FraudsWatch

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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..

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..

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Thursday, May 18, 2023
Readout of Justice Department Leadership’s Meeting with Civil Rights Groups to Discuss Key Issues
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division met with civil rights organizations yesterday at the Justice Department.

Department leadership heard from attending organizations on an array of topics including hate crimes and reporting, educational equity, voting rights, implementation of Executive Order 14074 on policing and criminal justice issues, and reproductive rights.

Some of the Department’s recent work on critical issues includes publishing a Dear Colleague letter on the imposition and enforcement of fines and fees on adults and youth by state and local courts and juvenile justice agencies and the release of a comprehensive strategy to strengthen the safety of our communities while advanc..

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Thursday, May 18, 2023
Justice Department Secures Settlement in Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Missouri Landlord
The Justice Department announced today that it has secured a settlement from a St. Louis, Missouri landlord, who has agreed to pay $110,000 to resolve a lawsuit alleging that he violated the Fair Housing Act (FHA) when he sexually harassed multiple female tenants.

Under the agreement, subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Nedzad Ukejnovic is required to pay $85,000 to compensate individuals harmed by the harassment and $20,000 to compensate the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council for resources it expended responding to the reported harassment. The defendant is also required to pay a $5,000 civil penalty to the United States.

“Far too often landlords sexually harass and prey on those who are most vulnerable and it is unacceptable,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke..

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Good evening, everyone. I am honored to be here tonight to present the Act To Change Allied Organization of the Year award to AAPI Youth Rising. This award recognizes the organization’s leadership and continued efforts in advancing the rights and well-being of AAPI youth across the country.

This work could not be more timely or more urgent. One of our highest priorities at the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department has been to confront the rising tide of hate directed at the AAPI community. We have prosecuted those who have committed hate crimes, including securing a 25-year prison sentence for the man who attacked an Asian-American family with a knife at a Sam’s Club in Midland, Texas, because he blamed them for the COVID-19 pandemic. We also prosecuted a man who recently pled guilty after threatening to injure an Asian-American doctor in Maryland who had been a vocal proponent of the COVID-19 vaccine. And just last week, we charged a Nevada..

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Thursday, May 18, 2023
New York Construction Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Filing False Return
Did Not Report Nearly $6.1 Million in Business Gross Receipts
A New York man pleaded guilty today to filing a false corporate tax return for his construction business.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Pawel A. Bartoszek of Lake Grove, New York, owned and operated a construction company, Mega State Inc. From 2015 through 2017, Bartoszek cashed checks he received from Mega State clients for services rendered rather than deposit them in the company’s bank account. As a result, Bartoszek concealed approximately $6.1 million in business income from his tax return preparer and caused the tax returns for Mega State submitted to the IRS to falsely understate its gross income.

Bartoszek is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 26, and faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and mone..

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Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Justice Department Secures Agreement with Cumberland County Addressing Mental Health Care, Suicide Prevention and Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opiate Withdrawal at the Cumberland County Jail
The Justice Department today filed a complaint and proposed consent decree with Cumberland County, New Jersey and the Cumberland County Department of Corrections to resolve allegations that conditions at the Cumberland County Jail violate the Constitution.

The proposed consent decree resolves the department’s claims that the jail fails to provide adequate mental health care to incarcerated individuals at risk of self-harm and suicide, and fails to provide medication-assisted treatment, where clinically indicated, to incarcerated individuals experiencing unmedicated opiate withdrawal. The proposed consent decree requires the jail to provide adequate mental health care and medication-assisted treatment in those circumstances.

“The Justice Depar..

Remarks as Delivered

Good morning. Please be seated. Thank you.

Today, we recognize a group of heroes deserving of our nation’s highest award for public service officers: the Medal of Valor.

These extraordinary individuals were nominated by public safety leaders from across the country because of their acts of bravery and heroism in 2021 and 2022.

I am grateful to the Justice Department’s Medal of Valor Review Board, Bureau of Justice Assistance, and Office of Justice Programs for their review and recommendations of this year’s recipients.

And I am honored to be here alongside President Biden as he confers these awards.

The nine individuals we recognize today have demonstrated “extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty” while acting to save or protect another person’s life.

They have acted with great courage, and at great risk to themselves.

They have shown uncommon decisiveness and presence of mind.

Two of them made the ultimate sacrifice – giving their lives in..

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Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Federal Court Permanently Shuts Down New York Tax Preparer
A federal court in the Eastern District of New York has permanently enjoined a tax return preparer and her Brooklyn-based business from preparing federal tax returns for others and from owning, operating, or working for any tax return preparation business in the future.

The civil complaint filed in the case alleged that Melida Portorreal, through her tax return preparation company, International Travel Multi & Tax Corp., prepared fraudulent federal income tax returns for others. According to the complaint, Portorreal prepared and filed fraudulent federal tax returns for others that included the following schemes:

reporting false filing statuses, including, in at least one instance, using one customer’s name and social security number to qualify another customer for Head of Household filing status without either customer’s knowledge or consent;
fabricating erroneous itemized d..

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Good afternoon. I am joined by Philip R. Sellinger, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. We are here today to announce that the Department of Justice and Cumberland County, New Jersey, have agreed to a consent decree that outlines remedies to resolve our investigation of the Cumberland County Jail in Bridgeton.

The Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office opened a pattern or practice investigation of the Cumberland County Jail, under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act. We launched the investigation after a spate of six tragic suicides by incarcerated persons who had used opioids prior to their admission to the jail but who were denied medication-assisted treatment (MAT) when they came to the facility. Medication-assisted treatment is the use of medications, in combination with behavioral therapy and counseling, to treat opioid use disorder (OUD). It is an effective, evidence-based treatment that has become a best pr..

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Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Readout of Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta’s Meeting with Members of European Parliament to Discuss Women’s Rights
Today, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta participated in a meeting with a delegation from the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), alongside attendees from the White House Gender Policy Council and the U.S. Department of State. The convening, which featured representatives from Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany and Spain, was hosted by the State Department.

During the discussion, the Associate Attorney General highlighted how the Justice Department has collaborated with its federal partners to protect reproductive rights and counter gender-based violence. The group discussed how, under Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, the Justice Department established the Reproductive Rights Task Force, chaired by Associate Attorney General Gupta, as a whole-of-department e..

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Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Justice Department Leadership Honors Service and Sacrifice of Nation’s Law Enforcement for Police Week
In recognition of National Police Week, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco, and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta joined law enforcement partners to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice to our nation.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which May 15 falls as National Police Week. Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week is a collaborative effort of many organizations dedicated to honoring the service and sacrifice of America’s law enforcement community. This year, memorial events ran May 9 – 20.

Today, Attorney General Garland delivered remarks at the 2021-2022 Medal of Valor ceremony hosted by President Joseph R. Biden Jr., at the White House. The Medal of Valor is awarded ..

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Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Gangster Disciple Member Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy Involving Firebombing and Drug Distribution
All 12 Charged Gang Members Have Pleaded Guilty
A member of the Gangster Disciples gang pleaded guilty today to a racketeering conspiracy involving his firebombing of a prison guard’s house and the distribution of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.

Today’s plea marks the 12th and final conviction in the Northern District of Mississippi case against five members of the Gangster Disciples and seven members of the Simon City Royals, a gang aligned with the Gangster Disciples.

According to court documents, Darrell Steele, 49, of Meridian, Mississippi, was a member of the Gangster Disciples. Acting on the orders of high-ranking Gangster Disciples leaders, Steele and other gang members manufactured firebombs to bomb the home of a prison guard who was interfering with the gang’s illegal drug operation within Mississippi state pr..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Judge Imposes Eight Consecutive Life Sentences Plus 260 Years in Prison for ISIS-Inspired 2017 Murder of Eight Victims and Attempted Murder of 18 Others in NYC Truck Attack
Sayfullo Saipov, 34, of Uzbekistan, was sentenced to eight consecutive life sentences, two concurrent life sentences, and a consecutive sentence of 260 years in prison for carrying out a terrorist attack on Oct. 31, 2017, in the name of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), in which Saipov used a truck to murder eight victims and injure many more on a bike path in lower Manhattan.

On Jan. 26, a jury convicted Saipov of all 28 counts in the indictment, which charged Saipov with murder for the purpose of gaining entrance to a racketeering enterprise (ISIS); assault with a dangerous weapon and attempted murder for the purpose of gaining entrance to a racketeering enterprise (ISIS); providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization (ISIS)..