News and reports from the Department of Justice.

A former Massachusetts home builder, Kent Pecoy, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and creating false documents to aid a client in obtaining a mortgage. Pecoy was the owner and operator of Kent Pecoy & Sons, Construction Inc., a commercial and luxury home construction company based in West Springfield.

A man from New York has been sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for his involvement in a fraudulent scheme involving specialty baby formula. Vladislav Kotlyar, 45, of Staten Island, was also ordered to pay approximately $738,000 in restitution and forfeit around $1 million.

María Milagros Charbonier-Laureano, a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, and her husband, Orlando Montes-Rivera, were sentenced today for their involvement in a multi-year theft, bribery, and kickback conspiracy scheme. The couple was found guilty of fraudulently inflating the salary of a legislative assistant in exchange for a portion of the inflated salary.

The Justice Department has announced a series of coordinated and court-authorized actions to disrupt the illicit revenue generation efforts of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) information technology (IT) workers. This is part of a wider initiative, the DPRK RevGen: Domestic Enabler Initiative, which aims to prioritize high-impact, strategic, and unified enforcement and disruption operations across the U.S. Government targeting U.S.-based enablers of unlawful DPRK IT workers overseas.

A San Francisco man, Filimone Tavake, appeared in the District of Hawaii today to face charges related to his alleged involvement in a murder connected with drug trafficking. According to court documents, Tavake is accused of killing a Hawaii resident at the victim's home on March 27, 2021, as part of a drug distribution conspiracy. He was arrested five days prior in California.

The U.S. Justice Department has announced that the Attorney General has submitted a notice of proposed rulemaking to the Federal Register, initiating a formal process to consider reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

A Dominican Republic national was sentenced yesterday to a prison term of 15 years and four months for his involvement in an international conspiracy aimed at distributing 385 kilograms of cocaine for illegal importation into the United States.

Seven members and associates of the Sinaloa Cartel have been sentenced to prison for their role in a drug trafficking conspiracy involving fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine. The defendants had previously pleaded guilty to these charges.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick B. Garland have announced a new Recent Arrivals (RA) Docket process to expedite the resolution of immigration cases for certain noncitizen single adults who attempt irregular crossings between ports of entry at the Southwest border. The Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Justice aim to swiftly impose consequences, including removal, on those without a legal basis to remain in the United States and grant immigration relief or protections more promptly to noncitizens with valid claims.

Cape Cod Hospital, located in Hyannis, Massachusetts, has agreed to a $24.3 million settlement to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act. The hospital was accused of knowingly submitting claims to Medicare for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures that did not comply with Medicare's specific rules for patient evaluation.

The Justice Department has announced that the Shelby County, Tennessee, District Attorney General (DA) has reached an agreement to halt the prosecution of individuals living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) under Tennessee’s aggravated prostitution law. The DA will also implement reforms to rectify discrimination against people living with HIV who have been subjected to discriminatory and harsher penalties under this law.

The Justice Department has unsealed charges, seizures, and other court-authorized actions aimed at disrupting the illicit revenue generation efforts of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea). The charges include prosecutions of an Arizona woman, a Ukrainian man, and three unidentified foreign nationals who allegedly participated in schemes to place overseas information technology (IT) workers—posing as U.S. citizens and residents—in remote positions at U.S. companies.

A federal jury in Charlotte, North Carolina has convicted Greg E. Lindberg, founder and chairman of multinational investment company Eli Global LLC, and his consultant John D. Gray, for their involvement in a bribery scheme. The conviction came after a retrial that focused on the duo's orchestration of improper campaign contributions and manipulation of independent expenditure accounts.

On May 14 and 15, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT), in conjunction with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Assistance (INL) as well as the Mexican Attorney General’s office (FGR), conducted the third in a series of workshops with prosecutors from FGR. The workshop was held under the guidance of Licenciado Miguel Angel Méndez Buenos Aires, director of the Specialized Office for International Affairs (FEAIN).

An indictment was unsealed recently, charging Anton Peraire-Bueno, 24, of Boston, and James Pepaire-Bueno, 28, of New York with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges stem from an alleged scheme by the defendants to exploit the Ethereum blockchain's integrity to fraudulently obtain approximately $25 million worth of cryptocurrency within approximately 12 seconds. The brothers were arrested in Boston and New York respectively and will be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul G. Levenson for the District of...