Source: United States Navy
MONTEREY, Calif. – In late 2015, two Marines were killed and 20 others injured after a MV-22 Osprey crashed during pre-deployment training at Bellows Air Force Base in Hawaii. The culprit … Sand and dust entering the aircraft’s engines, melting from high temperatures, and clogging the systems, causing a severe brownout.
Source: United States Department of Justice News
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Joseph John Marak, 62, of Surprise, Arizona, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Susan M. Brnovich to 30 months of supervised probation and fined $2,400. Marak previously pleaded guilty to one count of Submission of a Materially False Voter Registration Application, a felony offense.
Johnson pleaded guilty in January 2022 to submitting a voter registration application in which he falsely certified that “I am not a convicted felon.” Marak’s certification was false because in August 2011, he was convicted of 18 felony counts in the United States District Court of the Eastern District of North Carolina and was sentenced to 72 months in prison. Marak further admitted that based upon his fraudulent registration, he voted in six federal elections from 2016 to 2020.
“This is the second voter fraud case we’ve charged in the last year, and the first arising out of the 2020 election cycle,” said United States Attorney Gary Restaino. “Voting is a crucial civil right, and exercising one’s voice is a key part of a felon’s reentry to society. But there are rules: If you wish to vote in Arizona following a felony conviction, please speak first with your local County Recorder to fully understand the process for restoring your voting rights.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank T. Galati handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-22-00021-SMB
RELEASE NUMBER: 2022-032_Marak
Source: United States Department of Justice News
TULSA, Okla. – A federal jury convicted a Salina, Oklahoma, man Wednesday for sexually abusing a child while the man was a military dependent at U.S. Army Garrison (USAG)-Yongsan, within the Republic of Korea, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
Source: United States Department of Justice News
CHICAGO — A federal jury has convicted a suburban Chicago man of laundering illegal narcotics proceeds on behalf of drug traffickers in Mexico.
In the summer and fall of 2017, HUAZHI HAN schemed with an individual in Mexico to facilitate the receipt of more than $1 million in narcotics proceeds in the United States. Han picked up the drug money from others in the Chicago area and used the cash to purchase and then re-sell electronic devices. Han and another individual then caused the laundered money to be sent back to the traffickers in Mexico.
In November 2017, Han attempted to receive approximately $100,000 in narcotics money from a drug dealer. At the time, Han was in possession of approximately $200,000 in cash, a firearm, and two loaded magazines. Law enforcement then searched Han’s residence and discovered a money counter, multiple firearms, more than $1.1 million in cash concealed in cookie tins inside of a drop ceiling in the basement, and approximately $200,000 in cash in vacuum-sealed packaging in the basement closet. In June 2018, law enforcement arrested Han after he received approximately $192,000 in money that was represented to Han to be drug money. At that time, Han was again in possession of a loaded firearm.
After a two-week trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago, the jury on Thursday convicted Han, 43, of North Riverside, Ill., on all four charges against him, including one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of attempted concealment money laundering, one count of conducting a financial transaction with funds represented to be drug proceeds, and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. In addition to the guilty verdicts, the jury returned a special verdict as to the forfeiture of criminally derived property, finding that Han should forfeit approximately $1.5 million in cash, four handguns, a 2016 Mercedes-Benz automobile, a 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan, and an iPhone.
Each money laundering count is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison, while the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business count is punishable by up to five years. U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood has not yet set a sentencing date.
The conviction was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Robert J. Bell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Substantial assistance was provided by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago, Chicago Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Department of Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard M. Rothblatt and Alexandra Morgan.
Source: United States Department of Justice
The Justice Department found today that the Indiana State Board of Nursing (Nursing Board) violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by prohibiting nurses who take medication to treat Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) from participating in the Indiana State Nursing Assistance Program. The program assists in rehabilitating and monitoring nurses with substance use disorders, and is often required for these nurses to maintain an active license or have one reinstated. The letter of findings asks the Nursing Board to work with the Justice Department to resolve the civil rights violations identified during the course of its investigation.
The department opened an investigation in response to a complaint from a nurse alleging that she was denied participation in the State Nursing Assistance Program because she takes prescribed medication for OUD. The investigation corroborated that the Nursing Board prohibits program participants from using OUD medication and that tapering the nurse off her medication would come with a significant risk of relapse and harm.
“Recovery and monitoring programs must allow individuals to use proven medications that support their recovery, including prescribed medications that treat Opioid Use Disorder,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Refusing to allow individuals to participate in a required support program because of their disabilities violates the ADA and makes it harder for individuals to secure and maintain jobs and livelihoods. Removing discriminatory barriers to employment is an important priority of the Civil Rights Division.”
“Opioid Use Disorder is a difficult disease that impacts people in every occupation. Patients must not be forced to choose between medically approved treatments and their livelihoods,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers for the Southern District of Indiana. “We will work closely with our partners in the Civil Rights Division to ensure that the Americans with Disabilities Act is appropriately enforced.”
Methadone and buprenorphine (including brand names Subutex and Suboxone) are approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat OUD. According to the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), methadone and buprenorphine help diminish the effects of physical dependency on opioids. When taken as prescribed, these medications are safe and effective.
Under Title II of the ADA, the department provided the Nursing Board with written notice of the supporting facts for these findings and the remedial measures necessary to address them. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov. For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. The letter can be viewed here.