Month: November 2022

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Defense News: Navy Hosts First Welding Competition, Career Discovery Event for Virginia Talent Pipeline Program

Source: United States Navy

The VA TPP is one of several training pipelines creating opportunities, building the workforce, and connecting more people to the Navy mission. The Project MFG Welding Competition and Career Discovery Day sought to engage and energize the Hampton Roads defense industrial base by developing the maritime-focused manufacturing talent pipeline in support of the Navy’s significant demand for critical trade skills.

“You are standing at an unbelievable inflection point, and an unbelievable intersection, of an opportunity to serve, and an opportunity for you, and your families, and your community,” said Matt Sermon, executive director for Naval Sea Systems Command’s Program Executive Office for Strategic Submarines, which oversees the Navy’s Submarine Industrial Base (SIB) Program. Sermon spoke of a call to action to support manufacturing trades through partnership, aggressive recruiting, competitive pay, meaningful work, employers who care, and innovation. “We are going to do it!” he added.

The welding competition, hosted by Virginia Peninsula Community College and run by Project MFG, included 27 local competitors from area high schools and community and technical education (CTE) centers. Participants raced against a two-hour clock to weld miniature submarines, which were then pressure tested and scored.

A career day was held in parallel to the welding competition. The students spoke with potential employers to learn about their role in the defense industrial base and available opportunities in critical shipbuilding and ship sustainment trades. Program participants also had the chance to gain exposure through tours of Newport News Shipbuilding, Fairlead Boat Works, and Advex Corporation.

Gene Garland, military outreach coordinator for Virginia Senator Mark Warner’s office, spoke with the students, outlining the National Imperative for Industrial Skills. “The pipeline is one of 12 national imperatives for skilled industry, focuses on small and medium-sized business, and is an economic development initiative that will create and sustain the maritime force.” Garland encouraged CTE candidates to seek employment in the shipbuilding industry.

Scott Dodsworth, a graduate of the New Horizons Regional Education Center, also addressed the students, sharing his career path with local supplier Fairlead. After completing his welding program, he went from welder helper to second class welder fitter, and has been with the company for three years. He stated that his training and job opportunity “brought me to a great place in my life.”

The Navy’s SIB Program is addressing trade skill gaps impacting the Navy’s success in building and maintaining Navy platforms and systems. A network of regional training systems and state pipelines are being implemented to address those workforce gaps impacting shipbuilders and suppliers in maritime centers. Hiring new, skilled employees and building bench strength in our existing workforce requires a networked community and innovative approaches to train and employ skilled workers. 

For more information on the Virginia Talent Pipeline Project, visitwww.defenseindustrialworkforcepipeline.com

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Defense News: 7th Fleet Cruiser Conducts Freedom of Navigation Operation in South China Sea

Source: United States Navy

The PLA Southern Theater Command’s statement is the latest in a long string of PRC actions to misrepresent lawful U.S. maritime operations and assert its excessive and illegitimate maritime claims at the expense of its Southeast Asian neighbors in the South China Sea. The PRC’s behaviors stands in contrast to the United States’ adherence to international law and our vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. All nations, large and small, should be secure in their sovereignty, free from coercion, and able to pursue economic growth consistent with accepted international rules and norms.

On November 29, 2022, USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands, consistent with international law. At the conclusion of the operation, USS Chancellorsville exited the excessive claim area and continued operations in the South China Sea. The freedom of navigation operation (“FONOP”) upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging restrictions on innocent passage imposed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Vietnam, and Taiwan.

Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade, and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity for South China Sea littoral nations.

The United States challenges excessive maritime claims around the world regardless of the identity of the claimant. Customary international law of the sea as reflected in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention provides for certain rights and freedoms and other lawful uses of the sea to all nations. The international community has an enduring role in preserving the freedom of the seas, which is critical to global security, stability, and prosperity.

The United States upholds freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle. As long as some countries continue to claim and assert limits on rights that exceed their authority under international law, the United States will continue to defend the rights and freedoms of the sea guaranteed to all. No member of the international community should be intimidated or coerced into giving up their rights and freedoms.

The PRC, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines each claim sovereignty over some or all of the Spratly Islands. The PRC, Vietnam, and Taiwan purport to require either permission or advance notification before a foreign military vessel engages in “innocent passage” through the territorial sea. Under customary international law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention, the ships of all states—including their warships—enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea. International law does not allow for the unilateral imposition of any authorization or advance-notification requirement for innocent passage, so the United States challenged these requirements. By engaging in innocent passage without giving prior notification to or asking permission from any of the claimants, the United States challenged the unlawful restrictions imposed by the PRC, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The United States demonstrated that innocent passage is not subject to such restrictions.

U.S. forces operate in the South China Sea on a daily basis, as they have for more than a century. They routinely operate in close coordination with like-minded allies and partners who share our commitment to uphold a free and open international order that promotes security and prosperity. All of our operations are conducted safely, professionally, and in accordance with international law. These operations demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows—regardless of the location of excessive maritime claims and regardless of current events.

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Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Medicaid of More than $700,000 in Scheme Involving Personal Care Services

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Joseph Tamjong, 51, of Lanham, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to defrauding the D.C. Medicaid program out of $733,405. 

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division, Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General for the region that includes Washington, D.C., and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.

            Tamjong pleaded guilty in the U.S. District  Court for the District of Columbia to health care fraud, which carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Tamjong faces a likely recommended sentence of between 27 and 33 months in prison. He has agreed to pay $733,405 in restitution and $396,155 in a forfeiture money judgment. The Honorable Christopher R. Cooper, who accepted Tamjong’s guilty plea, scheduled sentencing for March 7, 2023.

            In court documents, Tamjong admitted that between December 2014 and February 2022, he was employed as a Personal Care Aide and/or a Participant-Directed Worker to provide personal care aide services to residents of the District of Columbia who needed assistance performing activities of daily living, such as getting in and out of bed, bathing, dressing, and eating. Tamjong admitted that he submitted false timesheets that claimed he provided these personal care services when in fact he did not.

            As part of his scheme, he even caused Medicaid to be billed for approximately 3,400 hours of services that he purportedly provided when he actually was traveling internationally. On 156 separate occasions, he also caused Medicaid to be billed for 24 hours of services that he allegedly provided in one day.

            The FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, the District of Columbia’s Office of the Inspector General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals who defraud the D.C. Medicaid program.

            Tamjong is the twelfth former personal care aide since August 2018 to plead guilty to defrauding Medicaid in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Six of those aides were sentenced to 13 months in prison; a seventh and eighth were sentenced respectively to 15 months and 10 months.

            The government urges the public to provide tips and assistance to stop health care fraud. If you have information about individuals committing health care fraud, please call the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General hotline at (800) HHS‑TIPS [(800) 447-8477] or the D.C. Office of the Inspector General at (800) 724-TIPS [(800) 274-8477].

            This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi Kleinman with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Michon Tart.

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Kentucky Oil Operator Pleads Guilty to Negligent Violation of Clean Water Act

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Kentucky man pleaded guilty today to a negligent violation of the Clean Water Act. The charge stems from a 2018 discharge of oil and brine water into a small creek near an oil tank battery and eventually into other downstream creeks.

According to court documents, Joshua M. Franklin, 33, of Columbia, was an operator at an oil lease tank battery in Columbia. His duties included ensuring that brine water, a waste product from oil production, was separated from the oil before it was sold to customers. On Aug. 22, 2018, the oil/water separator at the tank battery used to remove brine water from a tank holding oil ready for sale was not functioning. To separate the brine water from the oil tank, Franklin instead attached a conduit to the oil tank’s discharge valve, opened the valve and left the site. As a result, approximately 100 barrels (4,000 gallons) of oil were discharged into a nearby tributary, which led to other creeks. The oil could be seen in a downstream creek, Brush Creek, over a mile away from the tank battery.

“This prosecution sends a clear and deterrent message to those who would cut corners and cause significant pollution of our nation’s waters,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

“The Clean Water Act was designed to protect our nation’s waters from pollution that can damage the environment and threaten human health,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This case shows that those who violate the law can expect to be held accountable by EPA and our law enforcement partners.”

The Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection (KDEP) conducted the initial cleanup immediately after the oil spill. The EPA then assumed cleanup tasks for the spill, which took until April of 2019.

Franklin entered a plea agreement where he agrees to pay a restitution of $10,000 to the EPA and KDEP, based on a limited ability to pay. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 1, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a fine of $100,000. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The EPA Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case.

Senior Trial Attorneys Ryan Connors and Daniel Dooher of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section prosecuted the case.

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Child Sexual Predator Receives Maximum Sentence

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man was sentenced last week to 30 years in prison for the sexual exploitation of a young child.

According to court documents, Pedro Damian Martinez, 29, sexually assaulted the prepubescent minor on numerous occasions, and recorded the acts on video. Investigators also found that Martinez possessed more than 100 other child pornography videos on his phone, which he’d received via the internet.

In addition to the decades-long sentence, Martinez was ordered to pay $50,000 to the sexual assault victim in restitution and forfeit the cell phones used to produce the child sexual abuse material.

“The lengthy sentence imposed in this case is fitting in light of the unthinkable damage this individual inflicted on a child,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “Along with our partners, we will continue to hold those who harm the lives of innocents accountable for their actions.”

“This verdict illustrates the importance of law enforcement agencies working together in efforts to bring violent predators to justice and protect our communities,” said a spokesperson with the San Antonio Police Department Public Information Office.

The FBI, SAPD and Bexar County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Thompson prosecuted the case.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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