Month: June 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Justice Department Co-Hosts Second Meeting of the Counterterrorism Law Enforcement Forum in Norway
The Justice Department’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism (State CT) co-hosted the second annual meeting of the Counterterrorism Law Enforcement Forum (CTLEF) with the Government of Norway in Oslo from June 6 to 7. The CTLEF, which focuses on countering the global threat of racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism (REMVE), brought together law enforcement, prosecutors, and other criminal justice practitioners from Europe and North and South America, as well as specialists from INTERPOL, Europol, the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law and other multilateral organizations to discuss how to effectively address and counter REMVE threats.

Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Depar.. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Statement from Director Rachel Rossi of the Office for Access to Justice on the Adoption of the Equal Access to Justice Resolution at the United Nations Crime Commission
The Office for Access to Justice today issued the following statement from Director Rachel Rossi following the adoption of the “Equal Access to Justice for All” resolution at the 32nd Session of United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) in Vienna, Austria:

“The Office for Access to Justice is pleased to have played a role in the recent adoption by consensus of the first UN-CCPCJ resolution on access to justice. This resolution recognizes that when access to justice is limited or restricted in criminal justice systems, the rule of law is undermined. The resolution emphasizes the importance of United Nations Member States taking ‘all necessary steps to provide fair, transparent, effective, non-discriminatory and accountable services that .. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Former Texas Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Sentenced for Using Unlawful Force on an Inmate
A former Van Zandt County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office jail sergeant was sentenced today to 42 months in prison for violating a jail detainee’s civil rights by using unlawful force against him.

According to court documents, David Yager, 30, previously pleaded guilty and admitted that on or about Feb. 28, 2021, while he was serving in his official capacity, he repeatedly punched detainee M.H. in the chest with a taser with the trigger held down, even though M.H. did not pose a threat to anyone. Yager admitted that the detainee was confined to a restraint chair at the time Yager used unlawful force against him. Yager also admitted that his acts caused bodily injury to the detainee, and that he used force on the detainee despite knowing that there was no legitimate, law enforcement need to use force.

“This defendant abused his authority as a jail sergeant.. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Two Federal Bureau of Prisons Employees Charged with Violating the Civil Rights of an Inmate Resulting in His Death
A federal grand jury indicted a Bureau of Prisons (BOP) lieutenant and a BOP registered nurse yesterday with violating the civil rights of an inmate by showing deliberate indifference to the inmate’s serious medical needs, resulting in his death.

The indictment alleges that on Jan. 9, 2021, Lieutenant Shronda Covington, 47, of Chesterfield, Virginia, and Registered Nurse Tonya Farley, 52, of Chesterfield, Virginia, were on duty and working in their official capacities at the Federal Correctional Institution at Petersburg, Virginia. On that day, they allegedly each willfully failed to ensure that the inmate, a 47-year-old man identified as W.W., was provided with necessary medical care, resulting in W.W.’s death, even though each knew that W.W. had serious medical needs. Farley is also charged with writing a false report .. […] Read More

Thank you for the kind introduction. I appreciate the opportunity to share some thoughts with all of you today on the Antitrust Division’s global approach to criminal enforcement.

One of our values at the Antitrust Division, and the department as a whole, is to be clear with the public about our enforcement priorities, policies and the standards we apply in making charging decisions. And when we have issues and topics appropriate for reasoned discussion, we want to hear from a diverse set of views. For this reason, my colleagues and I appreciate the opportunity to participate in today’s conversations and describe the outstanding work by division prosecutors day in and day out to seek economic justice on behalf of our country.

Economic liberty is something cherished around the world. Looking at the enforcers, private practitioners, competition law experts, in-house counsel and former colleagues assembled in this room, there is at least one thing we share: We all want dynamic, vibrant .. […] Read More

Good morning. Thank you all for joining us for the second meeting on the Counterterrorism Law Enforcement Forum. It is great to be here with so many distinguished colleagues to discuss these important issues.

I’ll add that I am especially pleased to be here in Oslo, as an Olsen, and someone who takes a lot of pride in my Norwegian heritage. For me, Oslo is a special place. It is also a place that has been touched by the violence and destruction of domestic violent extremism. So, it is poignant to be here working on this important challenge, with all of you.

Last May, we gathered in Berlin, for our inaugural meeting. I departed the forum daunted by the scale of the problem, but heartened to see the partnership of so many likeminded countries.

I returned to D.C. from Berlin on a Thursday. Two days later, on Saturday afternoon, I received the first alerts from the FBI that there was an active shooter in Buffalo, New York. What we would come to learn over the next hours and days was tha.. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
CEO of Dozens of Companies Pleads Guilty to Massive Scheme to Traffic in Fraudulent and Counterfeit Cisco Networking Equipment
A Florida resident and dual citizen of the United States and Turkey pleaded guilty yesterday in the District of New Jersey to running an extensive operation over many years to traffic in fraudulent and counterfeit Cisco networking equipment.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Onur Aksoy, 39, of Miami, ran at least 19 companies formed in New Jersey and Florida, as well as approximately 15 Amazon storefronts and at least 10 eBay storefronts (collectively, the “Pro Network Entities”), that imported from suppliers in China and Hong Kong tens of thousands of low-quality, modified computer networking devices with counterfeit Cisco labels, stickers, boxes, documentation, and packaging, all bearing counterfeit trademarks registered and owned by Cisco, that made the goods falsely appea.. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
Justice Department Announces Agreement in Environmental Justice Investigation of Illegal Dumping in the City of Houston
The Justice Department announced today that it has secured a settlement agreement in its environmental justice investigation into the City of Houston’s response to illegal dumping in Black and Latino neighborhoods. The agreement builds upon the city’s recently announced One Clean Houston initiative, a comprehensive plan to address pervasive illegal dumping and its negative impacts on the health, safety and quality of life of Houston residents. Today’s agreement memorializes the city’s cooperation with the Justice Department as it implements these new steps to combat illegal dumping and develops improved waste management services for residents across Houston.

“Houston’s illegal dumpsites have contaminated water and soil, attracted vermin and created blight in historically under-resourced neighborhoods across the city,” s.. […] Read More

Remarks as Delivered

Good morning. I am Kristen Clarke, the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Today is a good day. I am here with U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas, who you’ll hear from shortly as well.

We are here this morning to announce that the Justice Department has secured a settlement agreement in our environmental justice investigation involving the City of Houston. The City of Houston, as you have heard, has agreed to take a number of critical actions to address illegal dumping here in the city, an issue that has long plagued the predominately Black and Latino residents of Houston’s Trinity/Houston Gardens Super Neighborhood 48 and other similar communities in the city. The agreement memorializes the City of Houston’s – and Mayor Turner’s – efforts to ensure racially equitable responses to the environmental hazard and improve the quality of life of members of the Houston community.

Ille.. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
Pharmacist Sentenced for $1M Prescription Drug Fraud Scheme
A Virginia man was sentenced today to two years in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare of over $1 million in prescription drug benefits.

According to court documents, Ronald A. Beasley II, 33, of Portsmouth, was the pharmacist in charge at NH Pharma, a pharmacy located in Lake Mary, Florida. Through NH Pharma, Beasley and his co-conspirators billed Medicare for expensive compound drug creams that they never actually purchased or dispensed, instead providing Medicare patients an inexpensive compound drug cream that Medicare did not cover. In fact, NH Pharma did not buy enough of the expensive prescription drugs to fill all the prescriptions NH Pharma billed to Medicare. In total, Beasley and his co-conspirators received more than $1 million in fraudulent Medicare proceeds.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Divi.. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
Jury Convicts Federal Correctional Officer for Sexual Abuse of Two Female Inmates
A federal jury convicted a federal correctional officer of five counts involving sexually abusive conduct against two female victims who were serving prison sentences. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers presided over the trial.

John Bellhouse, 40, formerly of Pleasanton, California, was initially charged with sexual abuse of an inmate on Feb. 17, 2022. A federal grand jury issued a superseding indictment on Sept. 29, 2022, charging Bellhouse with two counts of sexual abuse and three counts of abusive sexual contact. The charges involved conduct that was alleged to have occurred against two female inmates from December 2019 to December 2020. On Monday, a jury convicted Bellhouse of all counts.

“Correctional Officer Bellhouse committed an egregious breach of trust by using the cover of the BOP facility’s Safety Office to sexually abuse individuals i.. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
New Jersey Man Found Guilty of Tax Evasion
Did Not Pay Taxes or File Returns Despite Earning Nearly $1.5 Million
A federal jury convicted a New Jersey man today of tax evasion and failing to file personal income tax returns.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Jonathan D. Michael of Springfield, New Jersey, worked as a mechanic in the crane shop at the Port Newark Container Terminal. For the years 2014 through 2018, Michael provided his employer with an Employee’s Withholding Certificate (Form W-4) that falsely claimed he was exempt from any federal income tax withholding. During the same five-year period, Michael did not file personal income tax returns even though he earned approximately $1.5 million in wages, resulting in a tax loss to the IRS of over $375,000.

Michael is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 23, 2023, and faces a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison for tax evasion and one year in.. […] Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 5, 2023
Justice Department Honors Law Enforcement Officers in Sixth Annual Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today announced the recipients of the Sixth Annual Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing, recognizing the exceptional work of 19 law enforcement officers and deputies from 15 jurisdictions across the country.

The Attorney General’s Award recognizes individual state, local, and Tribal sworn rank-and-file officers, deputies, and troopers for exceptional efforts in community policing. The awarded individuals have demonstrated active engagement with the community in one of three areas: criminal investigations, field operations, or innovations in community policing. This year, the Department received nominations for almost 200 individual officers, deputies, and troopers. Nominations came from 49 states, representing state, local, campus.. […] Read More