Month: November 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Department of Justice announced today that it has transferred over $20.6 million to the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Nigeria) in accordance with an Aug. 23 agreement between the governments to repatriate assets the United States forfeited that were traceable to the kleptocracy of former Nigerian Dictator General Sani Abacha and his co-conspirators.

This repatriation brings the total amount forfeited and returned by the United States in this case to approximately $332.4 million.

In 2014, a judgment was entered in the District of Columbia ordering the forfeiture of approximately $500 million located in accounts around the world, as the result of a civil forfeiture complaint for more than $625 million traceable to money laundering involving the proceeds of General Abacha’s corruption. In 2020, the department repatriated over $311.7 million of the forfeited assets that had been located in the Bailiwick of Jersey. Last year, the U.K. government enforced the U.S. judgment against the additional over $20.6 million.

The forfeited assets represent corrupt monies laundered during and after the military regime of General Abacha, who became Head of State of Nigeria through a military coup on Nov. 17, 1993, and held that position until his death on June 8, 1998. The complaint filed in this case alleges that General Abacha, his son Mohammed Sani Abacha, their associate Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, and others embezzled, misappropriated, and extorted billions of dollars from the government of Nigeria and others, then laundered their criminal proceeds through U.S. financial institutions and transactions in the United States. The United Kingdom’s cooperation in the investigation, restraint, and enforcement of the U.S. judgement, along with the valuable contributions of Nigeria and other law enforcement partners around the world, including the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, as well as those of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, have been instrumental to the recovery of these funds.

Under the agreement signed in August, the United States agreed to transfer 100% of the net forfeited assets to Nigeria to support three critical infrastructure projects in Nigeria that were previously authorized by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian legislature. The $20,637,622.27 marks a slight reduction from the $23 million announced in August due primarily to exchange rate fluctuations between British pounds sterling and U.S. dollars. The funds governed by this agreement will help finance the Second Niger Bridge, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, and the Abuja-Kano road – investments that will benefit the citizens of each of these important regions in Nigeria. 

The agreement includes key measures to ensure transparency and accountability, including administration of the funds and projects by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), financial review by an independent auditor, and monitoring by an independent civil society organization with expertise in engineering and other areas. The agreement also precludes the expenditure of funds to benefit alleged perpetrators of the corruption or to pay contingency fees for lawyers. The agreement reflects the sound principles for ensuring transparency and accountability adopted at the Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR) in December 2017 in Washington, D.C., which the United States and United Kingdom hosted with support from the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative of the World Bank and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

The department appreciates the extensive assistance provided by the governments of the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Jersey, and France in this investigation. 

This case was brought under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative by a team of dedicated prosecutors in the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section working in partnership with the FBI. Through the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, the Department of Justice and federal law enforcement agencies seek to safeguard the U.S. financial system from criminal money laundering and to recover the proceeds of foreign official corruption. Where appropriate and possible, the department endeavors to use recovered corruption proceeds to benefit the people harmed by acts of corruption and abuse of public trust. 

Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the United States should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to kleptocracy@usdoj.gov.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

GREAT FALLS — A Browning man accused of beating a man in the head with a claw hammer admitted to an assault charge on Nov.16, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.

Calvin Lame Bull Juneau, 37, pleaded guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Juneau faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Judge Morris set sentencing for April 6, 2023. Juneau was detained pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that on Nov. 19, 2021, Juneau and co-defendant, Dale Ray Racine, entered a residence in Browning, on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, and assaulted the victim, identified as John Doe, who was sleeping in a bedroom. Doe awoke and saw Juneau and Racine rushing toward him. Juneau had a claw hammer in his hands. The victim received multiple strikes in the head, one to his hand and one to his leg. The victim was transported by ambulance to the Indian Health Service in Browning and treated for head injuries. Racine pleaded guilty earlier to assault resulting in serious bodily injury and is pending sentencing.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI and Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

PROVIDENCE –  A Woonsocket man today admitted to a federal judge that he participated in a conspiracy that trafficked hundreds of grams of fentanyl, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

Nelson J. Davila, 28, pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

According to court documents, it is alleged that Davila participated in a conspiracy with Gregory Ortega, 33, of Woonsocket, in which multiple purchases and deliveries of fentanyl were executed.  Davila admitted that the amount of fentanyl trafficked as a result of his conduct was at least 280 grams but less than 400 grams.

Davila is scheduled to be sentenced on March 2, 2023. The defendant’s sentence will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Ortega is currently detained and awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl; and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. A federal indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Zechariah Chafee, Richard B. Myrus, and G. Michael Seaman.

The matter was investigated by the FBI Rhode Island Safe Streets Gang Task Force.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

PIERRE – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a McLaughlin, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.

Patrick Red Legs, age 28, was indicted in October of 2022. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Moreno on November 16, 2022, and pleaded not guilty to the Indictment.

The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to ten years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, up to life of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.

The Indictment alleges that Red Legs failed to properly register his current address with authorities on multiple occasions in South Dakota. Red Legs was previously convicted of a sex offense and is required to register his current address.   

The charge is merely an accusation and Red Legs is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley is prosecuting the case. 

Red Legs was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.