U.S. Department of Justice
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Recent News About U.S. Department of Justice
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An indictment was unsealed today charging two Chinese nationals, Han Li, also known as Anson Li, 44, and Lin Chen, 64, with crimes related to a conspiracy to illegally export U.S. technology, including a machine manufactured by a California-based company that is used to process silicon wafer microchips, to prohibited end users in China, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Chen was arrested in Chicago yesterday."As alleged, the defendants sought to evade export controls to obtain U.S....
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The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have jointly submitted a public comment to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) emphasizing the importance of considering competition concerns in common ownership situations. According to the agencies, "competition is a core component of FERC’s 'public interest' analysis." They further explained that "partial acquisitions, including acquisitions involving common ownership in which individual investors hold non-controlling interests in firms that have a competitive relationship that...
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Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon and Director Kristina Rose of the Office for Victims of Crime honored individuals and organizations for their dedication to helping victims of crime. Solomon expressed gratitude, stating, “We recognize the individuals and organizations represented here that go above and beyond to assist others in their time of crisis.” She emphasized the importance of supporting crime victims and survivors, ensuring they have the help they need.Director Rose highlighted the significance of the event’s theme, “How would you help? Options, services,...
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Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Counselor for International Affairs, Bruce Swartz, recently delivered remarks at the Disruptive Technology Protection Network Trilateral Summit. In his address, Swartz emphasized the importance of cooperation and information sharing among key partners.Swartz began his speech by greeting his colleagues and acknowledging the strong foundation on which the cooperation between the United States, the Republic of Korea, and Japan is built. He highlighted the positive relations in terms of mutual legal assistance and extraditions, stating,...
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Four individuals have been charged in connection with an alleged nationwide abusive-trust tax shelter scheme, as reported in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Denver. The indictment alleges that Marcia Predmore, Roderick Prescott, Suzanne Thompson, and Weldon Wulstein conspired with Larry Conner and Timothy McPhee to defraud the IRS by promoting, selling, and implementing the scheme.According to the indictment, the defendants were involved in a scheme that aimed to help business owners avoid paying federal income taxes on their business income....
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OVW conducted a live web-based pre-application information session for its Fiscal Year 2024 Demonstration Program and Trauma-Informed, Victim Centered Training for Law Enforcement on Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking (Abby Honold) Program solicitation. During the presentation, OVW staff reviewed this program’s requirements, discussed the solicitation, and allowed for a brief question-and-answer period.
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President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has announced the grant of clemency to 16 individuals, including 11 pardons and five commutations. Among those receiving pardons are individuals like Jason Hernandez from McKinney, Texas, Beverly Denise Holcy from Palatka, Florida, and Jeffrey Alan Lewis from Douglasville, Georgia.Hernandez, who was serving a 240-month sentence, had his sentence commuted on December 19, 2013. Holcy, convicted of distributing crack cocaine, was sentenced to 60 months in prison back in June 1994. Lewis, charged with using a communication facility to facilitate...
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Former Massachusetts golf course manager, Kevin Kennedy, has been sentenced to 13 months in prison for tax conspiracy and filing false tax returns. As reported by court documents, Kennedy conspired with a luxury home builder in western Massachusetts to evade taxes owed on money received from managing two municipal golf courses owned by the City of Springfield. The scheme involved the construction of custom homes for Kennedy, with payments made in cash from the golf course proceeds.Kennedy's fraudulent activities extended to filing false individual income tax returns for...
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Director Rosie Hidalgo recently delivered remarks at the 24th Annual International Family Justice Center Conference, where she expressed gratitude to The Alliance for HOPE International for hosting the event. Hidalgo, serving as the Director of the Office on Violence Against Women, highlighted the importance of collective action in shaping policies to combat gender-based violence.Hidalgo acknowledged the progress made in changing societal perceptions of gender-based violence but emphasized the ongoing challenges faced by survivors in accessing necessary resources and...
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A federal jury in Camden, New Jersey, has convicted Bolaji Bolarinwa, 50, and Isiaka Bolarinwa, 67, both of Burlington County, New Jersey, of forced labor and other crimes related to their coercive scheme. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke stated, “The defendants confiscated the victims’ passports, threatened them, degraded them, physically abused them and kept them under constant surveillance, all to coerce the victims’ labor and ruthlessly exploit them for the defendants’ own profit.” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger added, “Forced labor and human trafficking are...
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A federal jury in Miami has convicted the former Comptroller General of Ecuador, Carlos Ramon Polit Faggioni, for his involvement in a $10 million international bribery and money laundering scheme. According to court documents, Polit solicited and received bribes from Odebrecht S.A. and an Ecuadorian businessman in exchange for various favors.Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, stated, “As Comptroller General of Ecuador, Carlos Ramon Polit Faggioni was entrusted to protect the people of...
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A federal grand jury in Seattle has indicted a Washington man for tax evasion and filing false tax returns in connection with his commercial property business. The man in question, Steven Loo, is alleged to have orchestrated a scheme to conceal income earned from his real estate ventures.According to the indictment, Loo controlled and operated several companies that owned commercial real estate properties. The indictment states that Loo diverted income by directing property management companies to issue checks to entities under his control, ultimately totaling over $4.8...
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An indictment was unsealed today in the Southern District of Florida charging three men for their alleged roles in an approximately $36 million health care fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering scheme that involved submitting false and fraudulent claims for COVID-19 testing to health care benefit programs, including Medicare and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) COVID-19 Uninsured Program.Enrique Perez-Paris, 47, of Aventura, Florida, and Diego Sanudo Sanchez Chocron, 47, of Venice, California, made their initial appearances today in the U.S....
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Two bankruptcy petition preparers have been prohibited from providing bankruptcy-related services after being found guilty of targeting vulnerable consumers facing foreclosure, thanks to the enforcement efforts of the Justice Department’s U.S. Trustee Program (USTP).In one case, Kafil Hamim Quaiyum Tunsill was permanently barred from acting as a bankruptcy petition preparer in the Middle District of Florida. Tunsill was also fined $12,500 and instructed to refund $1,900 to a debtor. Director Tara Twomey of the Executive Office for U.S. Trustees emphasized, "Unscrupulous...
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A New Hampshire doctor, Adnan S. Khan, has been charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and commit health care fraud. Khan, 48, of Grantham, allegedly orchestrated illegal prescribing and health care fraud through New England Medicine and Counseling Associates (NEMCA), operating clinics in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. According to court documents, Khan distributed drugs outside the usual course of professional practice, requiring patients to pay cash for prescriptions despite having insurance. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M....
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The Office of Information Policy (OIP) has announced the upcoming NexGen 2.0 FOIA Tech Showcase for federal agencies, scheduled to take place on May 14-16, 2024. The event aims to address existing FOIA case processing and backlog challenges by identifying technology solutions and showcasing advanced technological capabilities.The event will feature a range of vendors providing video demonstrations of their technology products tailored for agency FOIA administration. Following each demonstration, there will be a Q&A session allowing agencies to interact with the vendors...
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The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a civil settlement with victims of the sexual abuse perpetrated by former physician and USA Gymnastics official Lawrence Gerard Nassar. The settlements are in response to 139 administrative claims arising from allegations of sexual abuse committed by Nassar.Nassar, who was arrested in 2016 by the State of Michigan, had sexually abused hundreds of victims over nearly two decades under the pretense of medical treatments. These settlements aim to address administrative claims against the United States regarding the...
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A Florida man, Niselio Barros Garcia Jr., has been sentenced to 48 months in prison for his involvement in laundering the proceeds of scams against American consumers and businesses to co-conspirators in Nigeria. Garcia, of Winter Garden, was part of a network that facilitated the laundering of funds from romance scams, business email compromises, and other fraud schemes by supplying bank accounts and using a cryptocurrency exchange to transfer the funds in Bitcoin to Nigeria.According to court documents, Garcia personally laundered over $2.3 million of criminal proceeds...
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An Illinois woman, Vervia Watts, has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison for her involvement in preparing and filing false income tax returns for clients. Watts, operating a tax preparation business, filed over 900 fraudulent income tax returns for clients between January 2017 and June 2023. These returns included false education expenses and business income to inflate IRS refunds, totaling approximately $1.3 million.In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins for the Northern District of Illinois has ordered Watts to serve one...
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Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC (CNS) has agreed to pay $18.4 million to settle allegations of timecard fraud involving the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) at the Pantex Site near Amarillo, Texas. The settlement comes after CNS was accused of knowingly submitting false claims for work not performed between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2020.Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton emphasized the government's stance on the issue, stating, “We will not tolerate the misuse of public funds by those who do business with the United States....