Month: September 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Gulfport, Miss. – A Guatemalan national pled guilty to unlawful transportation of an illegal alien within the United States.

U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca, Chief Patrol Agent Jason E. Schneider of the U.S. Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector, and Special Agent in Charge David L. Denton of Homeland Security Investigations made the announcement. 

According to court documents, Yobany Macario-Morales, a citizen of Guatemala who had been living in Texas, was stopped on May 1, 2022, on Interstate 10 in Harrison County by a Harrison County Sheriff’s Deputy who is a member of the Harrison County Criminal Interdiction Team.  The deputy requested assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol, and agents arrested Macario-Morales and his two passengers, both of whom were citizens of Mexico who were unlawfully present in the United States.

Macario-Morales is scheduled to be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 5, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release and $5,100 in special assessments.  After completing any prison sentence, he also is subject to Homeland Security proceedings to remove him from the United States.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Border Patrol, and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris is the prosecutor for the case.  

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Memphis, TN – The Justice Department today announced it has secured an agreement to resolve 
allegations that Evolve Bank & Trust, which is headquartered in Memphis, engaged in lending 
discrimination on the basis of race, sex and national origin in the pricing of its residential 
mortgage loans from at least 2014 through 2019.

Evolve Bank maintains mortgage lending offices and provides mortgage lending services in 15 states 
throughout the country. Under the department’s settlement, which is subject to the approval of the 
District Court, Evolve Bank will establish a settlement fund of $1.3 million to compensate affected 
borrowers. Evolve Bank will also pay a $50,000 civil penalty.

“This settlement will provide deserved relief to thousands of borrowers who suffered discrimination 
due to Evolve Bank’s pricing policies,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the 
Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This case marks the Justice Department’s latest step 
to protect Americans from illegal lending practices and shows that we will hold lenders accountable 
for the effects of their discriminatory practices.”

“This settlement provides some measure of justice to those wronged by Evolve Bank’s discriminatory 
acts,” said U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz for the Western District of Tennessee. “I also hope it 
sends a strong message to banks and other lenders that the Department of Justice won’t stand for 
unlawful barriers in residential mortgage lending. It’s past time for these practices to stop.”

The department opened its investigation after the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
referred the matter. Consistent with federal law, the Board has long
referred matters involving potential fair lending violations to the Department of Justice.

According to the complaint, the Justice Department alleges that Evolve Bank violated the Fair 
Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which prohibit financial institutions from 
discriminating on the basis of race, sex or national origin in their mortgage lending services. 
Specifically, the complaint alleges that, from at least 2014 through 2019, Evolve Bank’s loan 
pricing practices resulted in Black, Hispanic, and female borrowers paying more in the 
“discretionary pricing” components of home loans than white  or  male borrowers  for  reasons 
unrelated to  their  creditworthiness. “Discretionary pricing” means the parts of a loan price that 
are left up to Evolve’s loan officers and managers, including fees, charges or rate discounts that 
don’t relate to the borrowers’ credit qualifications or loan characteristics.

Since being notified of the department’s investigation of this matter, Evolve has taken steps to 
revise its policies and practices that resulted in Black, Hispanic and female borrowers paying more 
for home loans than white or male borrowers. During the four- year term of the proposed consent 
order, Evolve will maintain policies that reduce loan officer discretion, employ a fair lending 
officer who will work in close consultation with the bank’s leadership and provide fair lending 
training to its personnel.

The department’s Civil Rights Division has long been engaged in work that seeks to make mortgage 
credit and homeownership accessible to all Americans on the same terms, regardless of race, sex or 
national origin. In January 2021, President Biden reaffirmed the critical role of the federal 
government in addressing legacies of housing segregation and discrimination, declaring that it is 
the policy of this Administration to eliminate “racial bias and other forms of discrimination in 
all stages of home-buying and renting.”

The Justice Department’s enforcement of fair lending laws is conducted by the Civil Rights 
Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section. Additional information about the Section’s fair 
lending enforcement can be found at the Justice Department webpage. Individuals may report lending 
discrimination by calling the Justice Department’s Housing Discrimination tip line at 
1-833-591-0291 or submitting a report online.

###

For more information, please contact Public Information Officer Cherri Green at (901) 544-4231 or
cherri.green@usdoj.gov. Follow @WDTNNews on Twitter for office news and updates.
 

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal jury convicted a Bristow man of a May 21, 2022, machete attack on his adult stepson, which ultimately led to the loss of the victim’s right eye, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

Millard Ray Laskey, 52, was found guilty Wednesday of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country.

“Millard Laskey’s antagonistic behavior and harassment of the victim eventually led to a vicious attack ending with the loss of the victim’s eye,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “I would like to thank the jury for fulfilling their civic duty this week in federal court and for holding Mr. Laskey accountable for his violent acts.”

Laskey’s relationship with his stepson had deteriorated through the years. The victim moved out to distance himself from Laskey, but he eventually moved into a family member’s apartment in Bristow—the same town where Laskey lived.  Tensions between the two flared when Laskey made visits to the apartment.

Leading up to the assault, the defendant committed a series of antagonistic actions against his stepson. The victim had been sleeping on a couch with a pull-out mattress in the apartment. First, Laskey removed the couch from the apartment and placed it in his pickup truck so the victim would have nowhere to sleep. The victim responded by pulling the mattress from the couch and returning it to the apartment to sleep on it.

Then, in the early morning of May 21, 2022, Laskey woke the victim by pouring a hot sauce mixture in the victim’s eyes then threw water on him before driving away. In response, the victim punctured the defendant’s tire when Laskey returned to the neighborhood later that day.

When Laskey discovered the flat tire, he stormed into the apartment with a 12-inch machete. Laskey then seized a wireless Bluetooth speaker from the living room, located the victim in the bathroom, opened the bathroom door, and hurled the speaker at the victim’s face, striking him. The victim grabbed improvised metal knuckles in one hand in an attempt to defend himself when Laskey struck the victim multiple times with the machete. One blow struck the victim’s arm, cutting to the bone. A second blow struck the victim’s right eye and the bridge of his nose.

Soon after, first responders arrived. The victim was transported by ambulance to a hospital for care, where it was determined that he had suffered a globe rupture of the right eye. Despite efforts by a surgeon to save the eye, it was ultimately amputated.

In closing statements, the defense argued the Bluetooth speaker had not been hurled at the defendant and that the Laskey was only trying to defend himself with the machete in the bathroom because the victim confronted him with the improvised metal knuckles.

Federal prosecutors called the ongoing dispute and attack tragic and unnecessary. They reminded the Court that a family member recognized that Laskey was erratic the day of the incident and asked him to leave, knowing the argument had dramatically escalated. Prosecutors stated that the defendant, a kickboxer trainer who outweighed the victim by 90 pounds, was the aggressor—that he was armed with the machete when he cornered the victim in the bathroom, hurled the Bluetooth at him, and violently chopped the victim in the arm and face. Ultimately, they stated, Laskey took an eye for a tire.

The FBI, Bristow Police Department, and Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Tribal Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Jiang and Ryan H. Heatherman are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Department of Justice announced today grant awards totaling $100 million to help communities across the U.S. reduce gun crime and other serious violence. The announcement was made during a visit by Department officials to Baltimore, Maryland, home to three community-based organizations receiving funding under the Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative.

OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon announced the awards during a roundtable meeting with Baltimore youth hosted by Roca Inc., one of three organizations in the city receiving funding. The grants are jointly administered by OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and Office for Victims of Crime. OJP’s National Institute of Justice will also support evaluations of projects funded under this initiative, contributing to the growing body of evidence regarding the effectiveness of violence intervention strategies.

“The grants announced today, which will go directly to supporting community violence intervention efforts, are an important part of our strategy to leverage the full force of the Department – including all 94 U.S. Attorney’s offices, our law enforcement agencies, and grant-making components – to combat violent crime and keep communities safe,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.

The Black Mental Health Alliance for Education and Consultation Inc., and the Living Classrooms Foundation, Inc., also received grants. BJA Director Karhlton F. Moore and Baltimore Deputy Mayor Anthony Barksdale joined in the announcement, as did Kurt Palermo, Executive Vice President of Maryland Roca; Cheryl Riviere, Program Director of Living Classrooms Foundation; and Andrea Brown, Executive Director of Black Mental Health Alliance Education and Consultation Inc. Kunle Adeyemo, Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services, also joined the event. The roundtable was facilitated by Eddie Bocanegra, a veteran of Chicago’s community violence intervention movement and now the Senior Advisor for Community Violence Intervention at OJP.

Based on a Bureau of Justice Statistics analysis of data from the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Reports, of the more than 21,500 murders known to law enforcement in 2020, more than half—56%—of the victims were between the ages of 15 and 34. Research has shown that social factors such as income inequality, the level of trust in institutions and a lack of economic opportunities are associated with firearm-related homicide rates. Evidence also shows that fear and the desire for physical safety, more than any criminal inclination, drive young people to carry and use firearms in the most violence-torn sections of our cities. Community violence interventions are grounded in research and have shown a promising track record of curbing gun traffic, reducing shootings, and saving lives.

The awards announced today, funded in part through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, mark a historic investment in community violence intervention programs from the Department of Justice.

“For too long, we have undervalued the wealth of resources available through community organizations and those with lived experience,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney Solomon. “We know there’s a better way, one that builds on what we have learned about violence and its causes. If we hope to achieve sustainable reductions in violence, we must embrace our community assets as a central ingredient in violence reduction strategies.”

The resources made available under the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative will develop and expand the infrastructure needed to build community safety and strengthen neighborhoods. They will support holistic, cross-agency collaborations, seed new efforts, and fund expansion plans in both community-based organizations and local government agencies, provide funding and assistance through intermediaries to build the capacity of smaller organizations, offer technical aid to jurisdictions that do not receive federal funding and invest in research and evaluation to better understand what works to reduce violence.

Awards are made to the following organizations and agencies:

• Acenda Inc. $1,500,000
• Black Mental Health Alliance for Education & Consultation Inc. $1,497,989
• Connie Rice Institute for Urban Peace $1,500,000
• Community Network Services Inc. $1,450,800
• Centro C.H.A. Inc. $1,500,000
• New Kensington Community Development Corporation $1,500,051
• Nonviolent Peaceforce $1,500,000
• Reclamation & Restoration Ministries $1,498,637
• County of Buncombe $1,496,756
• County of Dekalb $1,500,000
• County of Leon $1,495,663
• City of Tampa $1,500,000
• County of Alameda $1,500,000
• City of Syracuse $1,484,887
• County of Contra Costa $1,500,000
• City of Flint $1,500,000
• Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office $1,500,000
• Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency $   641,050
• Metropolitan Family Services $2,000,000
• Newark Community Street Team Inc. $2,000,000
• The Osborne Association Inc. $2,000,000
• Prevention Education Inc. $1,564,024
• Roca, Inc. $1,998,807
• Circle of Brotherhood $2,000,000
• Alliance of Concerned Men $2,000,000
• Children and Youth Justice Center $2,000,000
• Exodus Transitional Community Inc. $2,000,000
• Getting Out & Staying Out Inc. $2,000,000
• HMH Hospitals Corporation $1,999,403
• Taller Salud Inc. $2,000,000
• The Living Classrooms Foundation, Inc. $1,950,000
• The North Carolina Youth Violence Prevention Center $2,000,000
• City of Baton Rouge $2,000,000
• City of Tucson $2,000,000
• City of Cleveland $1,994,908
• County of Fulton $2,000,000
• City of Greensboro $2,000,000
• City of Hartford $1,999,567
• City of Jacksonville $2,000,000
• City of Kansas City, Missouri $2,000,000
• City of Omaha $1,890,251
• City of Rapid City $2,000,000
• City of Richmond $1,966,278
• City of Los Angeles $2,000,000
• County of Salt Lake $2,000,000
• County of Harris $1,999,715
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation $2,000,000
• Metropolitan Family Services $2,000,000
• Latino Coalition for Community Leadership $2,000,000
• The Community Based Public Safety Collective $3,029,009

Training and Technical Assistance Awards:

• Local Initiatives Support Corporation $1,750,000
• Travelers & Immigrants Aid’s Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights $1,750,000

The awards announced above are being made as part of the regular end-of-fiscal year cycle. For more information about grants under the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative, and for information about other OJP grant awards, please visit the OJP Grant Awards Page.                 

The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law.  More information about OJP and its components can be found at  www.ojp.gov.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal grand jury in Oakland, California, returned a superseding indictment today charging a former California correctional officer with sexual abuse charges against two female inmates.

John Russell Bellhouse, 39, formerly of Pleasanton, California, was originally charged by criminal complaint on Nov. 30, 2021, one count of sexual abuse of a prison ward.

“The additional charges unsealed today demonstrate the priority the Department of Justice has placed on prosecuting cases of sexual misconduct by Bureau of Prison employees,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “We have no tolerance for correction officers who betray the trust placed in them to safely and humanely care for those in their custody.”

“The safety, security and integrity of federal prisons are of the utmost importance, and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General will continue to aggressively pursue allegations of abuse at FCI Dublin and across the BOP,” said Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz.

According to the superseding indictment, two charges allege Bellhouse, former correctional officer at an all-female correctional institution in Alameda County that houses federal prisoners and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, sexually abused Victim 1 and a third charge alleges Bellhouse engaged in abusive sexual contact with Victim 1. All three incidents occurred before October 2020, with two occurring as early as February 2020 and the third as early as December 2019. All three incidents are alleged to have occurred within FCI Dublin Prison Safety facilities.

The superseding indictment further added three additional charges that Bellhouse sexually abused two other female victims identified as “Victim 2” and “Victim 3.” Both Victims 2 and 3 are described as inmates who were serving their prison sentences at FCI Dublin at the time of the sexual abuse and were also under the custodial supervision of Bellhouse. The superseding indictment charges two counts of abusive sexual contact by Bellhouse against Victim 2. One of these contacts is alleged to have occurred between October and December 2020 and the other on Oct. 22, 2020. The superseding indictment also charges one count of sexual abusive contact by Bellhouse against Victim 3 between May and December 2020. All of the charged acts involving Victim 2 and Victim 3 are alleged to have occurred in the FCI Dublin Camp Safety Office.  

“Individuals incarcerated in federal prisons should never experience sexual abuse, and particularly not at the hands of correctional officers charged with maintaining safety and order within the institution’s walls,” said U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds for the Northern District of California. “The security of inmates is a vital priority within our prison system. This office will continue to pursue allegations of correctional officers abusing inmates and will seek accountability for those who engage in such conduct.”

“The defendant had a fundamental responsibility to care for the welfare of inmates in his custody and maintain the good order of FCI Dublin,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp of the San Francisco Field Office. “The additional charges allege the defendant did neither, but instead abused his powers and took advantage of the women for whose care he was responsible. Investigation of violations of the public trust, regardless of the status of the victims, will remain among the highest priorities of the FBI.”

Bellhouse is charged in the superseding indictment with two counts sexual abuse of a ward and four counts of sexually abusive contact. The defendant is scheduled for his initial court appearance on Oct. 13, 2022, and his jury trial is set for June 5, 2023, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. If convicted for sexual abuse, he faces a maximum statutory sentence of 15 years in prison for each count. If convicted for sexual abusive contact, he faces a maximum statutory sentence of two years in prison, a minimum five term of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine for each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

An investigation was conducted by the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Molly K. Priedeman and Andrew Paulson Attorney for the Northern District of California are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.