Month: June 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

FRESNO, Calif. — Sholanda Thomas, 38, an inmate at the Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and aggravated identity theft charges for submitting fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to the California Employment Development Department in her own name and the names of other inmates, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Thomas sent her own and other inmates’ personal identifying information to Christina Smith, who was on parole and had previously been an inmate at CCWF, to submit the fraudulent claims in their names. The underlying applications falsely represented that the inmates had been working as carpet cleaners, hair stylists, mechanics, and other jobs. This was impossible because they were incarcerated and ineligible for benefits. The loss to the EDD and the United States is over $250,000. Thomas split the proceeds with Smith and her other co-conspirators.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Investigative Services Unit, and the EDD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Barton is prosecuting the case.

Thomas is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on Sept. 12, 2022. For the conspiracy charge, she faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. For the aggravated identity theft charge, she faces a mandatory two-year sentence consecutive to any other sentence and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Smith pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in federal prison in September 2021.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Tacoma – Multiple members of a methamphetamine trafficking ring were indicted last week in U.S. District Court for seven federal felonies related to their drug trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Some of the conspirators, have been charged in state court over the last ten years, but fled the jurisdiction and then returned using different names.  Four of the defendants are detained pending further hearings. One remains a fugitive.

“These defendants are responsible for huge loads of methamphetamine, which continues to cause death and destruction in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Brown. “In one instance they brought 55 pounds of methamphetamine to Western Washington via Amtrak train – fortunately law enforcement seized the drugs at the Kelso train station.”

The indicted defendants are:

Jesus Venegas-Gatica, 35, of Lakewood, Washington

Jose Venegas-Gatica, 34, of Fresno, California

Juan Tolentino-Chino, 33, of Astoria, Oregon

Cristobal Venegas Diaz, 47, of Centralia, Washington

Esteban Martinez-Ortiz, 32, a citizen of Mexico, being sought by law enforcement.

According to records filed in the case, the Venegas family has been involved in drug trafficking since at least 2012. Defendant Jesus Venegas-Gatica was charged in Lewis County in 2012 in connection with a 15-pound load of methamphetamine.  He fled the jurisdiction and returned under a different name. In 2013, law enforcement seized 70 pounds of meth and ten firearms from members of the drug trafficking organization. The criminal complaint details another arrest in 2019 in Kitsap County with 20 pounds of meth. In each of those cases the drug distributors fled and used aliases to return to drug trafficking. 

The current case charges various large-scale methamphetamine deals in Cowlitz, Lewis, Grays Harbor, Pierce, and Thurston Counties. According to one informant, the Venegas family transported 20 to 25 kilograms of methamphetamine to Washington each month.  Law enforcement tied these defendants to trafficking more than 105 pounds of meth at locations ranging from casino parking lots to outlet mall stores.  In one instance, law enforcement caught a co-conspirator getting off an Amtrak train in Kelso, Washington with 55 pounds of methamphetamine in his luggage that he had transported from Sacramento, California.

In May 2022, authorities recovered another 19 kilos of methamphetamine when they executed search warrants at various defendant’s homes and cars.

“The culmination of this investigation signifies the DEA’s unyielding pursuit of drug trafficking organizations,” said Jacob D. Galvan, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Seattle Field Division. “This organization was responsible for distributing more than one hundred pounds of methamphetamine in Western Washington. The DEA, along with its federal, state and local partners will relentlessly pursue drug traffickers to keep our communities safe and healthy, no matter how long it takes.”

Due to the large amounts of drugs involved, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum ten-year prison term.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations.  A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Tacoma Resident Office, the Lewis County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET), and the Grays Harbor Drug Task Force (GHDTF).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Dillon in consultation with the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.

venegas_indictment.pdf venegas_complaint.pdf

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has resolved its civil suit on behalf of the U.S. Secretary of Labor against Local 98, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (“Local 98”) for violating the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (“LMRDA”). In the settlement announced today, Local 98 has agreed to conduct its next nominations and election of officers under the Secretary of Labor’s supervision.

“Elections belong to the people, and union members have a federally-protected right to free and fair union elections,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “Today’s agreement will protect the civil rights of all Local 98 members and ensure every member in good standing can freely exercise their rights to seek elected office and nominate and vote for candidates of their choosing without intimidation or fear of reprisal from those in positions of power.”

In its January 2021 complaint (Secretary of Labor v. Local 98, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Civ. No. 21-96 EDPA), the United States alleged that Local 98, through its incumbent officers and their supporting members, intimidated and threatened other members who sought to challenge incumbent union leadership in the union’s June 2020 elections, causing these members to withdraw from nominations. As a result, incumbent union leadership ran unopposed and all officers – including the president and five executive board members – were declared reelected without opposition. The United States alleged that Local 98’s interference, threats, and retaliation against the intended challengers violated its members’ rights under the LMRDA to nominate, be nominated, and vote for or otherwise support the candidates of their choice without improper interference or threat of reprisal.

In the civil lawsuit, the United States alleged that Local 98 convinced three of its members to withdraw from nominations in its June 2020 officer election through a pressure campaign orchestrated by its entrenched leadership, including then-Business Manager John Dougherty and President Brian Burrows. The alleged campaign included a promise by Dougherty to a member intending to run for office that Dougherty would associate the member with offensive comments on a website “if he ran with [an opposition] ticket” and threats such as “If you ain’t with me, you’re against me!” and “It’ll be a long three years if you lose.” It included an unannounced and knowingly unwelcome visit by business agent Robert Bark to a member’s home two nights before nominations, which “put the fear of God” into the member’s wife and family. It also included an in-person nomination requirement imposed by incumbent president Burrows that both required challengers to walk a “gauntlet” of Dougherty supporters to be nominated for office and violated the union’s constitution. Finally, it included enlisting a member’s elder relative and former Local 98 business agent to deliver a message that supporting a challenging candidate for office would disgrace the family’s generations-old reputation in the union.

The United States further alleged that Local 98, which at the time was controlled by a slate of officers that had not changed in years, had a pattern of interfering with the efforts of rank-and-file members to run for local union office since at least 2014. Dougherty resigned as Business Manager of Local 98, a position he had held since 1993, in November 2021, the day after he was convicted on federal conspiracy and corruption charges.

Under the agreement announced today, Local 98 will conduct its next regular election for the offices of president and five executive board members under the Secretary’s supervision.

“Today’s agreement will help ensure every Local 98 member will have his or her voice heard in a free and fair officer election. If you interfere with anyone’s rights to vote, or to seek office, the United States will hold you accountable,” Williams said.

“The Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) is committed to protecting the rights of union members by ensuring that every member can participate fully in a fair union officer election,” said OLMS Northeastern Regional Director Megan Underwood.  “We will work to ensure that the rights of IBEW Local 98 members are protected during the upcoming officer election.”

The claims resolved by the settlement announced today are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.

The civil investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS), and is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren DeBruicker.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Lisa F. Garcia, Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), announced today that the United States has filed and simultaneously settled a counterclaim against TZUMI INNOVATIONS, LLC (“TZUMI”) for illegally distributing and selling millions of products claiming to have antimicrobial properties in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.  TZUMI sold these products without submitting them to EPA for registration, a mandatory process that allows EPA to assess the safety and effectiveness of the products.  TZUMI specifically targeted lower-income customers for sale of one of its products, “Wipe Out! Wipes.” 

The proposed stipulation and order of settlement (“settlement”) agreed to by TZUMI includes payment of a $1.5 million civil penalty, the largest FIFRA civil penalty ever obtained in a judicial settlement and one of the largest FIFRA penalties obtained by EPA in any context. 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:  “At the height of the pandemic, Tzumi misled consumers and retailers and exposed the public to pesticide products that had not been found by EPA to be safe and effective.  It compounded matters by targeting low-income customers, who face disproportionate environmental burdens.  Today’s settlement ensures that Tzumi pays the price for its misconduct.  We will continue to pursue justice in environmental enforcement matters.”

EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia stated:  “Consumers must be provided accurate information about pesticide products and merchandise such as those items involved in this case, which must be properly labeled and registered with EPA to protect public health.  This settlement demonstrates EPA’s commitment to hold companies accountable that violate critical environmental laws and includes a provision where Tzumi Innovations, LLC will develop an extensive campaign to inform the public and retailers about the appropriate uses for the products in question.”

The counterclaim filed in Manhattan federal court today alleges that in 2020, TZUMI began to sell three product lines—Wipe Out! Wipes, Wipe Out! Multi-Surface Wipes, and Wipe Out! Multi-Surface Decontaminant Spray—in an effort to respond to the public’s increased demand for disinfectant products during the COVID-19 public health crisis.  TZUMI expressly stated that it intended Wipe Out! Wipes to be sold to “lower income level customers.” 

None of these supposedly antimicrobial products were registered with EPA under FIFRA.  FIFRA prohibits the distribution or sale of pesticides—including products claiming to have antimicrobial properties intended to be used to disinfect surfaces—that are not registered under FIFRA, absent exceptions to registration not applicable here.  Registration is a critical step in ensuring the efficacy and safety of antimicrobial pesticides:  Among other things, during registration, EPA reviews the application information and performs a rigorous, comprehensive scientific assessment of the product, including the product’s active and inert ingredients and the proposed uses of the product, to ensure that the product is effective and has no unreasonable adverse effects on human health or the environment when used for its intended purpose and according to labeled directions. 

TZUMI failed to register the Wipe Out! products with EPA, even though its labeling made antimicrobial pesticidal claims suggesting that these products were intended to be used to disinfect surfaces and TZUMI had knowledge that the products would be used as a pesticide, as that term is defined in FIFRA.  Consistent with TZUMI’s claims, retailers then sold these products on their websites or in their physical stores in the same sections in which they included properly registered antimicrobial disinfectants, like Clorox and Lysol products.  Reviews on retailers’ websites demonstrate that consumers in fact were misled into believing that Wipe Out! Wipes in particular could be used as an antimicrobial pesticide to disinfect surfaces.

TZUMI’s actions put the public—including the low-income consumers that TZUMI targeted—at risk of using products that failed to work as claimed or that were unsafe. Low-income communities in general bear a disproportionate burden of environmental exposures and public health risks, and selling unregistered pesticides to these communities raises particular concerns of environmental justice.  

*                *                *

In the settlement lodged with the federal court today, TZUMI admits, acknowledges, and accepts responsibility for the following, among other things:

• In 2020, Tzumi introduced new product lines to the domestic household market in an effort to respond to the public’s increased demand for disinfectant products during the COVID-19 public health crisis. The new products Tzumi distributed or sold included Wipe Out! Wipes, Wipe Out! Multi-Surface Wipes, and Wipe Out! Multi-Surface Decontaminant Spray.
• Wipe Out! Wipes, Wipe Out! Multi-Surface Wipes, and Wipe Out! Multi-Surface Decontaminant Spray have never been registered as pesticides with EPA under Section 3 of FIFRA, 7 U.S.C. § 136a.
• From at least August through December 2020, Tzumi distributed 4,895,184 units of Wipe Out! Wipes to Home Depot bearing a label stating on the front in part “Wipe Out Antibacterial Wipes” and “KILLS GERMS FAST*” and on the back in part “To decrease bacteria on the skin that could cause disease”; “Cleans and sanitizes”; “KILLS 99.9% OF GERMS*”; “*Escherichia Coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus Aureus (Staph), Candida Albicans”; and “Use it Anytime, Anywhere.” 
• From October through November 2020, Tzumi sold 472,281 units of Wipe Out! Multi-Surface Wipes bearing a label that displayed the words “active ingredient” and “purpose: antibacterial” and graphics of household appliances, bathroom fixtures, and surfaces.
• From February 2021 through April 2021, Tzumi sold 62,796 units of Wipe Out! Multi-Surface Decontaminant Spray that stated on its label “Controls Algae Harmful Bacteria” (sic) and “… spray directly on the surface and let stand … ten minutes for antimicrobial response.”

The settlement requires TZUMI to pay a $1.5 million civil penalty and to issue corrective statements advising consumers and retailers of the unregistered status and limited appropriate use of the Wipe Out! products.  It also requires TZUMI not to distribute or sell such unregistered pesticide products in the future. 

The settlement remains subject to a period of public comment and Court approval.  Notice of the proposed settlement will be published in the Federal Register and the public will have the opportunity to submit comments on the proposed settlement for a period of at least 30 days before it is submitted for the Court’s approval.

U.S. Attorney Williams thanked EPA Region 2’s attorneys and program staff for their critical work on this case.

This case is being handled by the Environmental Protection Unit of the Office’s Civil Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison Rovner is in charge of the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A former resident of Clearfield, PA pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

Andrew Knepp, 44, of Clearfield PA, pleaded guilty to Count Two of the Superseding Indictment before Senior United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson.

In connection with the guilty plea, from July 2019 to June 2020, Knepp did conspire to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.

Judge Gibson scheduled sentencing for October 13, 2022. The law provides for a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and maximum sentence of life in prison, a fine of $10,000,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Knepp. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, Clearfield County District Attorney’s Office, Erie County District Attorney’s Office, Millcreek Police Department, Erie Bureau of Police, and other local law enforcement agencies.

This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.