Month: October 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Jackson, Miss. – A former tribal councilmember for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians was sentenced to 84 months in prison for embezzlement, perjury, and suborning perjury, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to court documents, Kevin Joseph Edwards, 51, of the Standing Pine Community, embezzled $12,178.40 from the Tribe by submitting fraudulent travel documents for reimbursement.  Edwards was indicted for the embezzlement in February of 2019. Once indicted on the embezzlement, Edwards was released on bond. While on bond, Edwards possessed a firearm. A petition to revoke his bond was filed in federal court, and during a hearing conducted in the United States Magistrate Court, Edwards committed perjury and convinced another person to commit perjury on his behalf during the hearing.  

Edwards entered a plea of guilty to the embezzlement in February of 2021, and later pled guilty to the perjury charges in June of 2022.  As stated in court, Edwards admitted to embezzling funds from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and his role in committing and suborning perjury in federal court.

Edwards was sentenced to a prison term of 84 months, to be followed by a term of 36 months supervised release. Edwards was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $12,178.40. The sentencing took place in the Thad Cochran Federal Courthouse in Jackson, Mississippi.

U.S. Attorney LaMarca commended the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who investigated the case. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin J. Payne.

 

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A resident of Montego Bay, Jamaica, was extradited to the United States and made his initial appearance in federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina, on charges relating to his participation in a fraudulent lottery scheme that targeted elderly victims in the United States, the Department of Justice and U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced today.

Antony L. Stewart, 38, was charged in a nine-count indictment with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in December 2019 and was unsealed after the defendant’s extradition.  

According to the unsealed indictment, Stewart and his co-conspirators sought to unlawfully enrich themselves through a fraudulent lottery scheme targeting the elderly. Victims throughout the United States received phone calls in which they were falsely informed that they had won cash prizes totaling over $1 million and needed to pay fees in order to claim their winnings. The indictment alleges that victims were instructed on how to send their money, including through the use of money transmitter services, wire transfers, and the U.S. Postal Service, and to whom. The indictment further alleges victims were instructed to purchase electronics and other expensive goods and to send them to Stewart’s co-conspirators, who ultimately forwarded the goods and money to Stewart in Jamaica. The victims never received any “winnings.”

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Raquel Toledo and Ryan E. Norman of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny Sugar for the Western District of North Carolina.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case.

The department’s extensive and broad-based efforts to combat elder fraud seek 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.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Justice Department joins law enforcement agencies, victim service providers, survivors, victims, advocates and communities nationwide in recognizing the month of October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM). Domestic violence is serious and prevalent, and its impact does not stay within the home; it ripples out into workplaces, schools and entire communities. DVAM is a time to show support for those who are experiencing or have experienced domestic violence, and to give gratitude to first responders and victim service providers. DVAM encourages communities to bolster prevention efforts, improve responses to meet survivors’ needs, promote best practices and expand access to justice to all communities, especially for those who are underserved and marginalized.

The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) is announcing nearly $70 million in fiscal year 2022 grant funding, including 39 awards totaling $29,916,258 under OVW’s Improving Criminal Justice Responses (ICJR) to Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Grant Program. The funding supports partnerships between victim service providers and the criminal justice system to implement effective and trauma-informed responses that protect survivors. The ICJR Program provides resources, training and service coordination for law enforcement, victim advocates, court personnel, probation and correction officers, mental health professionals, child protection staff and others who respond to and investigate domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking cases.

“Domestic Violence Awareness Month gives us the opportunity to share the incredible work our grantees do every day – and rededicate ourselves to the mission of bringing an end to violence,” said OVW Acting Director Allison Randall. “OVW changes the world through the lifesaving work of our grantees. This idea of a coordinated community response is the thread that runs through all grant programs funded by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). It’s the way by which communities in every state and territory have charted navigable paths for survivors escaping violence and pursuing justice. Technical assistance provides grantees with the capacity to significantly improve safety in their communities. And research and evaluation give our grantees the innovative and effective strategies they need to better serve survivors.”

To equip service providers with the knowledge and skills they need to respond competently and compassionately when a survivor asks for their help, 59 awards totaling $36.9 million under the Training and Technical Assistance Program will assist OVW grantees in aligning their work with best practices. OVW grantees and subgrantees will receive expertise and support required to develop and implement successful projects. Illustrative of these efforts are two awards to the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Police Executive Research Forum to develop tools and trainings to identify gender bias in policing when responding to domestic violence and sexual assault.

OVW also awarded $3.4 million under the Research and Evaluation Initiative for nine projects to conduct evaluations of promising practices for combating domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking, and to research emerging issues. By generating knowledge about strategies for serving survivors, communities that benefit from OVW funding will be better equipped to align their work with proven practices and be more capable of building empirical knowledge on the efficacy of promising new ways of making communities safer and more just.

In the coming months, OVW will release new grant solicitations. OVW’s anticipated fiscal year 2023 solicitation release plan is posted on the website. Please note this information is subject to change. It is crucial that applicants begin preparing application materials as early as practicable – if possible, before solicitations are posted. For more information for grant applicants, see OVW’s how to apply for OVW funding website and resources for applicants website.

In recognition of DVAM, OVW also held a fireside chat with OVW Acting Director Randall and Deputy Director Nadine Neufville of OVW’s Grant Development and Management Division. OVW leadership discussed why DVAM is so important to department and the office, and acknowledged the important work of service providers and advocates in the field.

OVW provides leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to reduce violence through the implementation of VAWA and subsequent legislation. Created in 1995, OVW administers financial and technical assistance to communities across the country that are developing programs, policies, and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. In addition to overseeing federal grant programs, OVW undertakes initiatives in response to special needs identified by communities facing acute challenges. Learn more at www.justice.gov/ovw.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Puerto Rico man was sentenced today to nine years and seven months in prison for laundering over $2.5 million in drug proceeds.

According to court documents, Osvaldo Villegas Rivera, 57, of Rio Piedras, conspired with others to transfer over $2.5 million in drug proceeds from Miami to Venezuela between 2017 and 2019. The proceeds consisted of five deliveries of bulk cash picked up in the New York and New Jersey area that Villegas knew to be traceable to the sale of cocaine. Villegas also employed a network of couriers to move the funds.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the DEA Miami Field Division made the announcement.

The DEA Miami Field Division investigated the case, with valuable assistance from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

Deputy Chief Joseph Palazzo of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Emery for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.