Month: May 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal jury in Central Islip, New York, convicted Long Island residents Sean Novis, 51, and Gary Denkberg, 58, of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, fraudulent use of fictitious names and aiding and abetting other mail fraud schemes.

In August 2020, Novis and Denkberg were charged with operating mass mailing fraud schemes that tricked thousands of victims, many of whom were elderly, into providing the defendants with money by falsely promising prizes. Evidence presented at trial showed that, from January 2003 to September 2016, Novis and Denkberg mailed millions of prize notices that falsely represented that the victims had been specifically chosen to receive a large cash prize and would receive the prize if they paid a fee. Victims who paid the requested fee, however, did not receive the promised cash prize. Although the notices appeared to be personalized correspondence, they were merely mass-produced, boilerplate documents that were bulk mailed to recipients whose names and addresses were on mailing lists.

“The Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch is committed to pursuing criminals who defraud the elderly,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “I thank the Postal Inspection Service for conducting a thorough and successful investigation.”

“The two defendants targeted and defrauded elderly Americans, the most vulnerable of populations, through a mass-mailing scheme,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is deeply committed to protecting the elderly from fraudulent schemes. These convictions underscore the Postal Inspection Service’s and the Department of Justice’s dedication and determination to keep susceptible communities safe from financial exploitation and bring criminals to justice.”

According to trial evidence, Novis and Denkberg continued to operate their fraudulent mass-mailing scheme in violation of U.S. Postal Service cease-and-desist agreements and consent orders that they had agreed to in 2012. The agreements and orders had permanently barred the defendants from mailing fraudulent prize notices.

Novis and Denkberg will be scheduled for sentencing later this year, in Central Islip before U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack of the Eastern District of New York. The defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The court will determine any sentences after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

The trial resulted from a multi-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The case is being prosecuted by trial attorneys Charles Dunn, J. Matt Williams, and Carolyn Rice of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.

The department’s extensive and broad-based efforts to combat elder fraud seeks to halt the widespread losses seniors suffer from fraud schemes. The best method for prevention, however, is by sharing information about the various types of elder fraud schemes with relatives, friends, neighbors and other seniors who can use that information to protect themselves.

If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud, and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is staffed seven days a week from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish and other languages are available.

Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Information about the Department of Justice’s Elder Fraud Initiative is available at www.justice.gov/elderjustice.

* * *

The case name is captioned United States of America v. Sean Novis et al., No. 2:20-cr-00335 (E.D.N.Y.).

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Department of Justice  announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with JMJ Talent Solutions Inc. (JMJ Talent Solutions), a staffing company with four locations throughout Indiana. The settlement resolves a claim that JMJ Talent Solutions discriminated against three non-U.S. citizens because of their citizenship status when it asked them to present specific documentation to prove they had permission to work in the United States instead of letting them choose which valid documents to show.

“Employers may not discriminate against workers when verifying their permission to work in the United States – such as by rejecting their valid documentation, requesting specific documentation, or requesting more documents than necessary — based on the workers’ citizenship status or national origin,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “All workers have the right to choose the valid documents they want to present for that process. The Justice Department will continue to fight to remove unlawful barriers in the workplace.”

Based on its investigation, the department determined that, after rejecting valid documentation that a non-U.S. citizen presented to prove she was allowed to work in the United States, JMJ Talent Solutions requested that she present specific immigration documents, including a Permanent Resident Card with an unexpired date. The department also determined that the staffing company asked at least two other lawful permanent residents to present their Permanent Resident Cards to prove their permission to work.

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) prohibits employers from rejecting documentation that reasonably appears to be valid and to relate to the person who presents it, from asking workers to show specific documentation, and from asking for more documentation than the law requires to prove their permission to work. Employers that do so may violate the INA’s anti-discrimination provision.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, JMJ Talent Solutions will pay a civil penalty, post notices informing workers of their rights under the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, train its staff and be subject to departmental monitoring for three years.

The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; and retaliation and intimidation. 

Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. Find more information on how employers can avoid discriminating when verifying an employee’s permission to work on IER’s website. Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment, or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify); or subjected to retaliation, may file a charge. The public can also call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); email IER@usdoj.gov; sign up for a free webinar; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe to GovDelivery to receive updates from IER. View the Spanish translation of this press release here.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

MEDFORD, Ore.—On May 17, 2022, a Humboldt County, California man was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for the armed kidnapping of three adult victims, including a former dating partner, and illegally possessing a stolen firearm as a convicted felon.

George Gene Rose, 45, was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.

“Mr. Rose’s callous and terrifying kidnapping of his former partner and two other adult victims warrant the lengthy prison sentence imposed today. We hope this sentence will bring some measure of peace and closure for these victims after this harrowing ordeal,” said Scott Erik Asphaug, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. 

“The physical and emotional toll Mr. Rose subjected his victims to cannot be undone; however, our hope is that today’s sentence begins the healing process for these victims. His actions were cold-blooded and egregious and physical and emotional violence of this kind will not be tolerated,” said Kieran L. Ramsey, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon.

According to court documents, on August 3, 2020, Rose entered the apartment of his first victim, a former dating partner, and waited for them to return home from work. Once inside, he stole a shotgun and several shotgun shells belonging to the victim’s landlord. When the victim returned home with a roommate, Rose confronted both individuals and ordered them to the ground at gunpoint. He bound both by their hands and feet and placed duct tape over their mouths and faces. Rose located a third victim in an adjacent bedroom and tied them up in a similar manner at gunpoint. When the third victim tried to break free of the binding, Rose struck them in the head with the butt of the stolen shotgun.

Rose then forced all three victims into a stolen pickup truck and fled. Several hours later, he released his second and third victims in a rural area of Northern California and told them to seek help from a house located two miles away. Rose continued driving north toward Oregon, while his first victim faded in and out of consciousness. Near Talent, Oregon, Rose abandoned the truck and led his first victim, who was not wearing shoes, through a densely wooded area. He repeatedly voiced his intention to kill the victim and himself.

Three days after the kidnapping, Rose’s victim convinced him to turn himself in. Rose eventually allowed the victim to knock on the door of a nearby residence and negotiate the terms of his surrender to police. Rose was arrested in possession of the stolen shotgun and more than two dozen shotgun shells.

On May 20, 2021, a federal grand jury in Medford returned a two-count indictment charging Rose with kidnapping and illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. On September 27, 2021, he pleaded guilty to both charges.

U.S. Attorney Asphaug and Special Agent in Charge Ramsey made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, and the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office. It was prosecuted by John C. Brassell, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

Domestic violence involving a current or former partner is a serious crime that includes both physical and emotional abuse. Sometimes these crimes are hidden from public view with survivors suffering in silence, afraid to seek help or not knowing where to turn. The traumatic effects of domestic violence also extend beyond the abused person, impacting family members and communities.

If you or someone you know are in immediate danger, please call 911.

If you need assistance or know someone who needs help, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or texting “START” to 88788. Many communities throughout the country have also developed support networks to assist survivors in the process of recovery.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

NEWARK, N.J. – A Florida man was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for his role in a health care fraud and kickback scheme, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Pat Truglia, 54, of Parkland, Florida, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark federal court to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Judge McNulty imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court. Two co-defendants, Nicholas Defonte, 73, and Christopher Cirri, 64, both of Toms River, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing.

According to documents filed in these cases and statements made in court:

Each defendant played a role in defrauding health care benefit programs by offering, paying, soliciting, and receiving kickbacks and bribes in exchange for completed doctors’ orders for durable medical equipment, namely orthotic braces (DME orders):
• Truglia and his conspirators had financial interests in multiple DME companies. The DME companies paid kickbacks to suppliers of DME orders, including Cirri, Defonte, and Truglia, in exchange for DME orders, which the DME companies subsequently fraudulently billed to Medicare, TRICARE, CHAMPVA, and other health care benefit programs. Truglia and his conspirators concealed their ownership of the DME companies by using straw owners who were falsely reported to Medicare as the owners of the companies.

• Truglia, Cirri, Defonte, and their conspirators owned and operated multiple call centers through which they obtained DME orders for beneficiaries of Medicare and other federal health care programs. The call centers paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to telemedicine companies to obtain DME orders for these beneficiaries. The telemedicine companies then paid physicians to write medically unnecessary DME orders. The DME orders were provided to DME supply companies owned by Truglia and others in exchange for bribes. The DME supply companies in turn provided the braces to beneficiaries and fraudulently billed the health care programs.

• Cirri, Defonte, and their conspirators had business relationships with call centers through which they obtained prescriptions for compounded medications and other medical products reimbursable by federal and private health care benefit programs. Cirri and Defonte provided these prescriptions for compounded medical prescriptions and other medical products in exchange for kickbacks and bribes from companies that fraudulently billed them to health care programs.

The defendants caused losses to Medicare, TRICARE, and CHAMPVA of approximately $50 million.

In addition to the prison term, Judge McNulty sentenced Truglia to three years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $33,777,799.67 and forfeiture of $9,477,925.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Messenger in Newark; the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert; the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty; and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean M. Sherman of the Opioid Abuse Prevention & Enforcement and Health Care Fraud Units in Newark, Senior Trial Counsel Barbara Ward of the Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Unit in Newark, and Trial Attorney Darren Halverson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Defense counsel:

Truglia: Bernard M. Cassidy Esq., Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Cirri: Timothy Anderson Esq., Red Bank, New Jersey
Defonte: Robert Weir Esq., Little Silver, New Jersey

Source: United States Department of Justice News

在昨天呈交到布鲁克林联邦法院的一份起诉书中，美国公民、皇后区居民王书君和中国国家安全部（国安部）的四名官员被指控犯有与间谍和跨国镇压有关的阴谋和其他罪行. 国安部的四名官员分别是贺锋，又称“贺老板”, 纪杰，李明，又称“唐长老”和“小李子”，以及吕可清，又称“吕老板”. 王书君此前于2022年3月16日因刑事指控被捕，稍后将被传讯。贺、纪、李、吕仍然在逃.

美国纽约东区检察官布雷昂皮尔斯, 司法部国家安全司助理部长马修 G.奥尔森, 以及联邦调查局纽约分局助理局长迈克尔.德里斯科尔宣布了这些指控.

“正如指控所述，王书君在自己社区充当地下情报人员，监视著名民运人士和组织，并将敏感信息报告给他的同案被告：中国国家安全部的成员”，美国检察官皮尔斯表示. “在美的中国公民支持民主信仰和言论，导致中国政府威胁他们的人身安全和自由. 今天的起诉书揭露并扰乱了这种行为. 我们办公室和我们的执法伙伴将保持警惕，挫败针对我国公民和居民的外国间谍活动”.

“我们不会容忍中国或任何权威政府向我国公民施压，”助理司法部长奥尔森说. 这些指控表明，司法部将坚定不移地把所有试图压制美国境内的不同政见，阻止我们的居民行使其合法权利的违法者绳之以法”.

助理局长德里斯科尔指出，我们指控，王为中国工作.他参加了一个民运组织，意图监视那些成员.他把居住在美国的持不同政见者作为目标，危及他们的生命与安全. 中国政府一次又一次地证明，它愿意无视我们的法律来追捕那些公开反对该政权的人. 我们正在与我们的执法伙伴积极合作，以阻止这些行为. 我们希望那些担心自己安全的人能够与我们联系”.

王是一位知名学者和作家. 他在皇后区帮助建立了一个反对中国现行共产党政权的民运组织. 然而，正如指控所述，至少自2011年以来，王利用自己在中国侨民和持不同政见社团的身份和地位，为国安部和中国政府秘密收集有关著名活动人士和人权领袖的信息. 作为王的联络人，贺、纪、李、吕指使王把中国认为有颠覆性的个人和团体作为目标，如香港民运人士、台独倡导者， 支持维吾尔和西藏的人士等，并获取对国安部至关重要的特定主题和事件的信息.   

如起诉书所述，王通过加密通讯应用程序和电子邮件，以及在中国会面等方式，与包括贺、纪、李、吕在内的国安部沟通并提供信息. 王经常将所收集的信息记录到电子邮件“日记”，供国安部查阅. 这些“日记”包括王与知名异议人士的私人谈话以及民运人士和人权组织的活动细节. 王被捕后，从他家中搜查发现， 王曾给贺、纪、李、吕以及其他国安部官员写了大约163篇“日记”. 

比如，在2016年11月22日前后的一系列沟通中，纪指示王在即将到来的民运活动中与某位特定与会者见面，以“完成老板（指吕）所指派的任务”. 纪说，他们感兴趣的与会者和“藏族人、维吾尔族人、蒙古族人”有联系，希望王能有“好的成绩”. 在2016年11月16日左右的另一次沟通中，王告诉李，他刚刚结束与一位知名人权活动人士“交谈”，他问了“必要的问题”并得到了“坦诚”的回答. 李回复“很好”，加以竖起拇指的表情符号，指示王记录到“日记”里.  在王向国安部报告的人员里，至少有一名香港民运人士和持不同政见者(在起诉书中称为“香港持不同政见者1”)随后被中国政府逮捕.

除上述行为外，起诉书还指控王持有并向国安部转交中国持不同政见者人士的电话号码和联系方式，并向联邦执法部门严重撒慌，抵赖与中国官员或国安部有联系.   

起诉书中的罪名仅仅是指控，除非被告证明有罪，否则假定无罪.

政府的案件由纽约东区检察官办公室的国家安全和网络犯罪科办理。美国助理检察官阿迪麦康奈负责起诉，国家安全处反情报和出口管制科的出庭律师斯科特A.克拉菲协助。

被告：

王书君
年龄：73
纽约皇后区

贺锋（又称“贺老板”）
年龄：49
广东，中国

纪杰
年龄：50
青岛，中国

李明（又称“唐长老”和“小李子”）
年龄：40
广东，中国

吕可清，又称（“吕老板”）
年龄：61
青岛，中国

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-00230(SJ)(JRC)