Month: May 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 22, 2023
Man Convicted of Torture and Exporting Weapons Parts and Related Services to Iraq
A federal jury convicted a Pennsylvania man on May 19 for numerous crimes, including the torture of an Estonian citizen in 2015 in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, in connection with the operation of an illegal weapons manufacturing plant in Kurdistan.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Ross Roggio, 54, of Stroudsburg, arranged for Kurdish soldiers to abduct and detain the victim at a Kurdish military compound where Roggio suffocated the victim with a belt, threatened to cut off one of his fingers, and directed Kurdish soldiers to repeatedly beat, tase, choke, and otherwise physically and mentally abuse the victim over a 39-day period. The victim was employed at a weapons factory that Roggio was developing in the Kurdistan region of Iraq that was intended to manufacture M4 automatic rifles and Glock 9mm pistols.

In connection with th.. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 22, 2023
Justice Department Secures Settlement with New Jersey IT Recruiting Firm to Resolve Immigration-Related Discrimination Claims
The Justice Department announced today that it has secured a settlement agreement with Infosoft Solutions Inc., a New Jersey IT recruiting and contracting company operating as KForce Tech LLC. The settlement resolves the department’s determination that Infosoft violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by posting six discriminatory job advertisements that solicited applications only from non-U.S. citizens who needed visa sponsorship and, in one case, also sought applicants only from India.

“When employers advertise jobs only to applicants from a certain country or who need temporary visas, they discourage all other eligible workers and deny them a fair chance to be considered,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will.. […] Read More

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Good morning, everyone. I am honored to be here with such a huge crowd of passionate first responders and advocates and experts and survivors.

If you don’t know the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), we are a less huge but equally passionate crowd of first responders and advocates and experts and survivors.

We administer the Violence Against Women Act, which this year means we have $700 million to invest in the work you all are doing on the front lines making change in your communities.

We want our grants and our policy work to be truly effective. And to be effective, we must be guided by the people who are on the ground, the real experts, who are building community-based responses – basically, guided by the people who are represented here in this room today and united by the same mission.

You are among the first people a survivor encounters in the aftermath of violence, and the way you respond can make the difference between a survivor gettin.. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 22, 2023
U.S. Law Enforcement Disrupts Networks Used to Transfer Fraud Proceeds, Taking Over 4,000 Actions in Fifth Campaign
Over 12,000 Actions Taken Since Campaigns Began
The Justice Department, FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and other federal law enforcement agencies announced today the completion of a three-month campaign that disrupted networks used by foreign fraudsters to obtain fraud proceeds. Multiple law enforcement actions addressed conduct by individuals sometimes referred to as “money mules,” who have been providing critical services to fraudsters by receiving money from fraud victims and forwarding the fraud proceeds to the perpetrators (many of whom are based overseas). Some individuals knew they were facilitating fraud, while others first interacted with fraudsters as victims and may have been unaware that their activity furthered criminal activity.

Over approximately the last three months, law enforcement took over .. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 19, 2023
Foreign National Pleads Guilty to Role in International Human Smuggling and Cocaine Distribution Scheme
Honduran national pleaded guilty yesterday to his role in a scheme to illegally bring Honduran nationals to, and to distribute cocaine in, the United States.

According to court documents, Darrell Martinez, 41, and six co-conspirators schemed to bring Honduran nationals and cocaine from Honduras to the United States. In February 2022, Martinez and his co-conspirators attempted to illegally bring 23 Honduran nationals and at least 24 kilograms of cocaine from Utila, Honduras, to Cocodrie, Louisiana, by boat. At some point, the vessel developed engine trouble in the Gulf of Mexico. Martinez and his co-conspirators then chartered a boat and attempted to bring fuel to the disabled vessel so that it could complete its journey to the United States. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Coast Guard located the vessel adrift approximately 95 miles off th.. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 19, 2023
Man Charged for Alleged Participation in $45M CoinDeal Investment Fraud Scheme Involving Over 10,000 Victims
A Nevada man has been charged for his alleged participation in CoinDeal, an investment fraud scheme that defrauded more than 10,000 victims of over $45 million.

Bryan Lee, 57, of Las Vegas, will make his initial appearance in federal court today in Las Vegas.

According to court documents, Lee allegedly conspired with Neil Chandran and others to defraud investors in companies that Chandran controlled. The companies operated under the banner of “ViRSE,” and included Free Vi Lab, Studio Vi Inc., ViDelivery Inc., ViMarket Inc., and Skalex USA Inc., among others. The companies were supposedly developing virtual-world technologies, including their own cryptocurrency, for use in a metaverse. Chandran allegedly misled investors by falsely promising extremely high returns on the premise that his companies were about to be acquired by a con.. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 19, 2023
Justice Department Files Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Pennsylvania Rental Property Owners and Operators
The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Timothy Britton, the owner and operator of rental properties in the Falls Creek, Pennsylvania, area and Britton Enterprises LLC, doing business as “Tim’s Apartments,” which operates the rental properties, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, alleges that Timothy Britton has sexually harassed female tenants since at least 2016. According to the complaint, Britton made repeated and unwelcome sexual comments to female tenants, touched female tenants’ bodies without their permission, requested sexual contact, offered reduced or free rent in exchange for sexual contact and took retaliatory actions against female tenants who refused h.. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 19, 2023
MS-13 Gang Member Sentenced for Racketeering Conspiracy and Murders
A Maryland man was sentenced today to 28 years in prison for his part in a racketeering conspiracy, including two murders, related to his participation in La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13).

According to court documents, from at least August 2018 through July 2021, Franklyn Edgardo Sanchez, aka Freddy, aka Magic, aka Miclo, aka Delinquente, 25, of Adelphi, was a member of MS-13, a transnational criminal enterprise and one of the largest street gangs in the United States that is composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador and other central American countries. Sanchez was a member and associate of Weedams Locos Salvatrucha (WLS), an MS-13 clique operating primarily in Adelphi.

As part of the conspiracy, MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence to maintain membership and discipline within the gang as well as against rival gangs. One of the princip.. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 19, 2023
Readout of Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr.’s Trip to Kenya
On May 15 to 18, Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, to deliver remarks at the first colloquium bringing together 20 African countries to collaborate on pretrial detention issues. The colloquium was sponsored by the Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training (OPDAT), the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism and Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, and several other partners. He met with OPDAT’s Resident Legal Advisors in the region, numerous foreign law enforcement officials, and U.S. Embassy Nairobi staff to build closer partnerships and further the department’s mission to advance the rule of law and combat transnational crime.

AAG Polite delivers remarks at the Africa Regional Colloquium… […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 19, 2023
Scrap Metal Reseller Pleads Guilty to Filing a False Corporate Tax Return
A Texas businessman pleaded guilty today to filing a false 2015 corporate tax return for his company.

According to court documents, Martin Skolnik owned and operated Houston-based Spartan Metals Inc. (Spartan), a company that bought and resold scrap metal, for more than 30 years. On several occasions between 2014 and 2017, Skolnik directed customers to wire payments to his personal bank account rather than to Spartan’s business bank account. Skolnik intentionally did not record these payments as income in Spartan’s QuickBooks records, which he then provided to his accountant, willfully causing the accountant to prepare false corporate tax returns. As a result, Spartan’s corporate tax returns underreported more than $2.3 million of gross income for tax years 2014 through 2017.

Skolnik is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 24 and faces a maximum penalty of three years.. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 19, 2023
Louisiana Man Sentenced to 35 Years for Conspiracy to Commit Forced Labor and Transporting a Minor for Criminal Sexual Activity
A Louisiana man was sentenced today to 35 years in prison for conspiracy to commit forced labor and transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. The defendant was also required to pay restitution of $979,800 to the victims.

Between June 2016 and May 2019, Darnell Fulton, 39, of Pineville, used violence, sexual abuse, withholding of food, degradation and intimidation to coerce multiple minors to work for his brownie baking business and provide him the profits. The defendant required the victims to travel to as many as 20 to 30 locations a day, such as plazas, car dealerships, law firms, restaurants and parking lots, to sell brownies. The victims worked late into the night either selling or baking the brownies and sold them during the day. In fact, the victims typically worked seven days .. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 19, 2023
Justice Department Hosts Ukrainian Prosecutors for Training on Investigating and Prosecuting Environmental Crimes
This week, the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division’s (ENRD) Environmental Crimes Section hosted eight guests from the Ukraine Prosecutor General’s Office for a series of training and study sessions relating to the investigation and prosecution of environmental crimes, including environmental crimes committed in the wake of Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine.

“This training on investigating and prosecuting environmental crimes is just one part of our efforts to hold accountable under law those who bear responsibility for the Russian regime’s brutal crimes,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will work with our Ukrainian partners to hold the Russian regime accountable for the atrocities it is committing in the course of its unjust war in Ukraine.”

The study visit beg.. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 19, 2023
Justice Department Statements on District Court Ruling Enjoining American Airlines and JetBlue’s Northeast Alliance
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter for the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division issued the following statements today regarding the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts’s ruling in favor of the Justice Department and the Attorneys General of six states and the District of Columbia in their civil antitrust lawsuit to stop the Northeast Alliance between American Airlines and JetBlue:

“Today’s decision is a win for Americans who rely on competition between airlines to travel affordably,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will continue to protect competition and enforce our antitrust laws in the heavily consolidated airline industry and across every industry.”

“We are pleased with the court’s decision. The outcome of this litigat.. […] Read More