Showing posts with label DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. Show all posts

Friday, September 6, 2013

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE EMPLOYEES AND DOCTORS ARRESTED IN WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD CASE

FROM:  U.S. POSTAL SERVICE 
Date: September 5, 2013
ARREST AND INDICTMENT OF TEN CURRENT AND FORMER 
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE EMPLOYEES AND TWO DOCTORS FOR WORKERS’ COMPENSATION FRAUD 

Defendants face a combined forfeiture allegation of over $620,000.00
SAN JUAN, P.R. - On August 30, 2013 a Federal Grand Jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned twelve separate Indictments charging ten current and former U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employees and two doctors, Luis E. Faura-Clavell and Alfonso A. Madrid-Guzmán, with fraud associated with Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). This program provides wage loss and medical benefits to employees who have become injured in the course of their official capacity within the USPS and are unable to work due to disability, announced United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez Vélez.
A two year investigation led by the USPS-Office of Inspector General (OIG), with assistance from the FBI, Social Security Administration-OIG, Health and Human Services-OIG, the DOL-OIG and the Puerto Rico Police Department targeted fraud associated with OWCP claims.
Postal Service employees are covered by the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA), which provides tax-free benefits to civilian federal employees who sustain injuries or anoccupational disease as a result of their employment. Postal employees can receive up to 75
percent if there is at least one dependent. The Postal Service is the largest FECA participant, paying more than $1 billion in benefits and $60 million in administrative fees annually.
Pursuant to OWCP guidelines, a claimant must prove that he or she is disabled by furnishing medical documentation and other evidence with their work related claim. The employee’s claim and supporting medical evidence is then evaluated by the OWCP to determine the claimant’s medical impairments and the effect of the impairment on the claimant’s ability to work on a sustained basis. Employees and Two Doctors for Workers’ Compensation Fraud

Saturday, July 28, 2012

BAIL BONDSMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO BRIBING PUBLIC OFFICIALS

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Portsmouth, Va., Bail Bondsman Pleads Guilty to Bribing Public Officials

A bail bondsman in Portsmouth, Va., pleaded guilty today in the Eastern District of Virginia for bribing public officials in exchange for receiving favorable treatment, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today.

Ulysses "Tugger" Stephenson, 52, of Portsmouth, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bradford Stillman. The sentencing is scheduled in front of U.S. District Judge Rebecca Smith on Nov. 2, 2012.

Stephenson was charged in a criminal information filed on July 9, 2012, with one count of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery and one count of federal programs bribery. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for the conspiracy, and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for the bribery.

According to a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Stephenson earned money by charging arrestees a percentage of the amount of bond set by a magistrate. Thus, the larger the bond amount set, and the more arrestees that were referred to him as prospective clients, the more money Stephenson would earn. To obtain additional clients and therefore maximize his profits, Stephenson gave cash and gifts to Deborah Clark—a local magistrate who pleaded guilty to federal programs bribery on May 2, 2012—in exchange for her referring arrestees as prospective clients and seeking and accepting Stephenson’s advice on the amount of bond to set in particular cases. During this time period, Stephenson gave up to $150 per month to Clark, as well as expense money for trips and numerous cash payments for gas and meals. Additionally, in exchange for referrals, Stephenson made cash payments to an officer in the Portsmouth Sheriff’s Office. From January 2009 through July 2010, he paid that officer up to $150 per week.

Stephenson is subject to prosecution for bribery under a federal statute because the two people he bribed were agents of an organization or state receiving annual benefits in excess of $10,000 under federal programs involving grants and other forms of assistance.

This case was investigated by the FBI. Trial Attorneys Peter Mason and Monique Abrishami of the Public Integrity Section in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan M. Salsbury and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Cross of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

HOME CONSTRUCTION COMPANY RESOLVES CLEAN WATER ACT ALLEGED VIOLAIONS


FROM:  U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Home-builder Toll Brothers Inc. to Pay $741,000 Clean Water Act Penalty and Implement Company-Wide Stormwater Controls 
Settlement to prevent millions of pounds of sediment and polluted stormwater runoff from entering U.S. waterways each year
WASHINGTON –The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Toll Brothers Inc., one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, will pay a civil penalty of $741,000 to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations at its construction sites, including sites located in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Toll Brothers will also invest in a company-wide stormwater compliance program to improve employee training and increase management oversight at all current and future residential construction sites across the nation. The company is required to inspect its current and future construction sites routinely to minimize stormwater runoff from sites. Polluted stormwater runoff and sediment from construction sites can flow directly into the nearest waterway, affecting drinking water quality and damaging valuable aquatic habitats.

“Keeping contaminated stormwater runoff out of the nation’s waterways, like the Chesapeake Bay, is one of EPA’s top priorities,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance and Assurance. “Today’s settlement will improve oversight of stormwater runoff at construction sites across the country and protect America’s waters.”

“This settlement will help protect the nation’s waters from the harmful pollutants contained in stormwater runoff from construction sites,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “The settlement requires Toll Brothers to implement system-wide management controls and training that will help prevent polluted stormwater runoff from contaminating rivers, lakes and sources of drinking water.”

EPA estimates the settlement will prevent millions of pounds of sediment from entering U.S. waterways every year, including sediment that would otherwise enter the Chesapeake Bay, North America’s largest and most biologically diverse estuary. The bay and its tidal tributaries are threatened by pollution from a variety of sources and are overburdened with nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment that can be carried by stormwater.

The complaint, filed simultaneously with the settlement agreement, alleges over 600 stormwater violations that were discovered through site inspections and by reviewing documentation submitted by Toll Brothers. The majority of the alleged violations involve Toll Brothers’ repeated failures to comply with permit requirements at its construction sites, including requirements to install and maintain adequate stormwater pollution controls.

The Clean Water Act requires permits for the discharge of stormwater runoff. In general, Toll Brothers’ permits require that construction sites have controls in place to prevent pollution from being discharged with stormwater into nearby waterways. These controls include common-sense safeguards such as silt fences, phased site grading and sediment basins to prevent construction contaminants from entering the nation’s waterways.

The settlement requires Toll Brothers to obtain all required permits, develop site-specific pollution prevention plans for each construction site, conduct additional site inspections beyond those required by stormwater regulations, and document and promptly correct any problems. The company must properly train construction managers and contractors on stormwater requirements and designate trained staff for each site. Toll Brothers must also submit national compliance summary reports to EPA based on management oversight inspections and reviews.

This settlement is the latest in a series of enforcement actions to address stormwater violations from residential construction sites around the country. Construction projects have a high potential for environmental harm because they disturb large areas of land and significantly increase the potential for erosion, and stormwater runoff from sites can pick up other pollutants, including concrete washout, paint, used oil, solvents and trash.

The state of Maryland and the commonwealth of Virginia have joined the settlement and will receive a portion of the $741,000 penalty. The settlement includes Toll Brothers sites in
Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court.

More information about this settlement: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/cwa/tollbrothers.html

Monday, May 7, 2012

ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER AT DETROIT NAACP CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION


FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 
Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Detroit NAACP Centennial Celebration 57th Annual Fight for Freedom DinnerDetroit ~ Sunday, May 6, 2012
Thank you, Reverend Anthony, for those kind words – and thank you all for the opportunity to take part in this momentous celebration.   It’s a pleasure to join Mayor Bing, along with Detroit’s hardworking Congressional delegation – Senator Levin, Senator Stabenow, Congressman Conyers, and Congressman Clarke – in marking the centennial of the largest – and one of the most accomplished – NAACP branches in the country.

I’d like to thank this branch’s leadership and membership – as well as tonight’s General Chairs and Co-Chairs – for all they’ve done to bring us together tonight.   And I’d particularly like to congratulate this year’s award recipients – Rhonda Walker, Nabih Ayad, Rachel Maddow, Maureen Taylor, and Reverend Dr. Julius Hope – on this prestigious, and well-deserved, recognition.

It’s a privilege to be back in the Motor City – and to bring greetings from President Obama.   This is an historic evening – an occasion to take pride in the legacy of achievement that has come to define and distinguish the work of the NAACP and, in particular, of its Detroit Branch.   But it’s also an important opportunity to take stock of what’s left to do – and to consider the challenges that lie before us.   So, as we come together to celebrate the power of individual voices, and the collective action – and nationwide progress – that a single person can help to inspire – let us also reflect on the responsibilities that each one of us shares – responsibilities to ourselves and each other, to our children, and to our predecessors – whose examples of courage – and commitment to collaboration – continue to show us the way forward.

Just over a century ago – at a time when segregation was the law of the land, and too many communities across our nation were gripped by fear and shattered by violence – a group of visionaries came together – driven by concern and frustration – to put forward a dream of hope for their own communities – and for all of their fellow citizens.

Since then, the NAACP has stood on the front lines of our nation’s fight to ensure security, opportunity, and justice – and equal treatment.   In a direct sense, this organization enabled many of the sweeping, transformative changes that shifted the course of the twentieth century – and paved the way for remarkable, once-unimaginable progress.   And since 1912 – when the Detroit Branch received its charter – there’s no question that this community has been at the center of these historic efforts.

When housing discrimination rocked the state of Michigan, it was the NAACP that stepped up and provided the funding to take this struggle to the court system – winning a major legal victory in 1925.

When the indignities of the unjust “separate but equal” doctrine could be tolerated no longer, it was the NAACP that shepherded a legal challenge all the way to the Supreme Court – and in 1954 helped secure the landmark Brown ruling.   That same year, the Detroit Branch obtained a decision in federal court that ended segregation in this city’s public housing system.

When pioneers like W.E.B. DuBois, Walter White, James Weldon Johnson, Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers – and a young Montgomery preacher named Martin Luther King, Jr. – raised their voices, and even risked their lives, in pursuit of a more perfect union, each of them found a position of leadership – and a community of committed partners – in the NAACP.

And when a bright young woman named Vivian Malone – who would later become my sister-in-law – set her sights on a quality college education, but was barred from enrolling in her state’s university because of her race, she came to the NAACP for advice as she mounted a legal challenge.   And in 1963 – with the support of the courts; with the help of my predecessor, Attorney General Robert Kennedy; and with the eyes of the nation upon her – she stepped past Governor George Wallace to integrate the University of Alabama.

Long before I married her sister, Vivian became that University’s first African-American graduate.   For the rest of her life, she fought for equal opportunity as a member of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and as an activist with the National Council of Negro Women and the NAACP.   Although she passed away several years ago – much too soon – her courage has inspired me since I was a young man, seeing the iconic news images of that infamous “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door” for the very first time.   And her example continues to guide me even today.

In fact, stories like Vivian’s – and landmark achievements like the ones this Branch has helped to bring about – were what drove me, as an aspiring attorney, to spend my first summer in law school working for the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund – where I had the chance to be part of a tradition of service that was established by legendary attorneys like Charles Hamilton Houston and Thurgood Marshall, and later strengthened by brilliant, dedicated leaders like my good friend John Payton.   Not long after, I launched my career in public service at the Department of Justice.

Today, I am humbled to be a direct beneficiary of the progress that the NAACP has made possible over the years.   And I’m honored to serve in the Administration of President Barack Obama, another direct beneficiary of this work.

Yet, despite the significant, once-unimaginable advances that have marked the century since this group convened its first meetings – not far from where we gather tonight, at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church – the unfortunate fact is that, in 2012, our nation’s long struggle to overcome injustice, to eliminate disparities, to bridge long-standing divisions, and to eradicate violence has not yet ended.

On the contrary – this work remains as important – and as urgent – as ever before.

Of course, you already know this.   You know that, in far too many American cities, there are neighborhoods where too many kids go to prison and too few go to college; where the doors to education and opportunity seem to be firmly closed; and where, for many young people, funerals are more common than weddings.   There are school districts where suspensions are disproportionately likely to be imposed on black students, Hispanic students, poor students, and students with special needs – increasing the chances that they’ll be involved with the juvenile justice system.

Fortunately, on each of these fronts, the Detroit NAACP has responded not with despair, but with resolve.   You are carrying on – and continuing to strengthen – the tradition of advocacy and empowerment that has become your hallmark.   You’re calling forth – and bringing out – the very best in this city’s residents.   You’re fighting to safeguard civil rights, to ensure embattled voting rights, and to expand learning and employment opportunities in every community.   And you’re working – on the streets as well as in the courts – to strengthen our criminal justice system, to achieve fairness in our immigration and sentencing policies, and to prevent and combat violence and crime – especially among our young people.

This is an issue that has – rightly – garnered significant national attention in recent months – as our nation has struggled to make sense of the tragic shooting death of a Florida teenager named Trayvon Martin.   As this case moves through the legal system, Justice Department officials will continue to communicate closely with state and local authorities to ensure that community concerns are heard, tensions are alleviated, and – as with every investigation at every level – appropriate actions are guided by the facts and the law.

But – as we all know – the reality is that certain aspects of this case are far from unique.   And incidents of violence involving young people are anything but rare.

Nationwide, homicide is the leading cause of death for black men between the ages of 15 and 24.  More than 60 percent of all young people are exposed to violence at some point in their lives, either as victims or as witnesses.   And one report even showed that – here in Detroit – an average of two young black men are killed every week – a murder rate nearly seven times higher than the population at large.

I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that this is shocking.   It is unacceptable.   And it’s why the leadership of organizations like the NAACP – and the engagement of activists throughout Detroit and across the country – remains as vital as ever.

It’s also why, under the Obama Administration, the Justice Department has made an unprecedented commitment to protecting the safety – and potential – of our children.   For the first time in history, we are directing significant resources for the express purpose of addressing childhood exposure to violence, raising awareness of its ramifications, and advancing scientific inquiry on its causes and characteristics.   Through our landmark Defending Childhood Initiative, which I launched in 2010 – and our National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, which is implementing an action plan right here in Detroit – we’re developing strategies for reducing violence and countering its negative impact.   And in six cities – including this one – an innovative pilot initiative known as “Strong Cities, Strong Communities” is allowing local leaders to leverage federal, state, local, business, and non-profit partnerships in order to enhance cooperation on a host of community-based efforts – including violence prevention.

I believe there’s good reason for optimism about where this work will lead us – and the progress that this type of collaboration has made possible.   And I’m pleased to report that a similar spirit of partnership – and a robust, Department-wide commitment to protecting the most vulnerable among us, confronting longstanding divisions, and overcoming persistent disparities – has infused the Administration’s endeavors on a range of critical areas.

Nowhere is this more clear than in the determined efforts of our Civil Rights Division.   As Attorney General, I have the great privilege – and the solemn duty – of enforcing many of the laws and reforms that the NAACP and other groups have fought, over the past century, to enact.  For the Department and our allies across the country, this work is among our highest priorities.  And I’m proud to say that our approach has never been more effective.

Over the past three years, the Department’s Civil Rights Division has filed more criminal civil rights cases than ever before, including record numbers of police misconduct, hate crimes, and human trafficking cases.   We’ve moved aggressively to combat continuing racial segregation in schools – and to eliminate discriminatory practices in our housing and lending markets.   We’ve taken decisive action to vigorously enforce the 1965 Voting Rights Act – our nation’s most important civil rights statute – by challenging attempts to disenfranchise many of our fellow citizens.    And we’ve reinvigorated sweeping efforts to ensure that, in our workplaces and military bases; in our housing and lending markets; in our schools and places of worship; in our immigrant communities and our voting booths – the rights of all Americans are protected.

Across the Administration, we’re working in a range of other innovative ways to achieve fairness and expand opportunity – from successfully advocating for the reduction of the unfair and unjust 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses – to launching a new, Department-wide Diversity Management Initiative.   And our determination to build on these efforts has, quite simply, never been stronger.

Of course, I cannot pretend that the road ahead will be an easy one.   And I recognize – and have seen firsthand – that doing what’s right may not always be the same as doing what’s popular.

But I firmly believe that each of us has the power – and the responsibility – to take up the unfinished struggle for equal opportunity and justice.   To rise to this moment of possibility – and seize our chance to protect and empower those who need our help most.

After all – if, as they say, what’s past is prologue – tonight’s celebration of your first 100 years should inspire a great deal of confidence about where the NAACP’s Detroit Branch will lead us over the next 100.

And, as we look toward the future we seek – and, together, must build – know that my colleagues and I at every level of the Justice Department are privileged to count you as partners.   Know that I am hopeful about all that we can – and will – achieve together.   And finally, know that I am honored to stand with you – tonight and always – in living out the spirit that inspired the creation of the NAACP – and that must always drive our pursuit of a more inclusive, more just, and more perfect union.  The creation of that better America is within our grasp.   If we commit ourselves, if we work together, if we remember the sacrifices of those who envisioned a better world – not for them, but for us – there is nothing we cannot accomplish.   So let us leave tonight secure in the knowledge that our destiny – our nation's destiny – will be determined primarily by the resolve and the vigor that we bring to this endeavor.   I look forward to working with all of you.

Thank you.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FINDS RELIEF FOR SERVICEMEMBERS WHO HAD CARS TOWED AND SOLD


FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Justice Department Settles Towing Company Case Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
The Justice Department announced that it had reached a settlement of alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) providing damages and credit repair to 26 servicemembers whose cars were towed and sold while they were on active duty without obtaining court orders as SCRA requires.   The settlement resolves allegations that B.C. Enterprises Inc., d/b/a Aristocrat Towing and Aristocrat Towing Inc. (collectively “Aristocrat Towing”), violated the SCRA when it towed and sold these servicemembers’ vehicles without obtaining court orders.   The case began with a referral from the U.S. Navy to the Justice Department after Navy Lieutenant Yahya Jaboori returned from deployment in Iraq to find that Aristocrat Towing had towed and sold his vehicle without a court order while he was deployed.

The SCRA protects the rights of servicemembers while on active duty in the military by suspending or modifying certain civil obligations.  Under the terms of the settlement, which must be approved by a federal court in Virginia, Aristocrat Towing must pay a total of $75,000 in damages and repair the credit of the identified aggrieved servicemembers.

“Servicemembers make great personal sacrifices.   We will ensure that the rights of the brave men and women who serve and protect us are protected at home,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas E. Perez.   “This settlement sends a strong message to businesses nationwide that the Justice Department will enforce the SCRA to protect against the taking of servicemembers’ property without first seeking court orders as is required by law.”

“No member of the military should come home from deployment to find their car has been towed and sold,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil MacBride. “Businesses should be aware of the many rights that SCRA gives to servicemembers and their families, and businesses should also be certain that we’ll work tirelessly to ensure that those rights are protected.”

This lawsuit, filed in 2008, was the first filed by the Civil Rights Division under the SCRA.   The Civil Rights Division received enforcement authority under the SCRA in 2006, and has since filed suit and entered into a number of settlements with defendants ranging from local landlords to the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers.

Servicemembers and their dependents who believe that their SCRA rights have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program office.

DOJ INVESTIGATES UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA, LOCAL POLICE AND PROSECUTOR REGARDING RESPONSES TO SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS


FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Justice Department Announces Investigations of the Handling of Sexual Assault Allegations by the University of Montana, the Missoula, Mont., Police Department and the Missoula County Attorney’s OfficeIn Light of at Least 80 Reported Rapes in Missoula in the Past Three Years, the Justice Department Will Investigate Responses to Sexual Assault Allegations

The Department of Justice today announced a series of investigations stemming from allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment at the University of Montana and in the greater Missoula, Mont., community.   These investigations will seek to determine whether gender discrimination affected the prevention, investigation and prosecution of sexual assaults and sexual harassment in Missoula.

The department has opened a Title IX compliance review and Title IV investigation regarding the University of Montana’s response to sexual assaults and sexual harassment of students.  Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 each prohibit sex discrimination, including sexual assault and sexual harassment, in education programs.  There have been at least 11 reported sexual assaults involving university students in an 18-month period.  The department will also coordinate with the Department of Education on a related sexual harassment complaint received by that department.

The Justice Department also announced today that it has opened a civil pattern or practice investigation into the University of Montana’s Office of Public Safety (OPS), the Missoula Police Department (MPD) and the Missoula County Attorney’s Office.  This investigation will focus on allegations that OPS, MPD and the Missoula County Attorney’s Office are failing to adequately investigate and prosecute alleged sexual assaults against women in Missoula, due to gender discrimination in violation of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 and the anti-discrimination provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968.  There have been at least 80 alleged rapes in Missoula in the past three years.  The investigation will look at assaults against all women in Missoula, not just university students.

Department officials met with city, police and university officials, who pledged their full cooperation with the investigations.
 
“The allegations that the University of Montana, the local police department and the County Attorney’s Office failed to adequately address sexual assaults are very disturbing,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “The department's pattern or practice authority enables us to ensure that law enforcement agencies are doing what is necessary to combat this despicable crime without discrimination, and we take that responsibility seriously.”

“Sexual assault and sexual harassment are intolerable; they undermine women’s basic rights and, when perpetrated against students, can negatively impact their ability to learn and continue their education,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.   “As we approach the 40th anniversary of Title IX this year, incidents of sexual assault on our college campuses remind us of the continuing critical importance of the law to reduce barriers in education. Our goal is to determine whether there are violations of federal law and if we find a problem, work cooperatively with the University of Montana and local law enforcement to ensure that all students and Missoula residents feel safe in their communities, regardless of sex.   We salute President Engstrom’s commitment to address these serious problems.”

“Colleges and universities have an obligation to stop and prevent sexual violence against their students, and law enforcement has a fundamental duty to ensure it is properly investigating and prosecuting crimes of sexual assault, whether they occur at the university or in the wider Missoula community,” said Michael W. Cotter , U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana.  “We look forward to working with the University of Montana and local law enforcement to ensure these vital obligations are met.”

The department previously found a pattern or practice of gender discrimination in the New Orleans Police Department.   Similarly, the department found problems of significant concern involving the handling of sex crimes in both the Puerto Rico Police Department and the Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff’s Office.

Attorneys from the Educational Opportunities Section and the Special Litigation Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana are jointly conducting this investigation.

Monday, April 30, 2012

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WARNING ABOUT BUYING MEDICATIONS ONLINE


FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
The Real Cost of Cheap Online Meds
April 26th, 2012 Posted by Tracy Russo
The following post appears courtesy of Stuart Delery, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
If you are like most people, you probably think intellectual property (IP) is an abstract business or legal concept that does not affect you. But if you are one of the estimated 36 million Americans — and growing — who purchase medication through online
pharmacies, IP may be protecting you from unknowingly gambling with your own health.
Online pharmacies are prolific. And appealing. For the many Americans who do not have health insurance or cannot afford certain medications, the Web seems to offer a cheaper alternative. Many of these sites are designed to appear legitimate, often featuring a picture of smiling pharmacist in a white lab coat or claiming to be based in Canada.

But these sites often are not what they seem. Neither are the drugs they sell.
The World Health Organization estimates that more than half of drugs sold online are counterfeit. This means that these drugs are designed and packaged to look exactly like medicine you know and trust — medicine which required years of research and development, went through a stringent approval process, and was manufactured by trained professionals. These counterfeit drugs lack those safeguards; they aren’t made in quality-controlled laboratories, but in hidden rooms with unsanitary conditions. In order to replicate the look of legitimate drugs, they bear shockingly sophisticated labels and packaging, down to the serial numbers on blister packs and holograms. If that seems like a lot of trouble to go through, one need only look at the revenue for counterfeit pharmaceuticals worldwide to understand why — fake drugs raked in an estimated $75 billion last year.

All of us are looking for quality medicines at a better price. But these counterfeit pharmaceutical websites are run by criminals who trade on your trust of approved medicines and the quality assurances you have come to expect from them.

Take the case of Hazim Gaber, who ran an online pharmacy selling a highly-sought after cancer drug, DCA. Or so his customers thought. The pills these cancer patients received in the mail contained nothing more than starch, dextrin and lactose. For good measure, each shipment included a fraudulent certificate of analysis from a fictitious laboratory.

The medicine Gaber sold was useless. But, more often, counterfeit medications are actually harmful. More typical of a hardware store than a pharmacy, these products often include chemicals you might not even want in your house, let alone your body — toxins like rat poison, highway paint, floor wax, and boric acid. As just one example, customers have received ‘Xanax’ pills containing a substance used to manufacture sheetrock.

IP protections are a critical tool in protecting Americans from this threat. IP is not simply about downloading music or billion dollar fights over microchips. It is about making sure what you buy is actually what it claims to be.

That is why the Department of Justice is working hard to fight these criminal counterfeiters. Established by Attorney General Holder, our department-wide IP Task Force is working to combat the growing number of IP crimes, strengthening IP protections through heightened civil and criminal enforcement, greater coordination with state and local law enforcement and, because we know we cannot fight this within our borders alone, increased focus on international enforcement efforts. As part of that initiative, within the Civil Division, we have formed a team of attorneys dedicated to handling counterfeit pharmaceutical cases, particularly those trafficked over the Internet. Working with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and many other partners, we are succeeding in safeguarding IP rights and protecting consumers’ safety.

And, thanks to the Department’s efforts, criminals like Gaber are off the Internet and behind bars.

Most importantly, we are working to educate consumers about how they can protect themselves. A recent study showed that fewer than 11% of online pharmacy sites ask for a prescription. Before you purchase any medicines online, make sure the site (1) requires a prescription; (2) provides its name and address; and (3) has a licensed pharmacist you can actually speak to. With your help, we can keep patients safe, protect legitimate businesses, and keep products like rat poison and highway paint where they belong – far away from our medicine cabinets.
Stuart F. Delery
Washington, D.C.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

McKESSON CORP PAYS OVER $190 MILLION TO SETTLE ALLEGATIONS OF INFLATING PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES


FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Thursday, April 26, 2012
McKesson Corp. Pays U.S. More Than $190 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations
McKesson Corporation has agreed to pay the United States more than $190 million to resolve claims that it violated the False Claims Act by reporting inflated pricing information for a large number of prescription drugs, causing Medicaid to overpay for those drugs.

Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division; New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman; and Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the settlement today.

The government alleges that McKesson, a large drug wholesaler, reported the inflated pricing data to First DataBank (FDB), a publisher of drug prices that are used by most state Medicaid programs to set payment rates for pharmaceuticals.

The Medicaid program is funded jointly by the federal and state governments.   This settlement resolves claims based on the federal share of Medicaid overpayments caused by McKesson’s conduct.   In addition to the $190 million – which represents the $187 million settlement and interest – state governments can separately negotiate with McKesson to resolve claims based on the states’ shares of the Medicaid overpayments.

The drug pricing data at issue here relates to the “Average Wholesale Price” (AWP) benchmark used by Medicaid and other programs to set payment rates for pharmaceuticals.   The settlement announced today is based on the United States’ allegations that McKesson reported inflated mark-up percentages to FDB for a wide variety of brand name drugs, causing FDB to publish inflated AWPs for those drugs.

To date, federal and state governments have recovered more than $2 billion from drug manufacturers that were alleged to have reported inflated AWP information to FDB and other publishers of drug prices.

“This case demonstrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to ensuring that Medicaid funds are expended appropriately,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Delery.   “Companies that report pricing data that affect government payment rates, whether those companies are manufacturers, wholesalers, or otherwise, are required to report that data accurately.”

“This is the latest example of a corporation’s intentionally manipulating the complicated system by which drug purchases are reimbursed,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman.  “We have no tolerance for those who take advantage of that system to bring in more business by falsely increasing reimbursements to retailers.”

“This settlement with McKesson highlights the Office of Inspector General’s commitment to protecting against artificially inflated drug prices,” said Inspector General Levinson.   “Our analyses of drug price reporting practices – including the use of ‘Average Wholesale Price’ – have consistently identified excessive Medicare and Medicaid payments resulting from these practices.”

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas O’Donnell of the New York Regional Office, for the investigation leading to today’s settlement.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Kriegsman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Division in Newark and Jeffrey A. Toll and Justin Draycott of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division.

McKesson does not admit to any liability regarding the claims settled by this agreement.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

DOJ FINDS PROBLEMS WITH JUVENILE COURT AND DETENTION CENTER IN SHELBY COUNTY TENNESSEE


FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Department of Justice Releases Investigative Findings on the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee First Investigative Findings Involving a Juvenile Justice System

Following a comprehensive investigation, the Justice Department today announced its findings regarding the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County (JCMSC), and the Shelby County Juvenile Detention Center in Tennessee.   The Justice Department found that the juvenile court fails to provide constitutionally required due process to all children appearing for delinquency proceedings, that the court’s administration of juvenile justice discriminates against African-American children, and that its detention center violates the substantive due process rights of detained youth by not providing them with reasonably safe conditions of confinement.   The investigation, opened in August 2009, was conducted under provision of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  

“This report is a step toward our goal of improving the juvenile court, increasing the public’s confidence in the juvenile justice system, and maintaining public safety,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.   “Upholding the constitutional rights of children appearing before the court is necessary to achieve these ends. The department will work with Memphis leadership to create a comprehensive blueprint that will create sustainable reforms in the juvenile justice system.”

“While the Civil Rights Division findings are serious and compelling, I am encouraged that the leadership and staff of the Juvenile Court of Memphis, Shelby County and the Shelby Juvenile Detention Center have demonstrated that they intend to take immediate action to remedy the various constitutional deficiencies identified,” said Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.  “Our central objective is to ensure that our juvenile justice system works and adequately protects the rights of all youths who come before juvenile court. We look forward to working together to reach this goal, and ultimately establishing a model juvenile court.”

In January 2010 and 2011, with the full cooperation of JCSMC Judge Curtis S. Person, Justice Department attorneys visited the court and detention center with consultants in the fields of juvenile representation, statistical analysis and juvenile protection from harm.   The Justice Department and consultants interviewed magistrates, probation counselors, attorneys, administrators and children appearing before the court on delinquency matters.   As part of the investigation, the department’s attorneys and consultants conducted an in-depth analysis of over 60,000 youth files and reviewed policies and procedures, recordings of hearings, court documents, case files, detention material and statistical data.  

The Justice Department found a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct in several areas, including:

·          Failure to provide timely and adequate notice of charges to children appearing on delinquency proceedings;
·          Failure to protect youth from self-incrimination during probation conferences;
·          Failure to hold timely probable cause hearings for youth arrested without a warrant;
·          Failure to provide adequate due process protections for children before transferring them to the adult criminal court;
·          The disparate treatment of African-American children; and
·          Failure to adequately protect detained youth from self-harm and unnecessary and excessive restraints.

The Justice Department has received extensive cooperation from Judge Person who encouraged court personnel to provide full access to the information necessary for our review.   Judge Person and his staff have made improvements since the department began its investigation and demonstrated a desire to continue in a collaborative manner to remedy the deficiencies within the juvenile court and its detention center.   The department welcomes this opportunity to continue working with Judge Person and the other stakeholders to improve the court’s services to those children appearing before it and housed in the detention center.

This investigation was conducted by the Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division.


Wednesday, April 25, 2012

MILITARY FLARE MAKER PAYS NEARLY $37 MILLION TO SETTLE FALSE CLAIMS ACT


FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Monday, April 23, 2012
Atk Launch Systems Inc. Settles False Claims Product Substitution Case for Nearly $37 Million Allegedly Delivered Unsafe Illuminating Para-flares Under Department of Defense Contracts

ATK Launch Systems Inc. has agreed to a $36,967,160 settlement with the United States to resolve allegations that ATK sold dangerous and defective illumination flares to the Army and the Air Force.   According to the government’s allegations, from 2000 to 2006, ATK delivered LUU-2 and LUU-19 illuminating para-flares to the Defense Department.   These flares, which burn in excess of 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit for over five minutes, are used for nighttime combat, covert and search and rescue operations and have been used extensively by American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan in the global war on terror.  The government alleged that the flares delivered by ATK were incapable of withstanding a 10-foot drop test without exploding or igniting, as required by specifications, and that ATK was aware of this when it submitted claims for payment.

ATK has agreed to pay the United States $21 million in cash and provide necessary in-kind services worth $15,967,160 to fix the 76,000 unsafe para-flares remaining in the government’s inventory.   The settlement resolves a False Claims Act suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah.

The lawsuit was initially filed by an ATK employee under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals, called “relators” to bring lawsuits on behalf of the United States and receiv e a portion of the proceeds of a settlement or judgment awarded against a defendant.

“Our men and women in combat deserve equipment that meets critical safety and performance requirements,” said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. “This case demonstrates that the Department of Justice will pursue cases where contractors knowingly provide defective equipment that puts the safety of American military service members at risk.”

“This settlement demonstrates our commitment to aggressively go after contractors who recklessly disregard and deliberately ignore critical safety defects in munitions used by America’s uniformed fighting men and women on the front lines of the war on terror,” said David B. Barlow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah.  “This office fully supported the federal investigators in their efforts to uncover these fraudulent claims and recover the ill-gotten gains for the American taxpayers.”

The investigation team, which was led by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, included the Air Force Office of Special Investigation, the Navy Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Army Criminal Investigative Command and auditors from the Defense Contract Audit Agency and the Defense Contract Management Agency.  Additional technical support was provided by the Army Research Laboratory in Aberdeen, Md., the Army Aviation and Missile Command in Huntsville, Ala., the Naval Sea Systems Command at Crane, Ind. and Portsmouth, R.I., the Defense Standardization Program Office at Fort Belvoir, Va., the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio and Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and the Army Materiel Command at Rock Island Arsenal, Ill.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

FOUR ALLEGED MEMBERS OF INTERNET GROUP "IMAGINE" INDITICTED


FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Four Alleged Members of the Internet Piracy Group “IMAGiNE” Indicted in Virginia
WASHINGTON – Four individuals have been charged in the Eastern District of Virginia for their alleged roles in an Internet piracy group that distributed via the Internet copies of movies showing only in theaters, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton announced today.

An indictment returned on April 18, 2012, and unsealed yesterday charges Jeramiah Perkins, 39, of Portsmouth, Va.; Gregory Cherwonik, 53, of New York; Willie Lambert, 57, of Pennsylvania; and Sean Lovelady, 27, of California; with one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and two counts of criminal copyright infringement.  Perkins, Cherwonik and Lambert are charged with two additional counts of criminal copyright infringement, and Perkins and Cherwonik are charged with a sixth count of criminal copyright infringement of a work being prepared for commercial distribution.

Perkins, Cherwonik and Lambert were arrested yesterday and Lovelady reported to authorities today.  The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on May 9, 2012.
“These four defendants are charged with serious intellectual property crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.  “Through IMAGiNE, they allegedly sought to become the leading source of pirated movies on the Internet.  This Justice Department, working with our partners at ICE, has made fighting intellectual property crime a top priority, and we will continue to bring cases against individuals and entities devoted to cheating consumers and undermining artistic pursuits.”

“Piracy is outright theft, regardless of the technology or business model used,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride.  “Large-scale copyright infringement is a serious crime that hurts not only those in the entertainment industry but also those who legally pay for that entertainment.”

“The indictment in this case demonstrates ICE Homeland Security Investigations’ commitment to identifying and dismantling pirates that are weakening our economy through their illegal acts,” said ICE Director Morton.  “Criminals engaged in piracy are stealing from the 2.4 million Americans employed by the entertainment industry.  ICE, along with our partners at the Justice Department, will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute cases involving piracy and counterfeiting.”

According to the indictment, the defendants and their co-conspirators identified themselves as the IMAGiNE Group and sought to become the premier group to first release Internet copies of new movies only showing in theaters.  From September 2009 until September 2011, they allegedly reproduced and distributed over the Internet tens of thousands of illegal copies of copyrighted works.  The indictment charges that the group regularly and illicitly obtained copies of the video and audio components of motion pictures showing in theaters and then edited and combined them into one infringing movie file, which thousands of members of the group shared with one another by use of BitTorrent file sharing technology and then released to the Internet.

The indictment alleges that the IMAGiNE Group rented computer servers to host websites that included member profiles, a server called a torrent tracker that assists in communications among members using BitTorrent file sharing technology, discussion forums, a message board and news, rules and other information about making donations to and using the website.

The maximum prison sentence for the charge of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and for each count of criminal copyright infringement is five years in prison.
Charges contained in an indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The investigation of the case and the arrests were conducted by agents with ICE Homeland Security Investigations.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Krask of the Eastern District of Virginia and Senior Counsel John H. Zacharia of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

This case is part of efforts being undertaken by the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property (IP Task Force) to stop the theft of intellectual property.  Attorney General Eric Holder created the IP Task Force to combat the growing number of domestic and international intellectual property crimes, protect the health and safety of American consumers, and safeguard the nation’s economic security against those who seek to profit illegally from American creativity, innovation and hard work.  The IP Task Force seeks to strengthen intellectual property rights protection through heightened criminal and civil enforcement, greater coordination among federal, state and local law enforcement partners, and increased focus on international enforcement efforts, including reinforcing relationships with key foreign partners and U.S. industry leaders

Monday, April 23, 2012

JUSTICE & EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS REACH SETTLEMENT WITH BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS OVER ELL STUDENTS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Monday, April 23, 2012
Departments of Justice and Education Reach Settlement with Boston Public Schools to Ensure Equal Opportunites for ELL Students
The Department of Justice and the Department of Education reached agreement with the Boston Public Schools (the district) and its superintendent today to ensure that English Language Learner (ELL) students in Boston receive the services and supports they need to overcome language barriers, as required by the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  This agreement replaces an interim settlement agreement entered on Oct. 1, 2010, which required the district to implement short-term remedies to ensure that thousands of students improperly excluded from the district’s ELL programs were promptly assessed and provided services.

The agreement reached today governs the district’s transition from these short-term remedies to longer-term policies and programs that expand the coverage of Boston’s ELL program and are designed to ensure that the services provided to ELL students are of high quality, delivered by qualified teachers and tailored to the specific needs of each individual student.   The agreement requires the district to continue its efforts to accurately identify and place ELL students, and further ensures that ELL students, who face unique challenges, including students with interrupted former education and students with disabilities, receive assessments and services that are specially designed to address and ameliorate those challenges.   The agreement also affords ELL students greater access to the higher-level learning opportunities in the district. To ensure these programmatic changes are effective, the agreement further requires the district to evaluate the effect of these changes on student achievement over time through robust, disaggregated data analyses.

“We applaud the Boston Public Schools for working collaboratively with the United States to develop a comprehensive plan to effectively serve all students who are not proficient in English,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.  “We believe this plan can guide other school districts seeking to ensure that its English Language Learner programs not only meet the requirements of federal law, but also empower English Language Learner students to strive for success in their education and lives.”  

“A key to success is access to a high quality education and today, the Boston Public Schools is promising to provide limited English proficient students an equal opportunity for success by giving them access to programs and services tailored to meet their needs, including access to accelerated programs,” said Russlynn Ali, Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education.   “The Department of Education is committed to working with the Boston School Committee as it implements this comprehensive plan.”  

“ Our education system must provide our children with opportunities to develop into productive citizens regardless of their proficiency in English.  When English language learners lack properly trained teachers, those opportunities are curtailed,” said U.S.  Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts.  “We share the goal of continued improvement to Massachusetts schools and look forward to the progress of this collaborative effort.”



Sunday, April 22, 2012

ALABAMA REAL ESTATE INVESTOR AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY TO CONSPIRACIES TO RIG BIDS AND COMMIT MAIL FRAUD FOR THE PURCHASE OF REAL ESTATE AT PUBLIC FORECLOSURE AUCTIONS


FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ANTITURST DIVISION
WASHINGTON — An Alabama real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty and to serve prison time for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in southern Alabama, the Department of Justice announced today. To date, as a result of the ongoing investigation, three individuals and one company have pleaded guilty.

Charges were filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama in Mobile, Ala., against Lawrence B. Stacy of Mobile. Stacy was charged with one count of bid rigging and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. According to the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, Stacy has agreed to serve six months in prison. Additionally, Stacy has agreed to pay a $10,000 criminal fine and to cooperate with the department's ongoing investigation.

According to court documents, Stacy conspired with others not to bid against one another at public real estate foreclosure auctions in southern Alabama. After a designated bidder bought a property at the public auctions, which typically take place at the county courthouse, the conspirators would generally hold a secret, second auction, at which each participant would bid the amount above the public auction price he or she was willing to pay. The highest bidder at the secret, second auction won the property.

Stacy was also charged with conspiring to use the U.S. mail to carry out a scheme to acquire title to rigged foreclosure properties sold at public auctions at artificially suppressed prices, to make and receive payoffs to co-conspirators and to cause financial institutions, homeowners and others with a legal interest in rigged foreclosure properties to receive less than the competitive price for the properties. Stacy participated in the bid-rigging and mail fraud conspiracies from at least as early as May 2002 until at least January 2007.

“The Antitrust Division will continue to pursue vigorously the perpetrators involved in these real estate foreclosure auction schemes,” said Sharis A. Pozen, Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “Those who eliminate competition from the marketplace and prey on the misfortune of others will be held accountable for their actions.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Mobile FBI office, Lewis M. Chapman recognized the perseverance of agents and prosecutors in this complex investigation. Chapman stated, “This investigation sends the message that real estate fraud including antitrust violations will continue to be pursued in these tough economic times, no matter how intricate the scheme.”

Each violation of the Sherman Act carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. The maximum fine for a Sherman Act charge may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victim if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine. Each count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine in an amount equal to the greatest of $250,000, twice the gross gain the conspirators derived from the crime or twice the gross loss caused to the victims of the crime by the conspirators.

Friday, April 20, 2012

DOJ VOLUNTEERS MARK EARTH DAY BY HELPING OUT AT MARVIN GAYE PARK


FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Friday, April 20, 2012
Department of Justice Volunteers Mark Earth Day with Community Service at Marvin Gaye Park
Marking the ninth annual Earth Day Service Celebration today, Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West and Assistant Attorney General Ignacia S. Moreno marked a day of service, commending volunteers from the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), Washington Parks & People and the DC Green Corps as they continue work on environmental restoration projects near the Community Greening Center in Marvin Gaye Park in Northeast Washington, D.C.
 
“As a nation, we have taken great strides since the first Earth Day more than 40 years ago, from the landmark environmental legislation of the 1970s to recent efforts to address greenhouse gas emissions,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West.  “The story of Marvin Gaye Park’s renewal is an inspiration.  Over the past decade, volunteers have removed countless tires and bags of garbage from this area, cleared and reopened miles of trail and streams, and planted thousands of native trees and shrubs.  Earth Day provides an opportunity for us to reflect on and celebrate this progress, but it also reminds us that there is much left to be done.”

In her remarks, Assistant Attorney General Moreno said:  “Today, on the second anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, we remember the 11 lives that were tragically lost.  We also are reminded that our natural resources are precious and that we must continue to protect these resources and the communities across the nation who rely on them for their livelihood.  The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously enforce the federal civil and criminal environmental and natural resources laws that protect our air, land and water from pollution and that preserve our natural resources for the use and enjoyment of generations to come.”

Assistant Attorney General Moreno also announced this morning the publication of ENRD’s Fiscal Year 2011 Accomplishments Report.  The full report, which details the division’s work across the nation during FY2011, is posted at www.justice.gov/enrd/Current_topics.html .  Among other things, the report details the civil and criminal enforcement of the nation’s environmental laws, resulting in immeasurable benefits for human health and the environment derived from significant reductions in emissions and discharges of harmful pollutants. Other results detailed in the report show:

·          Over $625 million in civil and stipulated penalties, cost recoveries, natural resource damages and other civil monetary relief, including almost $420 million recovered for the Superfund.

·          More than $10.9 billion in corrective measures through civil court orders and settlements – the highest injunctive relief in any fiscal year to date.

·          52 criminal cases against 77 defendants, obtaining nearly 53 years in confinement and over $31.2 million in criminal fines, restitution, community service funds and special assessments.

A core mission of the division is the strong enforcement of civil and criminal environmental laws to protect our nation’s air, land, water and natural resources.   The division’s mission also includes vigorous defense of environmental, wildlife and natural resources laws and agency actions; effective stewardship of our public lands and natural resources; and careful and respectful management of the United States’ obligations to American Indian tribes and their members, including litigation to protect tribal sovereignty, rights and resources.   Also in 2011, with colleagues in the Civil Division, ENRD attorneys continued to play an instrumental role in the litigation that followed the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

2012 will mark the ninth consecutive Earth Day service celebration at Marvin Gaye Park.   ENRD has devoted over 5,500 hours of employee time to planting trees, removing trash, laying sod and gardening.

“It's a real honor to have ENRD staff back again this year,” said Washington Parks & People Director Steve Coleman.   “Their inspiring dedication and hard work have helped these communities to create a beautiful lasting legacy of environmental reclamation, justice and opportunity for all in this stream valley.

The Community Greening Center is a neighborhood-based nursery for plants and trees as well as an environmental education resource center located near the intersection of 51st Street and Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave., N.E.   ENRD volunteers broke ground on the Greening Center last year together with Washington Parks & People and volunteers from the DC Green Corps.  This is the first native plant tree staging area in the city.

This year, ENRD volunteers were joined by graduates from the DC Green Corps urban forestry job training program.  Tree planting will take place at a nearby public housing complex and on a hillside in the stream valley.   Planting trees will provide shade for green space for residents and children who play in the area and more stormwater capture for the stream valley, which is part of the sub-watershed of the Anacostia River.   Volunteers will also be adding irrigation systems to the Community Greening Center.

The DC Green Corps, based at the Marvin Gaye Community Greening Center in the Watts Branch sub-watershed of the Anacostia River, will provide a city-wide gateway to 50 different green career tracks in urban and community forestry and forest-based ecosystem and watershed restoration.   Helping under-served sub-watershed communities across the city, the Green Corps job program will focus on environmental justice, sustainable native reforestation, riparian buffer planting, invasive removal and green controls of urban systems, such as storm and sewer flows.  The Green Corps and Center will develop a referral system to help participants connect to jobs through a wide range of agencies, professional and trade associations, trades, professions and industries.


Saturday, April 14, 2012

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OFFICIAL SPEAKS ABOUT HUMAN TRAFFICKING


FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole Speaks at the Yale Law School Human Trafficking Symposium New Haven, Conn. ~ Thursday, April 12, 2012
Thank you, David [Fein], for that introduction.   Thank you Yale Law School, the Trade of Innocents team, the United States Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for organizing this important symposium.

I am honored to join with so many esteemed colleagues gathered here to talk about what more we can all do in the global fight against human trafficking.   The groups represented in this room have all been critical partners in trying to eradicate this scourge at home and abroad.

At the Department of Justice we have a number of components deeply involved in our effort to combat human trafficking.   These include the United States Attorney’s Offices, the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, and the FBI.   And the Office of Justice Programs funds task forces across the country. But even with all of those Department participants, we cannot win this fight alone.

That is why I would like to take this opportunity to talk about the vital importance of partnerships in the Department’s effort to combat human trafficking. Law enforcement agencies; federal, state, local, and international authorities; and non-governmental organizations such as the Polaris Project and the International Justice Mission all have key roles to play in advancing this critical mission.

It seems almost unfathomable that today in the 21st Century, we still live in a world where human trafficking persists.

And yet it exists and is often hiding in plain and painful sight. It’s the young woman who comes to America for the promise of a new life but finds herself enslaved and sold for sex.   Or the child who grew up here in America but ran away from home only to find herself the victim of her desperate acceptance of help from the wrong person.   Or the migrant worker who is deprived of identification, transportation, and access to money in order to ensure his total dependence on his employer.

The Department of Justice is resolutely committed to preventing and combating human trafficking in all its forms. For Attorney General Holder and I, this is a deeply held conviction. Earlier this month, I had the privilege of speaking about this modern day form of slavery at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.   Later this month, the Attorney General will be delivering an important speech on human trafficking at the Clinton Presidential Library.

Yet the Department’s commitment extends beyond mere words by its leadership and transcend into real action on the ground – action that has saved lives, delivered on the promise of freedom, and restored dignity to women, children and men held in bondage.

Last year, the Department set a new record in the number of defendants charged in human trafficking cases in a single year.   And over the last three years, there has been a 30-percent increase in the number of forced labor and adult sex trafficking cases charged.

Here in Connecticut, you have served as leaders in fighting human trafficking.   In 2008, Dennis Paris was sentenced to 30 years in prison, and ten other co-defendants were convicted in connection with a Hartford-based sex trafficking ring that targeted young, vulnerable women and girls.   And just last year, Jarell Sanderson was sentenced right here in New Haven to over 25 years in prison for the sex trafficking of a 14-year-old victim.

Now, there’s always a bit of a good news/bad news aspect to higher numbers of prosecutions because they reflect not only the good—an effective enforcement effort--but also the bad—the reality that these cases are there to be prosecuted.  

Yet it also reminds us that an absolutely essential element in bringing these prosecutions in the first instance has been a broad array of partnerships. These partnerships have proven to be force multipliers and yielded concrete results.  

Take the tragic and shocking case out of Virginia where an MS-13 gang member preyed on a 12-year-old girl.   He forced her into prostitution, seven days a week, using illegal drugs to keep her compliant.   The defendant and his fellow gang members aggressively marketed her for prostitution at apartments, hotels, and businesses.

Law enforcement agencies in partnership with victim advocates working through the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force, we're able to discover this crime, stop it, and last October—two years from the very day that the victim was first ensnared—her trafficker was sentenced to life in prison.

The Department also partners with federal authorities to combat human trafficking.

Last February, the Justice Department launched a Human Trafficking Enhanced Enforcement Initiative to take our counter-trafficking enforcement efforts to a new level.

As a part of this effort, Attorney General Holder, along with the Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and the Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, announced the Anti-Trafficking Coordination Team – or “ACTeam” – Initiative. This Initiative is an interagency collaboration among the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Labor aimed at streamlining federal criminal investigations and prosecutions of human trafficking offenses.

Following a rigorous interagency selection process, we launched six Pilot ACTeams around the country.   Today, these teams are fully operational and are developing high-impact human trafficking investigations and prosecutions.

As we continue to increase coordination at the federal level, we are also partnering with state and local law enforcement authorities and the National Association of Attorneys General on its Human Trafficking Initiative.

We are providing grant funding through an Enhanced Collaborative Model to state and local law enforcement partners – and to victim service organizations – pairing proactive law enforcement efforts to stop traffickers, with programs to help victims heal and rebuild their lives.

Also we are hosting regional training forums, delivering training and technical assistance to the broader anti-trafficking community, and developing training curricula for state prosecutors and judges.

Yet even as we leverage these domestic partnerships, we recognize, as the title of this symposium notes, that a global perspective on trafficking is needed. Pursuing justice within our borders is simply not enough.   That is why we are also taking steps to forge partnerships across borders.

One concrete example of this can be seen in Southeast Asia. During my visit to the Philippines last November, I had the honor of addressing the graduates of a course on Human Trafficking at the Philippine National Police Headquarters. The course was conducted by American and Philippine police instructors through DOJ’s International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP). Graduates of this course are now key partners on the front lines of the fight against human trafficking.

Closer to home, we are working with Mexican law enforcement authorities to dismantle sex trafficking networks operating on both sides of the   border. Our joint actions have brought freedom to victims, and secured landmark convictions and substantial sentences against the traffickers in a number of high-impact bilateral cases.

And we continue to work with our friends at the State Department to engage a wider number of international partners on this issue, and to ensure that they, too, are pursuing aggressive enforcement efforts against traffickers and have the tools to do so.   I am glad to see Ambassador CdeBaca will be speaking later in the afternoon to share the State Department’s perspective.

And so, in surveying these partnerships, while we can all be encouraged by our recent achievements in the fight against human trafficking, we have far more to do.


We must proceed with the humility of knowing that lives have been irreparably harmed and that justice alone can only bring a quantum of solace. It simply cannot undo the harm.

That is why, above and beyond all else, our various partnerships must focus on prevention. Prevention through prosecution of trafficking rings before they can ensnare other victims. Prevention through deterrence so that our prosecutions dissuade others who may follow suit.  Prevention through public awareness as films like Trade of Innocents importantly seek to generate. And, lastly, prevention through the education of potential victims who driven by fear, poverty, or lack of education often unwittingly place their lives in the hands of exploitative traffickers.

The efforts we all make in this area are of critical importance.   They are of critical importance to the victims, to their families and friends, and, frankly, to the fabric of our entire nation.    These are truly among the most vulnerable members of our communities and are in desperate need of our help.

I want to thank all of you for the efforts you have made and that you will continue to make to fight for justice on behalf of victims of human trafficking.   Without you they have little hope.

Thank you for the opportunity to share some of my thoughts with you on this vital subject.

Friday, April 13, 2012

JUSTICE, EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS AND UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA REACH AGREEMENT OVER RACIAL HARASSMENT COMPLAINTS

FROM:  DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Friday, April 13, 2012
Departments of Justice and Education Reach Agreement with the University of California, San Diego to Resolve Harassment Allegations
The Departments of Justice and Education reached a settlement agreement with the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), to resolve an investigation into complaints of racial harassment against African-American students on campus.  Titles IV and VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 each prohibit harassment based on race.

The complaints alleged multiple incidents of racial harassment on campus, including public displays of nooses and a Ku Klux Klan-style hood, and the hosting of an off-campus party where students were invited to dress as stereotypes of African-Americans.   After conducting an extensive investigation into the alleged incidents, and following the receipt of additional complaints of racial discrimination and harassment on campus, the Departments of Justice and Education worked collaboratively with the university to address concerns regarding racial hostility on campus.

UCSD voluntarily entered into a resolution agreement with the departments.   Under the terms of the resolution agreement, UCSD will take steps to prevent racial harassment on campus, respond appropriately to harassment that occurs, and eliminate any hostile environment resulting from harassment.   The university has agreed to revise its campus policies and procedures related to racial harassment to ensure they are consistent with federal civil rights laws; maintain an Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination to receive, investigate, and resolve complaints of harassment and discrimination; and provide mandatory trainings for staff and students on the university’s anti-discrimination policies and procedures.  The university also voluntarily initiated a number of additional programs to address campus climate issues, and the departments will monitor the implementation of those programs to evaluate their impact on resolving the departments’ concerns.

“Students have a right to seek and obtain an education without facing racial harassment.   UCSD, like all colleges and universities, has an obligation to make clear that racial discrimination and harassment on campus will not be tolerated, and this agreement is a significant step in the right direction,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.  “We commend the university for working with us to address this matter, and we recognize the importance of this agreement in the context of larger efforts by the UC system to create supportive and inclusive learning environments for students.   We look forward to working with UCSD as it implements the measures and programs called for in the agreement.”

“We salute UCSD for taking these steps and we hope the entire school community learns from this experience and works together to overcome ignorance and intolerance,” said Russlynn Ali, Assistant Secretary for the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights.   “America is a country that has always celebrated its diversity.   Nowhere is that more important than in our classrooms and schools – at every level – from the earliest grades to our colleges and universities. The Department of Education and the Department of Justice will continue to work cooperatively with UCSD to ensure that all students are safe from harassment and discrimination.”

Saturday, April 7, 2012

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE STATEMENT ON MISSISSIPPI RACIAL SEGREGATION CASE


FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
The following post appears courtesy of the Civil Rights Division
Last week, a federal court in Mississippi issued an order requiring the public school district in Cleveland, Miss., to end the racial segregation of students in its schools, and to eliminate racial disparities in the composition of faculty at schools across the District.

In May 2011, the Department of Justice asked the Court to find that the District had violated its desegregation obligations, noting that while the District had been governed by desegregation orders for more than 42 years, predominantly black schools located to the east of the railroad tracks that run through the District had never been desegregated.  The United States further asserted that the ratio of black and white faculty at numerous District schools reinforced the reputation of those schools in the community as “white” or “black” schools.

The court agreed with the Department of Justice that Eastside High School – one of only two high schools in the District – was formerly a segregated black school by law, and “has never been anything other than a racially identifiable African American school” since.  The court similarly determined that there was “no data” to indicate that D.M. Smith Middle School, one of the District’s two middle schools and also located on the east side of the railroad tracks, “was ever meaningfully desegregated.”  The court observed in its decision that these two predominantly black schools are only 1.2 miles away from a high school and middle school with a substantial population of white students located to the west of the railroad tracks.

With respect to the racial composition of faculty and staff, the court noted that school districts are prohibited from assigning to any individual school a ratio of black to white faculty and administrators that is so imbalanced as to support a perception that the school is a “black” or “white” school.  In this case, the court found that the ratio of black and white faculty at every school in the District deviated from the district-wide faculty ratio.
Accordingly, the court ordered the district to submit a proposed plan to desegregate Eastside High School and D.M. Smith Middle School, and to integrate the faculty at each of its schools, by May 15, 2012.  The United States will then have 30 days to review the plan and confer with the District to resolve any objections to the plan.  If no resolution is reached, the United States can file written objections to the District’s plan within 20 days.  

The violations identified by the court in this case are not unique to the Cleveland, Miss.,schools.  The Civil Rights Division continues to enforce desegregation orders in 200 school districts, many of which raise issues similar to those found in this case.  For example, the Division entered into a consent decree with the Valdosta, Georgia schools last month addressing that school district’s failure to desegregate the faculty at one of its schools.  In January, the federal district court for the Southern District of Mississippi approved another consent order between the United States and the Wayne County school district addressing concerns about classroom segregation and impermissible transfers by white students from majority-black to majority-white schools.

In all of these cases, and in the many others like them, the Division has taken seriously its obligation to ensure that the last remnants of school segregation are eliminated “root and branch” from all of our public schools.  Enforcement of the court orders mandating the desegregation of school districts formerly segregated by law is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
We will not waver in our commitment to ensure that each and every school district eliminates the vestiges of separate black and white schools.  We look forward to working collaboratively with the Cleveland School District and members of the community to implement the court’s order in a manner that fosters the continued growth and success of all students in the district.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

DENSO CORPORATION EXECUTIVE AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY TO PRICE FIXING AND BID RIGGING

The following excerpt is from the Department of Justice Antitrust website:
WASHINGTON — An executive of Japan-based DENSO Corporation, has agreed to plead guilty and to serve time in prison for his role in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for heater control panels (HCPs) installed in U.S. cars, the Department of Justice announced today.

According to a one-count felony charge filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, Norihiro Imai, a Japanese national, along with co-conspirators, engaged in a conspiracy to rig bids for and to fix, stabilize and maintain the prices of HCPs sold to customers in the United States and elsewhere. According to the charge, Imai’s involvement in the conspiracy lasted from at least as early as August 2006 until at least June 2009. According to the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, Imai has agreed to serve one year and one day in a U.S. prison, to pay a $20,000 criminal fine and to cooperate with the department’s ongoing investigation.

“Today’s guilty plea demonstrates the Antitrust Division’s commitment to hold executives accountable for engaging in illegal conduct that leads to higher prices for American businesses and consumers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Sharis A. Pozen in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “Criminal antitrust enforcement is a top priority, and the division will continue to work with its law enforcement partners in the ongoing investigation in the auto parts industry.”

DENSO manufactures and sells a variety of automotive electrical parts, including HCPs. HCPs are located in the center console of an automobile and control the temperature of the interior environment of a vehicle. According to the charge, Imai and his co-conspirators carried out the conspiracy by, among other things, agreeing during meetings and discussions to coordinate bids submitted to, and price adjustments requested by, automobile manufacturers.

Including Imai, eight individuals and three companies have been charged in the government’s ongoing investigation into price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry. DENSO pleaded guilty on March 5, 2012, and was sentenced to pay a $78 million criminal fine. Yazaki Corporation, another Japanese automotive electrical component supplier, pleaded guilty on March 1, 2012, and was sentenced to pay a $470 million criminal fine. Additionally, four Yazaki executives were charged on Jan. 30, 2012, and have agreed to plead guilty. On Nov. 14, 2011, Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd. pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $200 million fine. Three of Furukawa’s executives also pleaded guilty and were sentenced to serve prison sentences in the United States ranging from a year and a day to 18 months.

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


WISCONSIN ELECTION WILL BE MONITORED BY THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT


FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Monday, April 2, 2012
Justice Department to Monitor Election in Wisconsin
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that the Civil Rights Division will monitor the election on April 3, 2012, in Milwaukee.  The monitoring will ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other federal voting rights statutes.  The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group.  In addition, the act requires certain covered jurisdictions to provide language assistance during the election process.  The city of Milwaukee is required to provide assistance in Spanish.

Justice Department personnel will monitor polling place activities in Milwaukee.  Civil Rights Division attorneys will coordinate federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.

Each year, the Justice Department deploys hundreds of federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, as well as departmental staff, to monitor elections across the country.  To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, including acts of harassment or intimidation, voters may call the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.

Friday, March 30, 2012

DETROIT PODIATRIST GOES TO PRISON FOR MEDICARE FRAUD


The following excerpt is from the Department of Justice website:
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Detroit Podiatrist Sentenced to One Year in Prison for Medicare Fraud Scheme
WASHINGTON – A Detroit-area doctor of podiatric medicine was sentenced today to one year in prison for a fraud scheme involving false billings to Medicare, announced the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Dr. Errol Sherman was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen in Detroit.  In addition to his prison term, Sherman was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $300,000 in restitution.  Sherman pleaded guilty on Nov. 22, 2011, to one count of health care fraud.

According to the plea documents, Sherman is a doctor of podiatric medicine licensed in the state of Michigan.  Between January 2003 and December 2006, Sherman billed Medicare and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for a procedure known as an avulsion of the nail plate or nail avulsion procedure.  Sherman billed for this procedure thousands of times, claiming that he had performed this procedure on hundreds of beneficiaries from 2003 through 2006.  In fact, he had not performed the procedures billed.
Today’s sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigation.

This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Catherine K. Dick of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney John K. Neal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.  The case was investigated jointly by the FBI and HHS-OIG, as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since their inception in March 2007, the strike force operations in nine locations have charged more than 1,190 individuals who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $3.6 billion.  In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

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