညျီ ၢ်ဆၢတဲ ၢ်တ ၢ ၢ်လံ 
တၢ ၢ်က ၢ ၢ်ကဒါက ၤ ကမ ၢၢ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်ခ ဲုးတၢ ၢ်ယ ၢ်တဖ ၢ် ဘ ၢ်ထ ဲဒျီုး ကလံၤထံုးဒခိထ ၢ် သဲစုးတၢ ၢ်သိ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်သျီက ိၤက ဲသနူပ ၢ်ဖ (South Dakota Unified Judicial System - UJS) လျီၤ. တၢ ၢ်အံၤကမၤဂ ၤထျီ ၢ် 
ပ ၤလၢအအဲကလံုးက ိ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်သ တၢ ၢ်ဘ ၢ်တလၢပ ဲၤ ထျီ ၢ်ဘုးတဖ ၢ် (LEP) အတၢ ၢ်တ ၤအိ ၢ်ဒိုးနၢ ၢ်ဘ ၢ်
ကျီၢ ၢ်စဲ ၢ်က ျီၢ ၢ်ဘ ျီ ၢ်တဖ ၢ်လျီၤ. 

တၢ ၢ်တျီတၢတၢ်တၢ ၢ်ဝဲၤက ိၤအံၤ အတၢ ၢ်က ၢ ၢ်ကဒါက ၤန  ၢ် စုးထျီ ၢ်ဝဲဖဲ အဒိုးနၢ ၢ်ဘ ၢ် တၢ ၢ်ဆ ိုးထျီ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်တမံၤလၢ 
မ ၢ ၢ်ထျီ ၢ်ထံက ိသဲစုး တၢ ၢ်ကရၢကရိတဖ ၢ် (East River Legal Services) လျီၤ. တၢ ၢ်ကရၢကရိတဖ ၢ်အံၤ 
ပ ၢ်ဒ  ၢ်ပ ၢ်ကမ ၢ်ဝဲဒ ၢ်လၢ UJS က ၢ ၢ်ဘ ျီ ၢ်တဖ ၢ် က ၢ ၢ်တလျီၤဝဲ LEP က ျီၢ ၢ်ဘ ျီ ၢ်ပ ၤစူုးကါတၢ ၢ်ဖိတဖ ၢ် 
သနၤ ထျီ ၢ်အသုးလၢ အဝဲသ  ၢ်အထံဂံၢ ၢ်ကျီၢ ၢ်ထံုးန  ၢ်လျီၤ. တၢ ၢ်အံၤလ  ၢ်သ  ၢ်ခါပတ ၢ် 1964 
ကမ ၢၢ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်ခ ဲုးတၢ ၢ်ယ ၢ်တဖ ၢ်သဲစုး အတၢ ၢ်ဂ ၢ ၢ်ခိ ၢ်တျီဃ  (Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) န  ၢ်လျီၤ. တၢ ၢ်ဂ ၢ ၢ်ခိ ၢ်တျီဃ အံၤ တတျီဃ ၢ်ဝဲလၢ ပ ၤဒိုးနၢ ၢ်ကျီၢ ၢ်စၢဖိ  ၢ်က ိ ၢ်စ တၢ ၢ်တိစၢၤမၤစၢၤတဖ ၢ် ဒၢ်သိုး တၢ ၢ်တက ၢ ၢ်တလျီၤအျီၤ သနၤ ထျီ ၢ်အသုးလၢ ကလ  ၢ်, ဖံုးဘ  ၢ်လ ဲၢ ၢ်မ တမ ၢ ၢ်ထံဂံၢ ၢ်ကျီၢ ၢ်ထံုးအဖျီခိ ၢ်န  ၢ်လျီၤ. ဝဲၤက ိၤအံၤ အတၢ ၢ်က ၢ ၢ်ကဒါက ၤန သ ုးက ံ ၢ်ဝဲ က ိ ၢ်တၢတၢ်တျီဃ ၢ်တဖ ၢ်ဒျီုးက ျီၢ ၢ်ဘ ျီ ၢ်ဘူုးလဲဒိ ၢ်ဒိ ၢ်မ ၢ ၢ်မ ၢ ၢ်တဖ ၢ်လၢ UJS အပူၤန  ၢ်လျီၤ. UJS န  ၢ် 
ဒ ုးအိ ၢ်ထျီ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်ကျီတၢ ၢ်ခဲလၢ LEP တဂၤစ  ၢ်စ  ၢ်အဂျီၢ ၢ်လၢကပ ၢ်ဃ  ၢ်လၢ ကျီၢ ၢ်စဲ ၢ်ကမ ၢၢ ၢ်သဲစုးတၢ ၢ်ဂ ၢ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်ဝျီ 
ဒျီုးတၢ ၢ်စူုးကါက ျီၢ ၢ်ဘ ျီ ၢ်လၢသဲစုးတၢ ၢ်ဂ ၢ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်က ိၤတဖ ၢ်အပူၤန  ၢ်လျီၤ.

ကမ ၢၢ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်တျီတၢတၢ်တၢ ၢ်ဝဲၤက ိၤအကမ ၢၢ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်ခ ဲုးတၢ ၢ်ယ ၢ်တဖ ၢ်ဝဲၤဒ  အပျီၢ ၢ်ရျီပဒိ ၢ် Kristen Clarke စံုးဝဲဒ ၢ်လၢ, "ကျီၢ ၢ်စ က ျီၢ ၢ်ဘ ျီ ၢ်တဖ ၢ် အကါဒိ ၢ်ဝဲနျီၢ ၢ်နျီၢ ၢ်လၢ ပတၢ ၢ်တျီတၢတၢ်တၢ ၢ်က ိၤက ဲသနူ အတၢ ၢ်ဟံုးဃ ၢ်ဂၢၢ ၢ်က ၢၤတၢ ၢ်တျီတၢ ၢ်လိၤအဂျီၢ ၢ်ဒျီုး အရဒ ိ ၢ်ဝဲဒ ၢ်လၢ တၢ ၢ်ကသ ုးက ံ ၢ် ကယဲၢ ၢ်မ ၢ ၢ်တၢတၢ်တျီဃ ၢ်တမံၤလၢ ၢ်လၢ ၢ်လၢအတတျီ ၢ်ဃ ၢ်ပ ၤတဂၤစ  ၢ်စ  ၢ်လၢ 
ကတ ၤအိ ၢ်စူုးကါ ဘ ၢ် တၢ ၢ်ကရၢကရိတဖ ၢ်အံၤန  ၢ်လျီၤ." "ပကဆဲုးမၤသကိုးတၢ ၢ်ဒျီုး ကျီၢ ၢ်စဲ ၢ်က ျီၢ ၢ်ဘ ျီ ၢ်တဖ ၢ် 
ဒၢ်သိုးကသ ုးက ံ ၢ် က ိ ၢ်တၢတၢ်တျီဃ ၢ် တဖ ၢ် လၢအသမၢတၢ ၢ်တ ၤအိ ၢ်ဒိုးနၢ ၢ်ဘ ၢ် တၢ ၢ်တျီတၢတၢ်တၢ ၢ်
ဒျီုးလၢအလ  ၢ်သ  ၢ်ခါပတ ၢ် ကမ ၢၢ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်ခ ဲုးတၢ ၢ်ယ ၢ်တဖ ၢ်သဲစုး န  ၢ်လျီၤ." ပစံုးဘ  ုးဘ ၢ် 
ကလံၤထံုးဒခိထ ၢ်သဲစုးတၢ ၢ်သိ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်သျီက ိၤက ဲသနူပ ၢ်ဖိ  ၢ်လၢ အမၤသကိုးတၢ ၢ်ဒျီုး တၢ ၢ်တျီတၢတၢ်တၢ ၢ် ဝဲၤက ိၤအံၤ 
ဒၢ်သိုးကစံ ၢ်ညျီ ၢ်ဆၢတဲ ၢ် တၢ ၢ်ဂ ၢ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်ဝျီအံၤ ဒျီုးဟံုးဂ ၢ ၢ်ဝျီမၤထျီ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်ခ  ခ   လၢကမၤလျီၤတံၢ ၢ်ပ ၤစူုးကါက ျီၢ ၢ်ဘ ျီ ၢ် ခဲလၢ ၢ်, အဝဲသ  ၢ်အက ိ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်သ တၢ ၢ်ဘ ၢ်မ ၢ ၢ်ကအိ ၢ်ဝဲဒၢ်လဲ ၢ်ဂ ၤဒၢ်လဲ ၢ်ဂ ၤ, ကနၢ ၢ်ပၢၢ ၢ်ဒျီုးပ ၢ်ဃ  ၢ်မၤသကိုးတၢ ၢ်လၢ သဲစုးတၢ ၢ်မူုးတၢ ၢ်ရၢ တဖ ၢ်အပူၤအဃိန  ၢ်လျီၤ. 

ဒၢ်သိုးကချီဆၢကဒါက ၤ ဝဲၤက ိၤအံၤအတၢ ၢ်က ၢ ၢ်ကဒါက ၤတၢ ၢ်အံၤအဂျီၢ ၢ်, UJS ဆ ၢထျီ ၢ်ဝဲ သဲစုးတၢ ၢ်သိ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်သျီ 
လံ ၢ်ပတံထျီ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်တမံၤဆူ ကျီၢ ၢ်စဲ ၢ်ကရၢဒ ုးအိ ၢ်ထျီ ၢ်သဲစုးတၢ ၢ်ဘ ၢအအိ ၢ် ဒၢ်သိုးကမၤဒိ ၢ်ထျီ ၢ်အါထျီ ၢ် 
တၢ ၢ်တ ၤအိ ၢ်ဒိုးနၢ ၢ်ဘ ၢ် က ျီၢ ၢ်ဘ ျီ ၢ်ပ ၤတဲက ိုးထံတၢ ၢ်ဒျီုးပ ၤက ဲုးက ိ ၢ်ထံတၢ ၢ်တဖ ၢ် လၢ LEP တဂၤစ  ၢ်စ  ၢ်အဂျီၢ ၢ်
လၢကမ ၢၢ ၢ်သဲစုးတၢ ၢ်မူုးတၢ ၢ်ရၢ ၢ်ကိုးမံၤ အပူၤန  ၢ်လျီၤ. တၢ ၢ်ဒ ုးအိ ၢ်ထျီ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်သိ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်ဘ ၢအံၤ ကဲထျီ ၢ်ဝဲ သဲစုးတၢ ၢ်သိ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်သ ဖဲ လါယူၤလံ 1 သျီန  ၢ်လျီၤ. ဒၢ်သိုး ကလိ ၢ်ထျီ ၢ်ဖုးထျီ ၢ်သဲစုးတၢ ၢ်သိ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်သျီအံၤအဂျီၢ ၢ်, UJS 
ဂၢၤဃ ၢ်ဝဲစ ဆျီ ၢ်ထ ဲအဂၤတမံၤလၢအစ တိ ၢ်ပ ၢ်အပူၤ ဒၢ်သိုး ကဟ  ၢ်လျီၤ LEP ဖိတဖ ၢ်ဒျီုးပ ၤအ  ၢ်သုးတဖ ၢ် တၢက ိုးထံတၢ ၢ်တိစၢၤမၤစၢၤအကလျီတဖ ၢ်လျီၤ. တကုးဒံုးဘ ၢ်, UJS မၤဂ ၤမၤသျီထျီ ၢ်ဝဲ တၢ ၢ်တ ၤအိ ၢ်ဒိုးနၢ ၢ်က ၢ်တၢ ၢ်ရဲ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်က ဲၤတဖ ၢ် လၢကျီၢ ၢ်စဲ ၢ်သဲစုးတၢ ၢ်မူုးတၢ ၢ်ရၢ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်စံ ၢ်ညျီ ၢ်ခဲလၢ ၢ်အဂျီၢ,ၢ် ဃ ထၢပ ၢ်လျီၤဝဲ တၢ ၢ်တ ၤအိ ၢ်ဒိုးနၢ ၢ်က ၢ်ဖိုးမံမူဒါခိ ၢ်တဂၤ ဒျီုးဒ ုးအိ ၢ်ထျီ ၢ်ဝဲ တၢ ၢ်တ ၤအိ ၢ်ဒိုးနၢ ၢ်က ၢ်တၢ ၢ်ဆ ိုးထျီ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်အက ိၤအက  ၢ်တမံၤန  ၢ်လျီၤ. 

ဖိုးမံမူဒါခိ ၢ်ဒျီုးတၢ ၢ်ဆ ိုးထျီ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်အက ိၤအက  ၢ်တဖ ၢ်အံၤ ကကဲထျီ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်မၤစၢၤလၢကမၤလျီၤတံၢ ပ ၤတဂၤစ  ၢ်စ  ၢ်ဟ  ၢ်ကူ ၢ်ဟ  ၢ်ဖုး UJS ကသ ဝဲအဂျီၢ ၢ်န  ၢ်လျီၤ. UJS အၢ ၢ်လျီၤစ ၢ ၢ်ကျီုးဝဲလၢ 
ကဆဲုးမၤသကိုးတၢ ၢ်ဒျီုးဝဲၤက ိၤအံၤ ဒၢ်သိုးကမၤဂ ၤထျီ ၢ် တၢ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်တျီတၢတၢ်တၢ ၢ် 
ဒျီုးတၢ ၢ်တ ၤအိ ၢ်စူုးကါဘ ၢ်က ျီၢ ၢ်ဘ ျီ ၢ်တဖ ၢ်လၢအတအိ ၢ်ဒျီုးတၢ ၢ်က ၢ ၢ်မဲ ၢ် လၢ LEP တဂၤစ  ၢ်စ  ၢ်အဂျီၢ ၢ်လျီၤ. 

ကမ ၢၢ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်ခ ဲုးတၢ ၢ်ယ ၢ်တဖ ၢ်ဝဲၤဒ  အပျီၢ ၢ်ရျီတဖ ၢ် ဒျီုး U.S. ပျီၢ ၢ်ရျီဝဲၤက ိၤလၢကလံၤထံုးဒခိထ ၢ်အဂျီၢ ၢ် (U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota) အပျီၢ ၢ်ရျီတဖ ၢ် ဃိထံသ  ၢ်ညါသကိုးဝဲ 
တၢ ၢ်မူုးတၢ ၢ်ရၢ ၢ်အံၤန  ၢ်လျီၤ. တၢ ၢ်မၤလၢထျီ ၢ်ပဲ ၤထျီ ၢ် တၢ ၢ်ဂ ၢ ၢ်ခိ ၢ်တျီဃ န  ၢ်မ ၢ ၢ်ဝဲ တၢ ၢ်အကါဒိ ၢ်ကတၢၢ ၢ်တမံၤလၢ ကမ ၢၢ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်ခ ဲုးတၢ ၢ်ယ ၢ်တဖ ၢ်ဝဲၤဒ  အဂျီၢ ၢ်လျီၤ. တၢ ၢ်ဂ ၢ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်က ိၤဆူညါဘ ၢ်ထ ဲဒျီုး ကမ ၢၢ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်ခ ဲုးတၢ ၢ်ယ ၢ်တဖ ၢ်ဝဲၤဒ န တၢ ၢ်ဒိုးနၢ ၢ်အျီၤသ ဝဲလၢအပ  ၢ်ယဲၤသန  အပူၤဖဲ www.justice.gov/crt, ဒျီုးတၢ ၢ်ဂ ၢ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်က ိၤဘ ၢ်ထ ဲဒျီုး 
တၢ ၢ်သ အဲုးကလံုးက ိ ၢ်ဂ ၤဂ ၤဘ ၢ်ဘ ၢ် ဒျီုးတၢ ၢ်ဂ ၢ ၢ်ခိ ၢ်တျီဃ  န  ၢ် တၢ ၢ်ဒိုးနၢ ၢ်အျီၤသ ဖဲ www.lep.gov န  ၢ်လျီၤ.

ပ ၤကမ ၢၢ ၢ်တဖ ၢ် ပ ၢ်ဖ ါထျီ ၢ် တၢ ၢ်လ  ၢ်သ  ၢ်ခါပတ ၢ် ကမ ၢၢ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်ခ ဲုးတၢ ၢ်ယ ၢ် တဖ ၢ် သ ဝဲဖဲ  https://civilrights.justice.gov/report/  မ တမ ၢ ၢ်ဃ  ၢ်ဒျီုး U.S. ပျီၢ ၢ်ရျီဝဲၤက ိၤလၢကလံၤထံုးဒခိထ ၢ် အဂျီၢ ၢ် ချီဖ ိမၤပဲ ၤတၢ ၢ်ဆ ိုးထျီ ၢ်တၢ ၢ်အလံ ၢ်ဒိအံၤ လၢတၢ ၢ်ဒိုးနၢ ၢ်အျီၤသ ဖဲ https://www.justice.gov/usao- sd/civil-rights န  ၢ်လျီၤ. 

नोट: यो प्रेस विज्ञप्तत विभभन्न भाषामा अनुिाद गरिएको छ। तल संलग्नताहरू हेनु ुहोस। 

िाभसङ्गटन – आज न्याय विभागले दक्षिण डाकोटा एकीकृ त न्याययक प्रणाली (UJS) द्िािा सीभमत अङ्रेजी प्रिीणता (LEP) भएका मायनसहरूको िाज्य अदालतहरूमा पहु ुँच सुधाने उद्देश्यमा िहेको नागरिक अधधकाि समीिा समाधान गरिएको बािेमा घोषणा गर्‍यो।

न्याय विभागले UJS अदालतहरूद्िािा 1964 को नागरिक अधधकाि ऐनको शीषुक VI को उल्लङ्घनमा LEP अदालतका प्रयोगकताुहरू विरूद्ध िाप्रिय मूलको आधािमा भेदभाि भएको आिोपमा इस्ट रिभि भलगल सभभुसेसको उजुिी प्रातत गिेपयछ यो समीिा सुरु भएको हो। शीषुक VI ले संघीय वित्तीय सहायताका प्रापकहरू विरूद्ध जायत, िणु िा िाप्रिय मूलको आधािमा भेदभाि गनुबाट िोक लगाउुँ छ।विभागको समीिाले UJS मा LEP का व्यप्क्तहरूलाई िाज्य नागरिक मुद्दा ि कायुिाहीहरूमा सहभागी हुन कठिन बनाएका भाषा अििोध ि अदालतका उच्च लागतहरू समेटेन।

न्याय विभागको नागरिक अधधकाि डडभभजनको सहायक महान्यायिादी, Kristen Clarke ले “िाज्य अदालतहरू हाम्रो न्याय प्रणालीको अखण्डताका लाधग आधाि हु न ् ि व्यप्क्तहरूलाई यी संस्थाहरूमा पहु ुँच गनुबाट िोक्ने कु नै पयन बाधा हटाउन महत्त्िपूणु छ” भन्नुभयो। हामी न्यायमा पहु ुँच गनुबाट िप्चचत गने ि संघीय नागरिक अधधकाि कानुनको उल्लङ्घन गने भाषा अििोधहरू हटाउनका लाधग िाज्य अदालतहरूसुँग यनिन्ति काम गने छौं। हामी दक्षिण डकोटा एकीकृ त न्याययक प्रणालीलाई यो माभमला समाधान गनुको यनभमत्त न्याय विभागसुँग सहयोगी रूपमा काम गिेको ि अदालतका सबै प्रयोगकताुहरू आफ्नो अङ्रेजी भाषाको िमता जे-जस्तो भएपयन मुद्दाहरूका बािेमा बुझेि सहभागी हु न सक्नुहु न्छ भनी सुयनप्श्चत गनुका लाधग तत्काल कदम चालेकोमा धन्यिाद व्यक्त गदुछौं।

विभागको समीिाको प्रयतक्रियामा, UJS ले सबै नागरिक मुद्दाहरूमा LEP का व्यप्क्तहरूका लाधग अदालत दोभाषे ि अनुिादकहरूमा पहु ुँच विस्ताि गनुका लाधग िाज्य विधानसभामा एउटा विधेयक पेश गर्‍यो। जुलाई 1 मा विधान कानुन बनेको धथयो। नयाुँ कानुन लागू गनुका लाधग, UJS ले LEP का पि ि सािीहरूलाई यनिःशुल्क दोभाषे सेिाहरू प्रदान गनुका लाधग आफ्नो बजेटमा थप कोष सुिक्षित गर्‍यो।यसका साथै, UJS ले सम्पूणु िाज्य न्याययक सक्रकु टहरूका लाधग भाषा पहु ुँच योजनाहरू अद्यािधधक गिेको छ, एकजना भाषा पहु ुँच समन्ियक यनयुक्त गिेको छ ि भाषा पहु ुँच उजुिी प्रक्रिया भसजुना गिेको छ। समन्ियक तथा उजुिी प्रक्रियाहरूले व्यप्क्तहरूद्िािा UJS मा प्रयतक्रिया प्रदान गनु सक्रकने कु िा सुयनप्श्चत गनुमा मद्दत गने छन ्। UJS ले LEP का व्यप्क्तहरूका लाधग अदालतहरूमा यनरपि ि गैि-भेदभािपूणु पहु ुँच सुधानुको यनभमत्त विभागसुँग काम गनु जािी िाख्ने कु िामा पयन सहमयत जनाएको छ।

यो मुद्दा नागरिक अधधकाि डडभभजन ि दक्षिण डकोटा प्जल्लाको अमेरिकी अधधिक्ता कायाुलयका अधधिक्ताहरूद्िािा संयुक्त रूपमा अनुसन्धान गरिएको धथयो। शीषुक VI को प्रितुन नागरिक अधधकाि डडभभजनको उच्च प्राथभमकता हो। नागरिक अधधकाि डडभभजनका बािेमा थप जानकािी यसको िेबसाइट www.justice.gov/crt मा उपलब्ध छ ि सीभमत अङ्रेजी प्रिीणता ि शीषुक VI का बािेमा जानकािी www.lep.gov मा उपलब्ध छ। सिुसाधािण सदस्यहरूले https://www.justice.gov/usao-sd/civil-rights मा उपलब्ध भएको उजुिी फािाम पूिा गिे ि https://civilrights.justice.gov/report/ मा िा दक्षिण डाकोटा प्जल्लाको अमेरिकी अधधिक्ता कायाुलयमा गई नागरिक अधधकािका सम्भावित उल्लङ्घनहरूका बािेमा रिपोटु गनु सक्नुहु न्छ।

Примечание: Настоящий пресс-релиз переведен на разные языки. См. приложения ниже.

ВАШИНГТОН — Сегодня Министерство юстиции объявило о завершении проверки соблюдения гражданских прав в Единой судебной системе Южной Дакоты (UJS), которая улучшит доступ к судам штата для лиц с ограниченным знанием английского языка (LEP). 

Проверка Министерства юстиции началась после получения жалобы от организации East River Legal Services, в которой утверждалось, что суды UJS дискриминировали пользователей судов по признаку их национального происхождения в нарушение Раздела VI «Закона о гражданских правах» 1964 года. Раздел VI запрещает получателям федеральной финансовой помощи дискриминацию по признаку расы, цвета кожи или национального происхождения. Проверка, проведенная министерством, выявила языковые барьеры и более высокие судебные издержки в UJS, которые затрудняли участие лиц с LEP в гражданских делах и судебных разбирательствах штата. 

«Суды штатов имеют основополагающее значение для целостности нашей системы правосудия, и важно устранить любые препятствия, мешающие людям получить доступ к этим учреждениям, — заявила помощник генерального прокурора Кристен Кларк из Отдела гражданских прав Министерства юстиции. — Мы продолжим работать с судами штатов над устранением языковых барьеров, которые препятствуют доступу к правосудию и нарушают федеральный закон о гражданских правах. Мы благодарим Единую судебную систему Южной Дакоты за совместную работу с Министерством юстиции по разрешению этого вопроса и принятие оперативных мер для обеспечения того, чтобы все пользователи судов могли понимать дела и участвовать в их рассмотрении, независимо от их знания английского языка». 

В ответ на проверку министерства UJS внесла в законодательный орган штата законопроект о расширении доступа к судебным устным и письменным переводчикам для лиц с LEP по всем гражданским делам. Закон вступил в силу 1 июля. Для реализации нового закона UJS предусмотрела в своем бюджете дополнительное финансирование для предоставления бесплатных услуг устного переводчика сторонам и свидетелям с LEP. Кроме того, UJS обновила планы по преодолению языкового барьера для всех судебных округов штата, назначила координатора по преодолению языкового барьера и создала процесс рассмотрения жалоб на наличие языкового барьера. Координатор и процедуры подачи жалоб помогут гарантировать, что отдельные лица смогут предоставлятьобратную связь UJS. UJS также согласилась продолжить работу с министерством для повышения уровня справедливости и недискриминационного доступа к судам для лиц с LEP. 

Это дело расследовали совместно юристы Отдела гражданских прав и Прокуратуры США по округу Южная Дакота. Обеспечение соблюдения Раздела VI является высшим приоритетом Отдела гражданских прав. Дополнительная информация об Отделе гражданских прав доступна на его веб-сайте по адресу: www.justice.gov/crt, а информация об ограниченном знании английского языка и Разделе VI доступна по адресу: www.lep.gov. Представители общественности могут сообщать о возможных нарушениях гражданских прав по адресу: https://civilrights.justice.gov/report/ или в Прокуратуру США по округу Южная Дакота, заполнив форму жалобы, доступную по адресу: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sd/civil-rights. 

Note : Ce communiqué de presse a été traduit en plusieurs langues. Voir les pièces jointes ci-dessous.

WASHINGTON – Aujourd'hui, le ministère de la Justice a annoncé qu'il avait résolu un examen des droits civils du système judiciaire unifié du Dakota du Sud (UJS, United Judicial System) qui améliorera l'accès aux tribunaux de l'État pour les personnes ayant une compétence limitée en anglais (LEP, Limited English Proficiency).

L'examen du ministère de la Justice a débuté après la réception d'une plainte d'East River Legal Services alléguant que les tribunaux de l'UJS pratiquaient une discrimination à l'encontre des usagers siglés LEP dans les tribunaux en raison de leur origine nationale, en violation du Titre VI de la loi sur les droits civils de 1964. Le Titre VI interdit de pratiquer une discrimination fondée sur la race, la couleur ou l'origine nationale à l’encontre des bénéficiaires d'une aide financière fédérale.  L'examen du ministère a mis en évidence des barrières linguistiques et des frais de justice plus élevés au sein de l'UJS qui rendaient difficile la participation des personnes siglées LEP aux affaires et procédures civiles de l'État.

« Les tribunaux d'État sont fondamentaux pour l'intégrité de notre système judiciaire et il est important que toute barrière qui empêche les individus d'accéder à ces institutions soit supprimée », a déclaré l'assistante du procureur général Kristen Clarke, de la division des droits civils du ministère de la Justice. « Nous continuerons à travailler avec les tribunaux d'État pour supprimer les barrières linguistiques qui empêchent l'accès à la justice et violent la loi fédérale sur les droits civils. Nous remercions le système judiciaire unifié du Dakota du Sud d'avoir coopéré avec le ministère de la Justice pour résoudre ce problème et d'avoir pris rapidement des mesures pour faire en sorte que tous les usagers des tribunaux puissent comprendre et participer aux affaires, quelles que soient leurs compétences linguistiques en anglais. »

En réponse à l'examen du ministère, l'UJS a présenté un projet de loi à l'assemblée législative de l'État afin d'élargir l'accès aux interprètes et traducteurs judiciaires pour les personnes siglées LEP dans toutes les affaires civiles. La loi est entrée en vigueur le 1er juillet. Pour mettre en œuvre la nouvelle loi, l'UJS a obtenu des fonds supplémentaires dans son budget pour fournir des services d'interprétation sans frais aux parties et témoins siglés LEP. En outre, l'UJS a mis à jour les plans d'accès linguistique pour tous les circuits judiciaires de l'État, a nommé un coordinateur d'accès linguistique et a créé une procédure de plainte pour l'accès linguistique. Le coordinateur et les procédures de plainte contribueront à garantir que les personnes puissent fournir un retour d'information à l'UJS. L'UJS a également accepté de continuer à travailler avec le ministère pour améliorer l'équité et l'accès non discriminatoire aux tribunaux pour les personnes siglées LEP.

Cette affaire a fait l'objet d'une enquête conjointe des avocats de la division des droits civils et du bureau du procureur des États-Unis pour le district du Dakota du Sud. L'application du Titre VI est une priorité absolue de la division des droits civils. Des informations supplémentaires sur la division des droits civils sont disponibles sur son site à l'adresse www.justice.gov/crt, et des informations sur la compétence limitée en anglais et le Titre VI sont disponibles à l'adresse www.lep.gov. Les membres du public peuvent signaler d'éventuelles violations des droits civils à l'adresse https://civilrights.justice.gov/report/  ou au bureau du procureur des États-Unis pour le district du Dakota du Sud en remplissant le formulaire de plainte disponible à l'adresse https://www.justice.gov/usao-sd/civil-rights. 

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

The Justice Department announced it resolved a civil rights review of the South Dakota Unified Judicial System (UJS) that will improve access to state courts for people with limited English proficiency (LEP).

The Justice Department’s review began after it received a complaint from East River Legal Services alleging that UJS courts discriminated against LEP court users based on their national origin in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VI prohibits recipients of federal financial assistance from discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin. The department’s review uncovered language barriers and higher court costs within the UJS that made it difficult for LEP individuals to participate in state civil cases and proceedings.

“State courts are fundamental to the integrity of our justice system and it is important that any barriers that prevent individuals from accessing these institutions be removed,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We will continue to work with state courts to remove language barriers that deny access to justice and violate federal civil rights law. We thank the South Dakota Unified Judicial System for working cooperatively with the Justice Department to resolve this matter and taking prompt action to ensure that all court users can understand and participate in cases, regardless of their English language ability.”

In response to the department’s review, UJS introduced a bill in the state legislature to expand access to court interpreters and translators for LEP individuals in all civil cases. The legislation became law on July 1. To implement the new law, UJS secured additional funding in its budget to provide interpreter services at no cost to LEP parties and witnesses. Additionally, UJS has updated the language access plans for all state judicial circuits, appointed a language access coordinator and created a language access complaint process. The coordinator and complaint procedures will help ensure that individuals can provide feedback to UJS. UJS has also agreed to continue working with the department to improve fairness and nondiscriminatory access to the courts for LEP individuals. 

This case was jointly investigated by attorneys in the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota. Enforcement of Title VI is a top priority of the Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt, and information about limited English proficiency and Title VI is available at www.lep.gov. Members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at https://civilrights.justice.gov/report/ or with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota by completing the complaint form available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sd/civil-rights.

The Justice Department joins law enforcement partners, victim services professionals, advocates and communities across the country in observing October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and announces more than $476 million in Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) grants. The funding supports projects that meaningfully address the needs of underserved and marginalized survivors, improve access to justice, enhance survivor safety, hold accountable those who have caused harm, and provide training and technical assistance to an array of professionals and systems working to address sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking in every state and territory, as well as dozens of tribal communities.

“Domestic Violence Awareness Month is a sobering reminder of the harm domestic violence inflicts across our country, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic means that for many survivors, abuse may be compounded by being isolated with an abuser, loss of income and stress over the virus itself,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “These OVW grants will provide local organizations with resources to support survivors as they heal, promote victim access to justice, and further local, state and tribal training efforts to best prepare officials to respond to these dangerous calls.”

“The grant awards we make this year will not only touch the lives of millions of survivors of domestic violence, but also help our nation prevent and end sexual assault and stalking,” said Acting Director Allison Randall of OVW. “OVW is proud to be the leading federal voice in the country’s fight against these devastating crimes. Grant awards announced today will fund victim services, culturally specific responses, legal assistance, law enforcement and prosecution services, and court practices, as well as training and technical assistance to an array of professionals who help survivors every day.”

In addition to administering grant funding, the department is combating domestic and sexual violence in local and tribal communities on other fronts. The department has outlined a comprehensive strategy to address violent crime, which asked U.S. Attorneys to evaluate the current drivers of violent crime in their regions, including domestic violence, and to develop strategies to address these drivers. OVW’s announcement today of over $476 million in grants is a key part of that strategy. In addition, on Sept. 20, the department’s Office of Justice Programs announced more than $1.2 billion in Fiscal Year 2021 Victims of Crime Act funding.

In his Domestic Violence Awareness Month proclamation, President Joseph R. Biden, the original author of the Violence Against Women Act, called on all Americans to reaffirm their commitment to ending this violence, and in his Fiscal Year 2022 budget, proposed a historic $1 billion for grant programs administered by OVW.

Funds being awarded this year by OVW formula grant programs include:

Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors (STOP) Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program: $153.1 million awarded to all states and territories to support communities, including American Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages, in their efforts to develop and strengthen effective responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. The STOP Formula Grant Program – authorized by the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and subsequent legislation – requires that 30% of funds be allocated for victim services, of which at least 10% must be distributed to culturally specific, community-based organizations. No less than 25% of a state’s formula funding must be allocated for law enforcement, 25% for prosecution and 5% to courts.

Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP) Formula Grant Programs: $28.2 million awarded to states and territories for direct intervention and related assistance for victims of sexual assault. The SASP Formula Grant Program directs grant dollars to states and territories to assist them in supporting rape crisis centers and other nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations or tribal programs that provide services, direct intervention and related assistance to victims of sexual assault. Funds provided through SASP are designed to supplement other funding sources directed at addressing sexual assault on the state and territorial level.

State and Territorial Coalitions Program: $15.1 million awarded to fund 87 state and territorial domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions (determined by the Department of Health and Human Services) to coordinate victim services activities. These coalitions support member rape crisis centers, domestic violence shelters and other victim service providers through funding, training and technical assistance, public awareness activities, and public policy advocacy.

Tribal Coalitions Program: $6.1 million awarded to support 18 nonprofit, nongovernmental tribal domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions. Tribal coalitions provide education, support and technical assistance to tribal victim service providers and tribes to enhance their response to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking and sex trafficking.

For more information about these grants, please see OVW’s Formula Grant Programs fact sheet.

OVW discretionary program funding for 2021 includes:

Legal Assistance for Victims: $35.8 million awarded to 59 projects to provide a range of services, including legal assistance for victims and the implementation, expansion and establishment of efforts and projects to provide competent, supervised pro bono legal assistance for victims. See the Legal Assistance for Victims Program fact sheet.

Transitional Housing: $35.3 million awarded to 68 programs to support funding for: the operating expenses of newly developed or existing transitional housing programs; short-term housing assistance, including rental or utilities payments assistance and assistance with related expenses; and voluntary services designed to enable a minor, an adult, or a dependent of such minor or adult, who is fleeing a situation of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence or stalking, to locate and secure permanent housing, secure employment (including obtaining employment counseling, occupational training, job retention counseling and counseling concerning re-entry into the workforce), and integrate into a community by providing that minor, adult, or dependent with services such as transportation, counseling, child care services, case management and other assistance. See the Transitional Housing fact sheet.

Rural Program: $34.6 million awarded to 46 programs to identify, assess and appropriately respond to child, youth and adult victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking in rural communities by encouraging collaboration among service providers, criminal justice service providers, human and community service providers, educational institutions, and health care providers; establish and expand nonprofit, nongovernmental, state, tribal, territorial and local government victim services in rural communities; and increase the safety and wellbeing of women and children in rural communities. See the Rural Program fact sheet.

Grants to Tribal Governments: $32.4 million awarded to 40 programs for a wide range of support, including: increasing tribal capacity to respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking and stalking crimes against American Indian and Alaska Native women; strengthening tribal justice interventions; enhancing victim services; providing transitional housing for victims, including rental or utilities payment assistance and assistance with related expenses and support services, to enable victims to locate and secure permanent housing and integrate into a community; and developing, strengthening and implementing policies, protocols and training for law enforcement regarding cases of missing or murdered Indians. See the Tribal Governments Program fact sheet.

Improving Criminal Justice Responses: $30.8 million awarded to 41 programs that address a wide range of support across the criminal justice system so that domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking are treated as serious violations of criminal law requiring the coordinated involvement of the entire criminal justice system and partnerships with victim service providers. See the Improving Criminal Justice Responses Program fact sheet.

Campus Program: $16.2 million awarded to 52 programs to support a wide range of  projects that develop a comprehensive coordinated community approach to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking on campuses that enhances victim safety, provides services and support for victims, and supports efforts to hold offenders accountable. See the Campus Program fact sheet.

Justice for Families: $13.6 million awarded to 24 projects to improve the response of the civil and criminal justice systems to families with a history of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking, or in cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse, including by supporting court-based programs, supervised visitation and safe exchange of children, training for court personnel, and civil legal services. See the Justice for Families Program fact sheet.

Consolidated Youth and Engaging Men: $9 million awarded to 20 programs to provide services and training to address the needs of children and youth impacted by domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking; and engage men to prevent violence against women and girls. See the Consolidated Youth and Engaging Men Program fact sheet.

Culturally Specific Services: $6.8 million awarded to 23 projects to increase communities’ capacity to provide culturally specific resources and support for victims; provide culturally specific resources and services that address the safety, economic, housing and workplace needs of victims; provide training for law enforcement, prosecution, courts, probation and correctional facilities on culturally specific responses; and examine the dynamics of culture and its impact on victimization and healing. See the Culturally Specific Services fact sheet.

Underserved Program: $4.9 million awarded to 11 programs to develop or enhance services for populations or implement outreach strategies targeted at adult or youth victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking in underserved populations, who often face challenges in accessing victim services that are accessible, culturally relevant, and responsive to their needs. See the Underserved Program fact sheet.

Disabilities Program: $4.1 million awarded to 10 programs to provide a range of resources including personnel, training, technical assistance, advocacy, intervention, risk reduction and prevention to disabled victims, and to develop model programs. See the Disability Grant Program fact sheet.

Sexual Assault Services Culturally Specific Program: $4 million awarded to 14 programs to create, maintain and expand sustainable sexual assault services provided by organizations that are uniquely situated to respond to the needs of sexual assault victims from culturally specific populations. See the Sexual Assault Services Culturally Specific Program fact sheet.

Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program: $3.8 million awarded to 10 programs to support the establishment, maintenance and expansion of programs and projects within Indian country and Alaska Native villages to assist those victimized by sexual assault. See the Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program fact sheet.

Research and Evaluation Initiative: $2.3 million awarded to seven projects on a range of topics including measuring effectiveness of a wide breadth of funded activities, including victim services, policing, prosecution and court responses. See the Research and Evaluation Initiative Solicitation.

Abuse in Later Life: $1.4 million awarded to four programs to provide training, establish and support multidisciplinary collaborative community responses, provide and enhance services for victims, and conduct outreach and awareness campaigns to support projects that provide a comprehensive approach to addressing elder abuse. See the Abuse in Later Life Program fact sheet.

National Tribal Clearinghouse on Sexual Assault: $1 million awarded to one program to establish, sustain and expand a repository that provides resources, training opportunities, educational materials and technical assistance on issues relating to sexual assault of American Indian and Alaska Native women.

Resource Center on Workplace Responses to Assist Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence Program: $1 million awarded to one program to manage the National Resource Center on Workplace Responses, which provides information, resources, tools and technical assistance to employers and labor organizations to better equip them to respond to victims. These efforts address the needs of employees in cases of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking impacting the workplace.

Special Domestic Violence Jurisdiction Program: $733,691 awarded to two programs to assist Indian tribes in planning, implementing and exercising “special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction” to hold accountable non-Indians who commit crimes of domestic violence or dating violence or violate certain protection orders in Indian country. For more information, see the Tribal Jurisdiction Program fact sheet.

Training and Technical Assistance Program: $36.2 million awarded to 65 programs that provide training, expertise and problem-solving strategies to meet the challenges of addressing sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. Technical assistance projects offer in-person and online educational opportunities, peer-to-peer consultations, on-site technical assistance, and tailored assistance for OVW grantees and potential grantees. In more limited circumstances, OVW's technical assistance projects offer technical assistance to a small number of pilot sites as part of demonstration initiatives or assessments of newly developed training curricula or tools. For more information, please visit OVW’s Training and Technical Assistance website.

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About the Office on Violence Against Women

The Office on Violence Against Women provides leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to reduce violence through the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act and subsequent legislation. Created in 1995, OVW administers financial and technical assistance to communities across the country that are developing programs, policies and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. In addition to overseeing federal grant programs, OVW undertakes initiatives in response to special needs identified by communities facing acute challenges. Learn more at www.justice.gov/ovw. To sign up for OVW alerts visit this webpage or follow OVW on Twitter @OVWJustice.

Kumbuka: Taarifa hii kwa vyombo vya habari imetafsiriwa katika lugha mbalimbali. Angalia viambatisho vilivyo hapa chini. 

WASHINGTON – Leo hii Idara ya Sheria imetangaza kwamba imetatua ukaguzi wa haki za kiraia za Mfumo wa Mahakama wa Umoja wa Dakato Kusini (UJS) ambao utawasaidia watu wenye ujuzi finyu wa Kiingereza (LEP) ili waweze kuwasiliana katika mahakama ya jimbo. 

Ukaguzi wa Idara ya Sheria ulianza baada ya kupokea malalamiko kutoka kwa Huduma za Kisheria za East River ikidai kwamba mahakama za UJS ziliwabagua wafanyakazi wa mahakama wenye ujuzi finyu wa Kiingereza (LEP) kulingana na asili yao ya kitaifa ambayo ni kinyume cha Sehemu ya VI ya Sheria ya Haki za Kiraia ya 1964. Sehemu ya VI inakataza wanaopokea usaidizi wa kifedha wa serikali kuwabagua watu kwa sababu ya mbari, rangi au asili yao ya kitaifa. Ukaguzi wa idara ulitambua kwamba vizuizi vya lugha na gharama kubwa kwa mahakama ya UJS zinawazuia watu wenye ujuzi finyu wa Kiingereza yani LEP kushiriki katika kesi za kiraia na mashtaka. 

“Mahakama ya jimbo ni msingi wa uadilifu wa mfumo wetu wa haki na ni muhimu kwamba vikwazo vyovyote vinavyowazuia watu kufikia taasisi hizi viondolewe,” alisema Msaidizi wa Mwanasheria Mkuu Kristen Clarke wa Idara ya Sheria Kitengo cha Haki za Kiraia. “Tutaendelea kushirikiana na mahakama za jimbo ili tuondoe vizuizi vya lugha vinavyowazuia watu kupata haki na vinavyokiuka sheria ya haki za kiraia ya serikali. Tunashukuru Mfumo wa Mahakama ya Umoja wa Dakota Kusini kwa kushirikiana na Idara ya Sheria ili kutatua jambo hili na kuchukua hatua ya haraka ya kuhakikisha kwamba wafanyakazi wote wa mahakama wanaweza kuelewa na kushiriki katika kesi, bila kujali uwezo wao wa kuzungumza na kuandika Lugha ya Kiingereza.”

Kwa sababu ya ukaguzi wa idara, UJS ilianzisha mswada katika bunge la jimbo wa kuongeza wakalimani na watafsiri kwa ajili ya watu wenye ujuzi finyu wa Kiingereza yani LEP katika kesi zote za kiraia. Sheria hiyo iliyotungwa ilikuwa sheria mnamo Julai tarehe 1. Kwa ajili ya kutekeleza sheria hiyo mpya, UJS ilipata fedha za ziada katika bajeti yake za kutoa huduma za wakalimani za bure kwa watu na mashahidi wenye ujuzi finyu wa Kiingereza yani LEP. Isitoshe, UJS imesasisha mipango ya kupata huduma za lugha kwa ajili ya safari zote za kutembelea mahakama za jimbo, imeteua mratibu wa kupata huduma za lugha na imeunda mchakato wa malalamiko ya kupata huduma za lugha. Mratibu na taratibu za malalamiko zitasaidia katika kuhakikisha kwamba watu wanaweza kutoa maoni kwa UJS. UJS pia imekubali kuendelea kushirikiana na idara ili iendeleze haki na kutowabagua watu wenye ujuzi finyu wa Kiingereza yani LEP katika kufikia mahakama.

Kesi hii ilichunguzwa na mawakili wa Kitengo cha Haki za Kiraia pamoja na Ofisi ya Wakili wa Marekani wa Wilaya ya Dakota Kusini. Utekelezaji wa Sehemu ya VI ni muhimu sana kwa Kitengo cha Haki za Kiraia. Taarifa ya ziada kuhusu Kitengo cha Haki za Kiraia inapatikana kwenye tovuti yake www.justice.gov/crt, na taarifa kuhusu ujuzi finyu wa Kiingereza na Sehemu ya VI inapatikana kwenye www.lep.gov. Watu wanaweza kuripoti mambo yanayoweza kuwa ukiukaji wa haki za kiraia kwenye https://civilrights.justice.gov/report/ au kwa Ofisi ya Wakili wa Marekani wa Wilaya ya Dakota Kusini kwa kujaza fomu ya malalamiko inayopatikana kwenye https://www.justice.gov/usao-sd/civil-rights. 

A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment today charging a former Tennessee supervisory corrections officer with federal civil rights and obstruction offenses. The defendant is charged with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law for using unlawful force on an inmate; one count for being deliberately indifferent to the inmate’s medical needs; and one count of obstructing justice. 

The indictment alleges that, on Aug. 30, 2019, Kenan Lister, 42, assaulted an inmate in a holding cell at the Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility in Hartsville, Tennessee. At the time, Lister was on duty as the prison’s security threat group coordinator. The indictment alleges that, while the inmate was sitting in a holding cell and not resisting, Lister punched the inmate in the head, knocking him to the ground, and then kicked, punched and struck the inmate multiple times in his head, chest and torso after he was on the ground. The inmate sustained bodily injury as a result of the assault. Despite Lister’s knowledge that the inmate needed medical attention, Lister failed to provide medical care or to make the necessary notifications to get the inmate medical care. Lister then obstructed justice by submitting a false report that omitted his use of force entirely.

If convicted, Lister faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the civil rights charges and up to 20 years in prison for the obstruction charge, as well as a maximum of three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Mary Jane Stewart for the Middle District of Tennessee made the announcement.

The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Beth Myers of the Middle District of Tennessee and Trial Attorney Michael J. Songer of the Civil Rights Division.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.