News and reports from the Department of Justice.

U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas held a joint press conference with Joint Task Force Alpha Co-Directors Ian Hanna and Jim Hepburn to discuss a significant arrest in the case regarding the 2022 human smuggling incident that resulted in the death of 53 men, women, and children, along with 11 injured. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Criminal Division, provided remarks.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri delivered remarks on a significant update to a 2022 human smuggling case in San Antonio, Texas.

A man who sent letters from state prison expressing a desire to kill federal judges, U.S. Marshals, and federal prosecutors was sentenced to an additional 20 years in prison.

A federal grand jury in Kansas has indicted seven individuals, including five current and former high-ranking officers of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers (Boilermakers Union), for their alleged involvement in a $20 million embezzlement scheme spanning 15 years.

Yuanjun Tang, 67, a naturalized citizen of the United States and resident of Queens, New York, was charged by criminal complaint with acting and conspiring to act in the United States as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and making materially false statements to the FBI. Tang was arrested today in Flushing, Queens, and will be presented this afternoon.

Oleg Chistyakov, also known as Olegs Čitsjakovs, 55, of Latvia, made his initial appearance in a federal court in Kansas City, Kansas, today after being extradited from Latvia. Chistyakov is the third defendant in this case to face charges in connection with a years-long conspiracy to sell sophisticated avionics equipment to Russian companies, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent U.S. economic countermeasures against Russia.

The Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) announced an organizational assessment of the Charlottesville, Virginia, Police Department through its Collaborative Reform Initiative. Over the next year, the Charlottesville Police Department will collaborate with the COPS Office Collaborative Reform Initiative team to focus on community policing/problem solving, crime analysis/crime prevention, employee wellness, training, development and retention, resource analysis/strategic planning, and accountability, oversight and evaluation.

The Office of Information Policy (OIP) has announced new dates for FOIA training sessions for the first half of Fiscal Year 2025. As part of its mandate to promote agency compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), OIP offers various training opportunities throughout the year aimed at agency FOIA professionals and individuals with FOIA responsibilities.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke announced today that the U.S. Justice Department is initiating a civil investigation into conditions at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Hartsville, Tennessee. The facility, operated by CoreCivic on behalf of the Tennessee Department of Correction, will be scrutinized for potential violations of constitutional rights under the Civil Rights for Institutionalized Persons Act.

George Semerene Quintero, 60, of Venezuela, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) for his role in a scheme to evade U.S. sanctions imposed on Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), a Venezuelan state-owned oil company.

The Justice Department announced today the initiation of an investigation into conditions at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, a Tennessee Department of Correction facility managed by CoreCivic. Located approximately an hour outside Nashville, Trousdale Turner is Tennessee’s largest correctional facility.

Intrepid U.S.A. Inc., headquartered in Dallas, and its subsidiaries have agreed to pay $3,850,000 to resolve allegations of violating the False Claims Act. The allegations concern claims submitted to Medicare for home healthcare services and hospice care for patients who did not qualify for these benefits. The settlement is based on Intrepid’s ability to pay.

A federal jury convicted seven defendants today of federal civil rights offenses stemming from their blockade of a reproductive health care clinic in Sterling Heights, Michigan, on August 27, 2020. The defendants were each found guilty of a felony conspiracy against rights and a Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act offense. Two defendants faced additional convictions for a second FACE Act offense related to another blockade at a clinic in Saginaw, Michigan.

A Maryland woman was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for not paying employment taxes to the IRS and embezzling from an employee benefit plan.

Former U.S. Representative George Anthony Devolder Santos pleaded guilty today to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.