Month: April 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PORTLAND, Ore.— Every April, the Justice Department’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) leads communities across the country in observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) to honor crime victims, promote their rights and recognize victim advocates. This year’s observance, the 41st annual commemoration, takes place April 24-30, 2022 with the theme: Rights, access, equity for all victims.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office joins its federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners in taking this opportunity to highlight the importance of providing necessary services at the earliest possible stage of victimization and litigation. Early intervention helps prevent further victimization and encourages victim involvement in the criminal justice system, mitigating the cycle of violence and restoring hope for the future.

“Supporting and seeking justice on behalf of crime victims is central to the mission of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. We see unbelievable examples of victim courage nearly every day in the work we do. Their persistence and resolve, often in the face of incredible adversity, motivates all of us in federal law enforcement to continue vigorously advocating on their behalf,” said Scott Erik Asphaug, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

During National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, victim advocacy organizations, community groups and state, local, and tribal agencies host rallies, candlelight vigils, and other events to raise awareness of victims’ rights and services. This year, several national events are returning in-person, but will continue to feature livestream feeds. On the evening of April 28^th, a candlelight vigil will be held on the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol from 3:30-4:30 pm PDT. On April 29^th, the National Crime Victims’ Service Award Ceremony will be held at Constitution Gardens National Park on the National Mall from 12:00-2:00 pm PDT. To access a livestream feed for either event, please visit ovc.ojp.gov/live. 

OVC and the U.S. Attorney’s Office encourages widespread participation in the week’s events and in other victim-related observances throughout the year. For additional information about this year’s National Crime Victims’ Rights Week and how to assist victims in your community, please visit OVC’s website at www.ovc.gov. For ongoing updates from OVC and ideas throughout the year on how you can support victims, please subscribe to OVC’s email notifications at https://ovc.ncjrs.gov/ncvrw/subscribe/.

If you or someone you know are in immediate danger, please call 911. If you believe you’ve been the target or victim of a crime, please contact your local law enforcement agency or your nearest FBI field office immediately. The FBI Portland Field Office can be reached at (503) 224-4181 or by submitting tips online at tips.fbi.gov.

Source: United States Department of Justice

Remarks as Delivered

Good morning, Chairwoman Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, and distinguished Members of this subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.

Over the past 411 days that I have been Attorney General, three co-equal priorities have guided the work of the Justice Department: keeping our country safe; protecting civil rights; and upholding the rule of law. 

These priorities reflect the Justice Department’s mission, and our mission is reflected in the President’s FY23 Budget.

Our first funding priority is keeping our country safe from all threats, foreign and domestic – whether from hostile nation-states, terrorists, or common criminals. 

As our country’s chief law enforcement officer, I am committed to supporting members of law enforcement at all levels of government as they work to protect our country, while also safeguarding civil liberties and ensuring our own accountability to the American people.

To these ends, the President’s FY23 Budget requests more than $20.2 billion to support the work of the Justice Department’s law enforcement components and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices nationwide as they carry out their complex mission sets.

These resources will strengthen the Justice Department’s efforts to reduce violent crime and gun violence; to counter the multitude of serious and evolving threats to our country from terrorists, cybercriminals, and hostile nation-states; to combat the violent drug trafficking networks that are fueling our nation’s overdose epidemic; and to protect our nation’s democratic institutions – including the one we sit in today – from violent attack.

In addition, the President has proposed a total of more than $30 billion in new investments over the next decade to support law enforcement by funding the police, preventing crime, and accelerating criminal justice reform.

In FY23 alone, the President’s Budget requests more than $8 billion in grants for states and localities nationwide to fund the police, including by putting more police officers on the beat, and to implement community-based strategies to prevent crime and gun violence.

The President’s FY23 Budget also prioritizes the protection of civil rights. We are seeking a 32% increase in funding for the Civil Rights Division, as well as additional resources for our U.S. Attorneys, the FBI, the Community Relations Service, and our Office for Access to Justice. Our civil rights work remains vital to safeguarding voting rights, prosecuting hate crimes, ensuring constitutional policing, and addressing unlawful discrimination.

Another area of departmental focus is safeguarding economic security, fairness, and opportunity. This is reflected in our request for resources to protect the American people from intellectual property crimes; to reinvigorate antitrust enforcement and consumer protection; to combat corporate crime; and to bring to justice those who seek to profit unlawfully from the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the Department requests a total of $273 million – an increase of 41.6% – for the Antitrust Division to carry out its critical mission of promoting competition in the American economy and protecting workers, consumers, and businesses alike.

Finally, we are requesting $11.7 billion to ensure the just administration of our nation’s immigration courts and federal correctional systems. 

This includes $1.35 billion for the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which I’ll be referring to as EOIR, to reduce the immigration court backlog by hiring more than 1,200 new staff, including approximately 200 immigration judge teams over the FY22 enacted level. Our request for $8.18 billion for the Bureau of Prisons will help ensure the health, safety, and wellbeing of the more than 150,000 individuals in federal custody, as well as the officers who protect them. This request would allow BOP to hire 1,300 new correctional officers and First Step Act staff and would be used to support rehabilitative programming and improve conditions of confinement. 

I respectfully ask for your support for our budget as our Justice Department works to uphold the rule of law, to keep our country safe, and to protect civil rights for all.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Michigan man pleaded guilty yesterday to tax evasion arising from his near decade-long effort to prevent the IRS from collecting taxes he and his businesses owed.

According to court documents, Scott Chappelle, 61, of Okemos and East Lansing, was an attorney and former CPA who operated Terra Management Company, Strathmore Development Company Michigan LLC and Terra Holdings LLC, all of which were involved in real estate development and property management in the East Lansing area. As part of his guilty plea, Chappelle admitted he did not pay over to the IRS employment taxes withheld from the wages of the companies’ employees. When the IRS sought to collect the unpaid taxes, Chappelle made false statements to the agency about his and his companies’ assets and income, concealed his vacation house on Lake Michigan and purchased real property in nominee names instead of his own. Chappelle also falsely told IRS employees he could not afford to pay his tax debts, when in reality he was contemporaneously using business bank accounts to pay paid for personal expenses such as mortgage payments on two houses and a condominium, college tuition for his children, personal credit card bills, life insurance premiums, car payments for himself and one of his children, and expenses associated with boats he owned.

Chappelle also lied to IRS special agents who were investigating his misconduct. He falsely stated he had not purchased property since the IRS began collection activities, and he concealed the source of the funds used to pay for a mortgage on a condominium in East Lansing. During the criminal investigation, Chappelle also filed a false employment tax return for Terra Holdings LLC on which he claimed the company had no employees and paid no wages during the time period covered by the return. In fact, Chappelle knew the company had employees and paid wages during that period because he approved submissions to the company’s payroll provider.

Chappelle further admitted to making false statements on a loan application when he refinanced the mortgage on his Lake Michigan vacation house in Harbor Springs.

Chappelle is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 2. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for tax evasion. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Andrew B. Birge for the Western District of Michigan made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Melissa S. Siskind of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy P. VerHey for the Western District of Michigan are prosecuting the case.