Month: November 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice 2

Wise Services Inc. (Wise), located in Dayton, Ohio, has agreed to pay $302,500 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by causing the submission of false and fraudulent invoices for non-existent materials to the Department of Energy (DOE) and paying improper kickbacks. The settlement amount was negotiated based on Wise’s lack of ability to pay.

Wise was a subcontractor at the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the DOE Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina. The United States alleged that Wise knowingly submitted to the prime contractor — MOX Services LLC, formerly known as CB&I AREVA MOX Services LLC (MOX) — hundreds of invoices charging millions of dollars for materials that did not exist. MOX presented those false invoices to DOE. The United States also alleged that Wise employees paid kickbacks to MOX employees involved in the scheme. 

“The government expects both contractors and subcontractors to adhere to their contractual commitments,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Those who violate their commitments and undermine the integrity of the government’s procurement process will face appropriate consequences.”  

“This settlement puts subcontractors on notice that they will be held accountable for submitting false invoices and paying kickbacks to contractors on federal contracts with the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Adair F. Boroughs for the District of South Carolina. “We are grateful to the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General and the National Nuclear Security Administration for their important work in this case.”

“The lawsuit filed by Justice Department and this settlement will serve as a deterrent to others who seek to defraud the Department of Energy,” said Inspector General Teri L. Donaldson for the Department of Energy. “We are always seeking out those who develop illegal schemes designed to harm the government and the American taxpayers and we will continue to do everything we can to detect and deter these fraudsters.”

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims against Wise brought under the False Claims Act by the United States in the case captioned United States v. CB&I AREVA MOX Services LLC and Wise Services Inc., No. 19-cv-444 (D.S.C.). MOX paid $10 million in a settlement with the government earlier this year for its participation in the scheme.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina, with assistance from the DOE Office of Inspector General and the National Nuclear Security Administration.

The matter was handled by Fraud Section Attorneys Don Williamson and Rory Skaggs, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Johanna Valenzuela, James Leventis and Sheria Clarke for the District of South Carolina.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Louisiana man was sentenced yesterday to 12 months and one day in prison for possessing dogs for the purpose of using them in an animal fighting venture.

On July 12, 2022, Aquintas Kantrell Singleton, 35, of Baton Rouge, pleaded guilty before Judge Shelly D. Dick of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana to an Animal Welfare Act crime involving the possession of 17 dogs for use in an animal fighting venture. On Thursday, Singleton returned to that courtroom for sentencing.

According to court documents, law enforcement agents became aware of Singleton’s involvement in an interstate dog fighting ring in 2017. Beginning in the summer of 2017 — as recorded through court-authorized wiretaps — Singleton had various telephone conversations with other dogfighters to discuss the results of fights held in Louisiana and Georgia. They also discussed upcoming matches and the stakes they would wager in those dogfights. The details of these conversations included strategies and plans for how to breed, market, house, train and prepare dogs for dogfights. Based on these calls and other information, law enforcement agents expanded their investigation.

On Oct. 24, 2017, agents searched the defendant’s residence in Baton Rouge where they found seventeen pitbull-type dogs. They were kept separated from one another and restrained with heavy chains and weighted dog collars, or kept in rudimentary cages. Many of the dogs exhibited scars or fresh wounds consistent with dogfighting. Agents found a file box containing breed information, breeding papers, breed magazines, and dog registration papers. Agents also found Dexamethasone — a diuretic used to achieve proper weight in preparation for the dogfights — and other dog-fighting paraphernalia.

 “Blood sports, like dogfighting, are federal crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “To set animals against each other for entertainment is cruel and unjust. Anyone who commits these acts should expect to be caught and to serve time in prison.”

“This case, and several related matters, are companions to a drug conspiracy successfully prosecuted by this office,” said U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Gathe Jr. for the Middle District of Louisiana. “The interconnection between drug crimes and animal fighting crimes is well known, and this office will continue to use evidence from that interconnection to bring violent criminals to justice. Make no mistake, pitting animals against each other for gaming and cruel amusement is violence.”  

“The Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General-Investigations, actively investigates allegations of animal abuse,” said Special Agent in Charge Dax Roberson. “This agency has made animal fighting a high priority in order to demonstrate that these blatant acts of cruelty to animals will no longer be tolerated. We would like to thank the Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for aggressively prosecuting perpetrators of animal fighting and our federal, state and local law enforcement partners for assisting in enforcing these federal statutes.”

“Animal cruelty is a heinous crime that deserves our ultimate condemnation and serious legal consequences for those who engage in it for ‘sport’ and/or profit,” said Special Agent in Charge Douglas A. Williams Jr. of the FBI New Orleans Field Office. “Today’s sentencing should serve as a reminder to those like Mr. Aquintas Singleton who commit such crimes, that they will be held accountable. We thank our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office Middle District of Louisiana, U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General for their outstanding cooperation and great work in the prosecution of those who participated in animal fighting ventures.”

The FBI and USDA investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Matthew D. Evans of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lyman Thornton III for the Middle District of Louisiana prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Dominic Tyah Watchman, 20, of Lupton, Arizona, and a member of the Navajo Nation, was sentenced on November 2, 2022, by United States District Judge Susan M. Brnovich to 66 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Watchman previously pleaded guilty to robbery. 

On November 7, 2021, at a rest stop in Lupton, Arizona, Watchman approached the 82-year-old victim and tried to get him to turn over the keys to his vehicle. When the victim refused, Watchman pepper sprayed him, knocked him to the ground, and fled the rest stop in the victim’s vehicle.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina J. Reid-Moore, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:            CR-21-08137-PCT-SMB
RELEASE NUMBER:    2022-213_Watchman

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

An Ohio man was arrested today on criminal charges related to his alleged involvement in a cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme that raised at least $10 million from investors. 

According to court documents, Rathnakishore Giri, 27, of New Albany, allegedly misled investors by fraudulently promoting himself as an expert cryptocurrency trader, with a specialty in trading Bitcoin derivatives. As alleged in the indictment, Giri falsely promised investors that he would generate lucrative returns with no risk to their principal investment amount, which he guaranteed to return. In reality, Giri often allegedly used money provided by new investors to repay old investors – a hallmark of a Ponzi scheme. In addition, Giri allegedly had a record of investment failures, including a long history of losing investors’ principal investments, and misled investors about reasons for delays when they sought to cash out their investments or otherwise obtain the return of their “guaranteed” principal.

Giri is charged by indictment with five counts of wire fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. 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 and Special Agent in Charge J. William Rivers of the FBI Cincinnati Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Lucy B. Jennings and Tamara Livshiz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

If you believe you are a victim in this case, please contact the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness Unit toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or by email at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Good afternoon.

I am here today to announce the appointment of a Special Counsel in connection with two ongoing criminal investigations that have received significant public attention. 

The first, as described in court filings in the District of Columbia, is the investigation into whether any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or the certification of the Electoral College vote held on or about January 6, 2021. 

The second is the ongoing investigation involving classified documents and other presidential records, as well as the possible obstruction of that investigation, referenced and described in court filings in a pending matter in the Southern District of Florida.

I am joined today by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves, and Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Kenneth Polite. Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew Olsen could not be here. He is currently in Germany, representing the Department at the G7 home affairs and security ministerial. 

U.S. Attorney Graves has been ably leading the investigations into the events leading up to and on January 6. He and dozens of assistant U.S. Attorneys and other prosecutors have taken on the monumental task of conducting over 900 prosecutions in defense of our democratic institutions.

Criminal Division prosecutors under the able leadership of Assistant Attorney General Polite have played a significant role in those prosecutions.

Assistant Attorney General Olsen has been ably leading the team responsible for investigating the matter involving classified documents and other presidential records, as well as the possible obstruction of that investigation.

All of the career prosecutors assigned to these matters are conducting their work in the best traditions of the Department of Justice. 

I also want to recognize the efforts of the many FBI agents and other law enforcement personnel who are assigned to these matters. They are working courageously and steadfastly, and are serving our nation honorably. I am grateful to them. We all are.

The Department of Justice has long recognized that in certain extraordinary cases, it is in the public interest to appoint a special prosecutor to independently manage an investigation and prosecution.

Based on recent developments, including the former President’s announcement that he is a candidate for President in the next election, and the sitting President’s stated intention to be a candidate as well, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint a Special Counsel.

Such an appointment underscores the Department’s commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters. It also allows prosecutors and agents to continue their work expeditiously, and to make decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law.

The Special Counsel will conduct parts of the first investigation I just mentioned:  the investigation into whether any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or with the certification of the Electoral College vote held on or about January 6.

This does not include prosecutions that are currently pending in the District of Columbia, or future investigations and prosecutions of individuals for offenses committed while they were physically present on the Capitol grounds on January 6. Those investigations and prosecutions will remain under the authority of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

The Special Counsel will also conduct the investigation involving classified documents and other presidential records, as well as the possible obstruction of that investigation.

Today, I signed an order appointing Jack Smith to serve as Special Counsel. The order authorizes him to continue the ongoing investigations into both of the matters that I have just described and to prosecute any federal crimes that may arise from those investigations.

Mr. Smith is a veteran career prosecutor.

He began his prosecutorial career in 1994 as an Assistant District Attorney with the New York County DA’s Office. In 1999, he became an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, where over the course of nine years he prosecuted matters ranging from gang murders of police officers to civil rights violations. From 2008 to 2010, he served with the International Criminal Court, where he supervised war crimes investigations.

In 2010, Mr. Smith returned to the Justice Department to serve as chief of the Public Integrity Section, where he led a team of more than 30 prosecutors who handled public corruption and election crimes cases across the United States. In 2015, he agreed to serve as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, later becoming the Acting United States Attorney.

Most recently, Mr. Smith served as the chief prosecutor for the special court in the Hague charged with investigating and adjudicating war crimes in Kosovo. Mr. Smith will begin his work as Special Counsel immediately, and will be returning to the United States from The Hague.

Throughout his career, Jack Smith has built a reputation as an impartial and determined prosecutor, who leads teams with energy and focus to follow the facts wherever they lead.

As Special Counsel, he will exercise independent prosecutorial judgment to decide whether charges should be brought. Although the Special Counsel will not be subject to the day-to-day supervision of any official of the Department, he must comply with the regulations, procedures, and policies of the Department.

I will ensure that the Special Counsel receives the resources to conduct this work quickly and completely. Given the work done to date and Mr. Smith’s prosecutorial experience, I am confident that this appointment will not slow the completion of these investigations. 

The men and women who are pursuing these investigations are conducting themselves in accordance with the highest standards of professionalism. I could not be prouder of them.

I strongly believe that the normal processes of this Department can handle all investigations with integrity. And I also believe that appointing a Special Counsel at this time is the right thing to do. The extraordinary circumstances presented here demand it.

Mr. Smith is the right choice to complete these matters in an even-handed and urgent manner.

Thank you all.