Month: March 2022

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Security News in Brief: Brothers Facing Federal Charges for Alleged Bank Fraud in the Purchase and Sale of Two Baltimore Properties

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Defendants Allegedly Falsified Bank Statements, Misrepresented Ownership Intentions, and Allegedly Made False Statements on a Loan Application

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Philip Abramowitz, age 50, of Pikesville, Maryland, with bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud and Calvin Abramowitz, age 48, of Lakewood, New Jersey, with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and for making false statements on a loan application.

The defendants will have initial appearances on March 24, 2022, beginning at 1:30 p.m., in U.S. District Court in Baltimore before U.S. Magistrate Judge Coulson.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Special Agent in Charge Bertrand Nelson of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General.

According to the four-count indictment, from May 2016 to April 2017, Philip and Calvin Abramowitz conspired to defraud two financial institutions to obtain money and property under fraudulent pretenses.  Allegedly, Philip, Calvin Abramowitz, as well as others submitted mortgage applications totaling $535,448 to fund the purchase of two Baltimore Properties.  Allegedly, the loan applications contained false information that misrepresented the financing of the purchases and the ownership interests and intentions of the involved parties.

As alleged in the indictment, Philip Abramowitz instructed family members to apply for and receive Federal Housing Administration loans in their names in order to finance the purchase of two of his Baltimore properties.  Further, the indictment alleges that Philip and Calvin Abramowitz concealed Philip Abramowitz’s involvement in the real estate transactions and submitted false bank records and company filings during the loan application process to conceal the buyers’ and sellers’ familial relation.

Further, the indictment alleges that Philip Abramowitz falsified LLC records to create the illusion that his property manager was the sole owner of the selling entity in both property transactions and instructed his property manager to sign all closing documents as the “seller” to finalize the sales and the disbursement of loan proceeds.  In addition, the indictment alleges that Philip Abramowitz provided funds to Calvin Abramowitz to cover Calvin Abramowitz’s and another family members closing costs for both properties.

If convicted, Philip Abramowitz faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for bank fraud and 30 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud.  If convicted, Calvin Abramowitz faces a maximum sentence of 30 years for bank fraud, a maximum of 30 years for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and 30 in federal prison for making false statements on a loan application.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HUD-OIG for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Martin Clarke, who is prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Security News in Brief: Illinois Man Sentenced to 30 Months for Illegal Gun Possession

Source: United States Department of Justice News

MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Keith T. Jones, 28, Chicago, Illinois was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 30 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  This prison term will be followed by 3 years of supervised release.  Jones pleaded guilty to this charge on December 15, 2021.

On the night of August 24, 2020, La Crosse Police Department officers responded to a shots-fired complaint in La Crosse.  Officers learned that multiple gunshots were fired from a gray minivan towards a blue sedan.  Multiple residents reported bullet hole damage to their homes from the shooting, including into a bedroom that was occupied at the time. 

The next day, officers conducted a traffic stop on the gray minivan involved in the shooting.  Jones was one of the occupants in the minivan at the time of the stop.  Officers searched the minivan and found a loaded Taurus 9mm handgun in the center console, and a spent 9mm shell casing under the driver’s seat.  The Taurus handgun was identified as the same firearm used in the shooting the night before, and further investigation revealed that Jones was the shooter.  In addition, analysis by the Wisconsin State Crime Lab identified Jones’ DNA on the firearm.  Jones was prohibited from possessing a firearm based on a prior felony conviction. 

At sentencing, Judge Peterson noted that Jones’s gun possession was connected to a shooting that occurred in a neighborhood which posed a profound risk to the community, including both the intended targets as well as bystanders.  Judge Peterson said the sentence was meant to be a deterrent to Jones to prevent any future involvement with firearms, and also a message that shootings which take place in communities have to be taken seriously and will lead to steeper punishment. 

Co-defendant Antwan Taylor, who was also involved in this drive-by shooting,  previously pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison by Judge Peterson on December 2, 2021.

The charge against Jones was the result of an investigation conducted by the La Crosse Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The La Crosse County District Attorney’s Office also provided assistance in this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven P. Anderson prosecuted this case. 

This case has been brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the U.S. Justice Department’s program to reduce violent crime.  The PSN approach involves collaboration by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and communities to prevent and deter gun violence. 

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Security News in Brief: Florida Return Preparer Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Florida tax return preparer was sentenced yesterday to 97 months in prison for preparing false tax returns for his clients.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Fred Pickett Jr., of Belle Glade, owned and operated a tax return business he used to prepare false individual income tax returns. From 2013 to 2016, Pickett prepared tax returns for some of his clients claiming they owned fictitious businesses that lost tens of thousands of dollars each year. Pickett included these nonexistent companies, as well as other false deductions and tax credits, on his clients’ returns to generate refunds they were not entitled to receive. In December 2021, Pickett was convicted at trial of 22 counts of aiding and assisting the preparation of false tax returns.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg ordered Pickett to serve one year of supervised release and pay approximately $169,639 in restitution to the IRS.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Parker Tobin and Patrick Elwell of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.

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Security News in Brief: United States and Canada Welcome Negotiations of a CLOUD Act Agreement

Source: United States Department of Justice

The United States and Canada have entered into formal negotiations for a bilateral agreement under the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act, to enhance the existing robust law enforcement cooperation between the two allies.

Attorney General Merrick Garland welcomed the opening of negotiations.

“The United States looks forward to working with the Government of Canada on negotiating this agreement,” said Attorney General Garland. “Such an agreement, if finalized and approved, would pave the way for more efficient cross-border disclosures of data between the United States and Canada so that our governments can more effectively fight serious crime, including terrorism, while safeguarding the privacy and civil liberties values that we both share. By increasing the effectiveness of investigations and prosecutions of serious crime, including terrorism, in both countries, we seek to enhance the safety and security of citizens on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.”

The United States enacted the CLOUD Act in 2018 to streamline access to electronic information held by providers that is critical to investigations of serious crime, including terrorism, while maintaining strong protections for the rule of law, privacy, and civil liberties. The act creates a new paradigm: an efficient, privacy and civil liberties-protective approach to ensure effective access to electronic information through executive agreements between the United States and trusted foreign partners. Pursuant to such agreements, legal barriers prohibiting service providers subject to U.S. laws from responding to lawful orders to disclose electronic evidence that are issued by the other party will be lifted, and reciprocal access will be permitted under the laws of the trusted foreign partner.

While such electronic information can currently be sought through the mutual legal assistance (MLA) process, the CLOUD Act provides an alternative expedited framework for obtaining it while protecting privacy and civil liberties. The number of MLA requests for electronic information held by service providers in the United States has increased dramatically in recent years, straining resources and slowing response times under the current MLA process. The CLOUD Act addresses delays in that process by providing an additional path for trusted partner countries to obtain electronic information.

For more information on the CLOUD Act, visit: https://www.justice.gov/dag/cloudact and https://www.justice.gov/dag/page/file/1153466/download.

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Security News in Brief: Readout of U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland’s Participation in Reestablishing the United States-Canada Cross-Border Crime Forum

Source: United States Department of Justice News

This afternoon U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, along with U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas, met in Washington, D.C. with Canada’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General, David Lametti and Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, Marco Mendicino, to reestablish the Cross-Border Crime Forum (CBCF). 

Today’s meeting marked the first principal-level meeting of the CBCF in more than a decade and focused upon the key law enforcement issues highlighted in the Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership, a blueprint announced in February 2021 by President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau to guide a renewed U.S.-Canada partnership.

The CBCF was first launched in April 1997 just as Attorney General Garland’s last tour at the Justice Department was coming to a close.  For nearly 25 years, the CBCF served as the principal forum for bilateral law enforcement cooperation between the United States and Canada. Under the leadership of the Attorney General, the Secretary of DHS, the Canadian Minister of Public Safety, and the Canadian Minister and Attorney General of the Department of Justice, the reestablished CBCF brings together senior law enforcement officials and prosecutors to address a number of cross-border issues. 

“The Justice Department has no higher priority than keeping the American people safe,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Our ability to fulfill that obligation depends upon our cooperation with trusted law enforcement agencies both heads at home and around the world. Canada is our indispensable friend and partner in that effort. By reestablishing the United States-Canada Cross-Border Crime Forum, we are deepening cooperation on a number of law enforcement challenges — from combatting cybercrime to violent crime and from disrupting terrorist plots and human trafficking. I look forward to continuing to work with our Canadian law enforcement partners in advancing our shared interests and upholding our shared values.”

During today’s constructive dialogue, the leaders discussed enhancing collaboration to counter cybercrime, including by stepping up joint efforts to counter ransomware attacks, and to accelerate our joint efforts to freeze and seize key assets belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarchs worldwide. The leaders also discussed their shared commitment to strengthening information sharing in order to counter domestic and foreign terrorism; combat human trafficking and smuggling threats across North America; and disrupt gun trafficking and smuggling.

In addition, the leaders discussed their shared commitment to increasing access to justice for all, including by tackling racial inequality and discrimination in criminal justice systems.

“As the only agency in our federal government that bears the name of a value, the Justice Department has a unique mission both here at home and around the world,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, who joined Attorney General Garland for the bilateral talks on access to justice.  “Justice exists only if it is accessible to all.  I am grateful for the close and deepening cooperation between the Department’s Office for Access to Justice and Canada’s Access to Justice Secretariat to advance innovative effective strategies to expand equal access to justice for all.”

Alongside Secretary Mayorkas and Associate Attorney General Gupta, the Attorney General was joined by several senior Justice Department officials, including Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen of the National Security Division.