Month: May 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice

A Super PAC and its president pleaded guilty today to scheming to lie to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) about the true identities of donors.

According to court documents, Joseph Fuentes-Fernandez, 62, of Arlington, Virginia, and the Super PAC for which he served as president and treasurer, Salvemos a Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty today before U.S District Judge Joseph N. Laplante to one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts.

According to the admissions made in connection with their pleas, Fuentes was the president and treasurer of Salvemos a Puerto Rico, which was organized to raise funds to support the 2020 election campaign of Public Official-1, then a candidate for office in the executive branch of the government of Puerto Rico. Soon after Salvemos a Puerto Rico was organized, Fuentes and others also formed two shell § 501(c)(4) nonprofit social welfare organizations. These two § 501(c)(4) entities were registered within seven minutes of each other, listed the same mailing address, and shared some of the same officers.

Fuentes and others solicited hundreds of thousands of dollars of donations to the two shell nonprofit entities, which rapidly sent most of those funds on to Salvemos a Puerto Rico. Fuentes and Salvemos a Puerto Rico then reported to the FEC that the nonprofit organizations were the donors of those funds, rather than reporting the true source of the funds. The purpose of routing these donor funds through the nonprofit organizations was exclusively to conceal the true identities of the donors to Salvemos a Puerto Rico. For example, in October 2020, Fuentes sent this text message to a potential donor: “You can use a third party to not disclose the true donor.” By ensuring that many of the true donors to Salvemos a Puerto Rico remained anonymous, Fuentes and Salvemos a Puerto Rico deprived the people of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the FEC of information about the true source of hundreds of thousands of dollars flowing into the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico’s political system.

In connection with its plea, Salvemos a Puerto Rico has agreed to pay a fine of $150,000 and file amended Reports and Receipts and Disbursements with the FEC containing the true identity of all donors to Salvemos a Puerto Rico from 2020 to the present.

Fuentes and Salvemos a Puerto Rico are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug.15. Fuentes faces a maximum of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow for the District of Puerto Rico, and Special Agent in Charge Joseph González of the FBI’s San Juan Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI’s San Juan Field Office is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Jonathan E. Jacobson of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth A. Erbe for the District of Puerto Rico are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Good afternoon.

I am grateful to Administrator Regan for joining us here at the Justice Department.

Today, I am announcing three actions that the Department is taking to advance environmental justice.

First, consistent with the President’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, we are issuing a comprehensive environmental justice enforcement strategy. Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta will discuss that strategy in just a moment.

Second, I am pleased to announce that we are launching the Justice Department’s first-ever Office of Environmental Justice to oversee and help guide the Justice Department’s wide-ranging environmental justice efforts. Like all parts of government, it will get its own acronym: OEJ.

And third, the Justice Department is issuing an Interim Final Rule that will restore the use of an important law enforcement tool – supplemental environmental projects – subject to new guidelines and limitations that I will also be issuing today.

Administrator Regan and I know that the communities most impacted by environmental harm are not isolated in any one part of our country. Environmental crime and injustice touch communities in all our cities, towns, rural areas, and on Tribal lands.

Although violations of our environmental laws can happen anywhere, communities of color, indigenous communities, and low-income communities often bear the brunt of the harm caused by environmental crime, pollution, and climate change.

They include fenceline communities, where exposure to toxic air pollutants have caused scores of cancer-related deaths.

They include communities where students have been exposed to harmful emissions from boilers in their public schools.

They include communities where infectious diseases have spread because of inadequate wastewater management.

And for far too long, these communities have faced barriers to accessing the justice they deserve.

In partnership with EPA, our new OEJ will serve as the central hub for our efforts to advance our comprehensive environmental justice enforcement strategy.

In our environmental efforts, we will prioritize the cases that will have the greatest impact on the communities most overburdened by environmental harm.

And together with our Civil Rights Division, Office for Access to Justice, Office of Tribal Justice, and United States Attorneys’ Offices, OEJ will prioritize meaningful and constructive engagement with the communities most affected by environmental crime and injustice.

Whenever possible, these efforts will respond directly to community needs and concerns.

The new OEJ will be led by Acting Director Cynthia Ferguson, an experienced attorney from the Environmental Enforcement Section of our Environment and Natural Resources Division.

Cynthia has more than two decades of experience at DOJ advancing environmental justice. Prior to her legal career at DOJ, Cynthia was a mechanical engineer. She has the experience, passion, dedication, common sense, and steady hand we need to help steer OEJ in the days ahead.

Finally, today the Justice Department is also issuing an Interim Final Rule that will restore our ability to use supplemental environmental projects to compensate victims and remedy violations of federal environmental laws. Their use will be subject to new guidelines and limitations set forth in a separate memorandum that I am also issuing today.

These are environmentally beneficial projects that a defendant has proposed and agreed to implement as part of a settlement of an enforcement action.

For decades before 2017, both the Justice Department and the EPA relied upon them to compensate victims, remedy harm, punish and deter violations of the environmental laws.

Because these projects bring environmental and public health benefits to the communities most directly affected by the underlying violations, they are particularly powerful tools for advancing environmental justice.

In closing, let me say – as I have said many times before – that the Justice Department has three essential responsibilities: upholding the rule of law, keeping our country safe, and protecting civil rights.

Seeking and securing justice for communities that are disproportionately burdened by environmental harms is a task demanded by all three of those responsibilities.

It is a task we gladly undertake.

I am now pleased to turn the program over to Administrator Regan.

Source: United States Department of Justice

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland was joined by EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan today in announcing a series of actions to secure environmental justice for all Americans. In addition to launching a new Office of Environmental Justice within the Justice Department, Attorney General Garland also announced a new comprehensive environmental justice enforcement strategy to guide the Justice Department’s work and issued an Interim Final Rule that will restore the use of supplemental environmental projects in appropriate circumstances.

“Although violations of our environmental laws can happen anywhere, communities of color, indigenous communities, and low-income communities often bear the brunt of the harm caused by environmental crime, pollution, and climate change,” said Attorney General Garland. “For far too long, these communities have faced barriers to accessing the justice they deserve. The Office of Environmental Justice will serve as the central hub for our efforts to advance our comprehensive environmental justice enforcement strategy. We will prioritize the cases that will have the greatest impact on the communities most overburdened by environmental harm.”

“EPA and the Justice Department’s partnership to protect overburdened and underserved communities across America has never been stronger,” said EPA Administrator Regan. “This environmental justice enforcement strategy epitomizes the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to holding polluters accountable as a means to deliver on our environmental justice priorities. Critical to that is the return of Supplemental Environmental Projects as a tool to secure tangible public health benefits for communities harmed by environmental violations.”

Consistent with President Biden’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta issued a comprehensive environmental justice enforcement strategy to guide the Justice Department’s litigators, investigators, and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices nationwide to advance the cause of environmental justice through the enforcement of federal laws. Developed by the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) in partnership with EPA, the strategy will ensure that the entire Department is using all available legal tools to promote environmental justice.

The Justice Department also launched its first-ever Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) within ENRD today. This new office will be a critical resource as the Justice Department implements the new comprehensive enforcement strategy. Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim named Cynthia Ferguson, an experienced ENRD attorney with more than a decade working on environmental justice issues, as Acting Director.

Finally, the Justice Department issued an Interim Final Rule today that will restore the use of supplemental environmental projects in appropriate circumstances and subject to guidelines and limitations set forth in a separate memorandum issued by the Attorney General today. For decades before 2017, EPA and ENRD relied upon such projects to provide redress to communities most directly affected by violations of federal environmental laws. For this reason, they are particularly powerful tools for advancing environmental justice. The Justice Department’s Interim Final Rule invites public comment on the new guidelines and limitations, including to inform any future changes to the Justice Department’s approach.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PORTLAND, Ore.—On May 4, 2022, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. proclaimed today, May 5, 2022, as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day.

The proclamation reaffirmed the nation’s commitment to solving all missing and murdered Indigenous persons cases and addressing the underlying causes of these crimes, including sexual violence, human trafficking, domestic violence, other violent crime, systemic racism, economic disparities, and substance use and addition.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon joins its Tribal, federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in taking this opportunity to highlight the importance of supporting Tribal crime victims and synthesizing investigative leads and information across government and law enforcement agencies.

“Supporting and enhancing public safety in Tribal communities is a top priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department. As such, we are fully committed to implementing Savanna’s Act and bolstering the collection and reporting of data on missing or murdered Native people. Despite great progress we have made with our Indian Country partners, we know there is much more the Justice Department and federal government can do to support these communities. We will continue to work diligently toward safety, justice, and healing for all,” said Scott Erik Asphaug, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

In June 2020, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the hiring of its first Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) program coordinator. In February 2021, the office released its first annual MMIP program report, summarizing what is known about missing and murdered Indigenous people in Oregon and outlining the office’s plans and goals. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is expected to release its second annual report this summer.

If you or someone you know have information about missing or murdered Indigenous people in Oregon, please contact the FBI Portland Field Office by calling (503) 224-4181 or by visiting tips.fbi.gov.

If you have questions about the U.S. Attorney’s Office MMIP program, please contact MMIP program coordinator Cedar Wilkie Gillette by emailing Cedar.Wilkie.Gillette@usdoj.gov or by calling (503) 727-1000.

Source: United States Department of Justice

Remarks as Delivered

Thank you, Marvin. It is an honor to be introduced by you. Your illustrious career unmatched, and your contributions to ATF will never be forgotten. We are grateful. It has been an honor to work with you.

Good morning, everyone and welcome to ATF headquarters.  

I want to thank you for joining us today. Most important, I want to thank you for your leadership and for your partnership.

Soon after I was sworn in as Attorney General over a year ago, I launched an anti-violent crime strategy aimed at fighting the rise in violence that we all saw in 2020. 

That strategy is based on partnership: partnership among federal law enforcement agencies assisting in the fight against violent crime; partnership with the local communities facing the harm that violent crime causes them; and partnership with the state, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies protecting those local communities every day.

You in this room are our indispensable partners in everything we do to keep our communities safe. That partnership is this country’s most powerful tool – and our best hope – to protect our communities.

You and your officers are the ones on the frontlines combating violent crime and the gun violence that is often at its core.

You and your officers are the ones who risk your lives every day on behalf of the communities you serve.

That is not just rhetoric. That is stark reality. Just two days ago, I attended the annual Blue Mass in honor of the more than 470 officers who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2021. 

And that is why one of our most important jobs is to give you the support and resources that you need to do yours.

At the Justice Department, we stand shoulder to shoulder with you in the fight to protect our communities from violent crime.

We announced today’s convening earlier this year, during a meeting that President Biden and I held with the local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies that are members of the New York Gun Violence Strategic Partnership.

During your time here over the next two days, you will hear from a wide variety of experts across the Department’s components and law enforcement agencies. You will hear about crime-gun intelligence best practices and the resources that we have available for your departments.

But we want to hear from you – not just during this convening, but at any time. We want to hear how we can be better partners, and what we can do to support you.

By the end of this convening, we hope that you will have seen how ATF’s data-driven, technological approach to combating gun crime makes it an enormous value-add to the capacities of your departments and offices.

Every day, usually outside of the public eye, ATF agents and experts work tirelessly to disrupt the entire cycle of gun violence – from the places where illegally trafficked guns originated to the communities where the shootings are often concentrated.

ATF agents are part of multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional violent crime task forces all across the country. And since last summer, we have also embedded ATF agents in local homicide units, where they have provided expertise and support to individual departments. 

ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Centers (CGIC) coordinate comprehensive crime gun tracing and ballistics evidence analysis. That includes three CGI centers represented here today, the New York-New Jersey HIDTA CGIC, the D.C. Metropolitan Police NIBIN Investigations Unit, and the San Francisco CGIC.

ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network – or NIBIN – turns the evidence that law enforcement agencies collect at crime scenes into leads that assist in identifying, investigating, and prosecuting those who commit violent crimes.

In the last fiscal year, ATF traced well over half a million firearms. 

In this fiscal year, ATF is on pace to trace more than 600,000 firearms. In March of this year, trace requests to the ATF reached an all-time monthly high, with 62,000 trace requests.

Let me briefly describe three recent events that will give you a window on the investigative power that ATF’s tracings can put at your disposal.

The first took place earlier this spring. After a series of shootings of homeless individuals in New York and Washington, D.C., NIBIN established that the same shooter was responsible for all of the shootings. That evidence, in turn, quickly led to leads that led to the identification and arrest of the alleged shooter.

Just a month later, a gunman shot 10 people in a Brooklyn subway. NYPD recovered a gun from the scene, which ATF quickly traced through a series of years-old transactions to the alleged gunman. 

And just last month, I announced a superseding indictment in an alleged gun trafficking conspiracy that stretched across multiple states. 

That case began when a mass shooting in my hometown of Chicago, which left seven people wounded and one person dead. The Chicago Police Department recovered guns from the scene and submitted them to the ATF’s National Tracing Center.

ATF traced those guns and found that five of them had recently been purchased from federally licensed firearms dealers located hundreds of miles away.

Further investigations by our agents and law enforcement partners uncovered a gun trafficking conspiracy involving over 90 guns and 12 defendants.

Many of the guns involved in that conspiracy have since been linked to shootings in the Chicago area in which multiple people have been injured and several killed.

As we continue to strengthen coordination with our law enforcement partners to trace the guns recovered at crime scenes, we are also working to counter the threat posed by certain guns that heretofore have been untraceable. 

We are committed to meeting the threat that those ghost guns pose to your communities and you.

Each U.S. Attorney’s Office and each ATF Field Division is designating coordinators to work with our law enforcement partners to tackle this threat.

And we are updating our regulations to keep pace with the ever-changing firearms technology.

The Department has finalized a rule that makes clear that parts kits that can readily be converted into assembled firearms will now be treated as what they are: firearms.

This means that those who engage in the business of dealing in these guns will be required to mark every frame or receiver with a serial number, so that the guns can be traced if they are used in crimes.

Those who commercially sell these guns must be federally licensed, maintain records, and run background checks before a [sale] – as they would do with any other gun.

And any federal firearms licensee who takes into inventory a ghost gun without a serial number will be required to add one.

These changes will make it harder for criminals and other prohibited persons to get their hands on untraceable weapons.

And they will help ensure that we can get you the trace information you need to solve the crimes in your neighborhoods.

Last week, I testified at House and Senate appropriations hearings regarding the Justice Department’s budget for Fiscal Year 23. 

When I was asked what role the Department’s joint operations with state and local enforcement partners play in our efforts to combat crime, my answer was simple:

They, and that means you, are the center of our strategy, and the core of everything we do.

That is why we directed all 94 United States Attorneys’ Offices across the country to work with their state and local partners to address the violent crime problems that are specific to their districts.

That is why we strengthened Project Safe Neighborhoods, our cornerstone initiative to reduce violent crime at the community level.

That is why we awarded more than $139 million in grants through the COPS Hiring Program, which provided funding to 183 law enforcement agencies nationwide to hire more than 1,000 additional fulltime officers.

That is why we established cross-jurisdictional strike forces designated to disrupt illegal gun trafficking networks.

That is why we instructed our U.S. Attorneys’ offices to prioritize prosecutions of the most dangerous offenders who are responsible for the greatest violence. This includes those who illegally traffic in firearms and those who act as straw purchasers.

As we continue this work, we know that essential to our success – and yours – are resources.

To that end, our FY23 Budget request includes more than $8 billion in grants for states and localities to fund local law enforcement, to build trust with the communities they serve, and to implement community-based strategies to prevent gun crime and gun violence.

As you will hear tomorrow from representatives of the Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, we are committed to providing grants to support your capacity to assist in your efforts to prevent the increases in gun violence in your communities. 

Among other things, those grants will enable individual departments to work alongside ATF to develop comprehensive crime gun intelligence protocols. 

I encourage you to look into how these programs might benefit your departments and to ask any questions that you may have.

All of us – across the entire Justice Department – are committed to using every tool to give you the support that you need to do your jobs safely and effectively.

We know how much is being asked of you and your officers right now.

We know that every day – no matter the difficulty, no matter the danger – you show up.

You make extraordinary sacrifices.

You put your lives on the line.

And you do this because you care deeply about the communities you serve.

We are grateful for your partnership. Thank you for coming to today’s convening.