Month: December 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk man was sentenced today to 151 months in prison for unlawfully possessing ammunition that he used to shoot at someone and for unlawfully possessing a firearm in a separate incident roughly a year later.

According to court documents, on March 27, 2021, within nine months of his release from federal prison for a prior felon-in-possession conviction, Earlon Delton Mitchell, 33, returned to the place he had been arrested in his previous case and assaulted a woman. When another woman showed up and tried to stop him, he brandished a firearm at her, so she drove away, stopped at the end of the block, and called 911. He walked into the street and shot at her several times, but missed, hitting two parked cars and leaving shell casings that were later recovered.

Almost exactly a year later, while still on federal supervised release, he went back to that same location, where police officers spotted him and tried to make contact with him. He fled, and they pursued him. While running, he threw his loaded, stolen firearm to the ground. The officers caught and arrested him, recovering the firearm, as well as 40 grams of methamphetamine and marijuana separated into three baggies, along with $115 cash in different denominations.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Christopher Amon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; and Mike Goldsmith, Interim Chief of Norfolk Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Jackson prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-65.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

EUGENE, Ore.—A Prineville, Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison today after he requested sexually explicit photos from an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a child online and travelled from his home to Bend, Oregon in hopes of having sex with the child.

Patrick James Adams, 36, was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison and a life term of supervised release.

According to court documents, on April 25, 2021, Adams sent a Facebook friend request to a person he believed was a 14-year-old girl from Bend. A few days later, Adams initiated contact with the account via Facebook Messenger and began chatting with undercover law enforcement officers. At the outset of and at multiple times during these conversations, the law enforcement officers told Adams he was chatting with a 14-year-old child. Over the next week, Adams requested nude images and videos from the purported child more than a dozen times. Adams also sent several images and an explicit video, which were used to confirm his identity. Throughout the conversation, he repeatedly reminded the fictitious minor not to tell anyone about the exchange.

On May 7, 2021, Adams traveled from Prineville to Bend in hopes of having sex with the child. Upon his arrival, Adams notified the fictitious minor victim that he would wait at a designated meeting area, a local public library, until she finished school. Investigators arrested Adams while he was waiting for the child.

On May 20, 2021, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned a three-count indictment charging Adams with attempting to use a minor to produce a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct, attempting to coerce and entice a minor, and committing a felony offense involving a minor as a registered sex offender.

On July 26, 2022, Adams pleaded guilty to attempting to use a minor to produce a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct.

This case was investigated by the Bend Police Department, Central Oregon Drug Enforcement (CODE) Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Crook County Parole and Probation. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William M. McLaren.

Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to contact HSI at (866) 347-2423 or submit a tip online at report.cybertip.org.

Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. It is important to remember child sexual abuse material depicts actual crimes being committed against children. Not only do these images and videos document the victims’ exploitation and abuse, but when shared across the internet, re-victimize and re-traumatize the child victims each time their abuse is viewed. To learn more, please visit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at www.missingkids.org.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: United States Department of Justice

The Justice Department announced today resources to help Afghans and Ukrainians in the United States understand their employment rights. These resources explain the workplace protections that Afghan and Ukrainian immigrants have under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which prohibits employment discrimination based on citizenship, immigration status and national origin. Generally, employers are not allowed to discriminate against workers who have permission to work based on their citizenship or immigration status when hiring, firing or recruiting. Federal law also protects workers from discrimination based on their national origin.

“Preventing unlawful discrimination includes making sure that workers know their rights,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division is ready to assist Afghans and Ukrainians in the United States, and will use all available tools to ensure they are not unlawfully discriminated against in the workplace.”

Afghans and Ukrainians in the U.S. may have a variety of immigration statuses. Some have arrived through Operation Allies Welcome and Uniting for Ukraine. These fact sheets include information for asylees, refugees, lawful permanent residents, individuals with Temporary Protected Status and those granted parole under Operation Allies Welcome or Uniting for Ukraine. As explained in these resources, the INA also protects workers from discrimination when an employer is checking their permission to work, often referred to as the employment eligibility verification process. The fact sheets provide examples of documentation that these workers may show during this process and emphasize that workers have the right to choose which valid documentation they can show to demonstrate their identity and permission to work.

Finally, the fact sheets provide information on how Afghans and Ukrainians in the United States can get help with a work-related issue through the worker hotline operated by the division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER). This worker hotline is free and is available to all workers who have questions about discrimination in the workplace based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin.

Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify), or subjected to retaliation, may file a charge. The public also can contact IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688; call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); email IER@usdoj.gov; sign up for a free webinar; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe to GovDelivery to receive updates from IER. 

Translations of this press release and the fact sheets are forthcoming.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Two Marshallese nationals pleaded guilty today to conspiring to pay bribes to elected officials of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) in exchange for passing certain legislation.

According to court documents, beginning in or around 2016 and continuing until at least August 2020, Cary Yan, 50, and Gina Zhou, 34, the heads of a New York-based non-governmental organization (NGO), conspired with others in connection with a multi-year bribery scheme. Yan and Zhou offered and paid tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to elected RMI officials – including, among others, members of the RMI legislature – in exchange for supporting legislation creating a semi-autonomous region within the RMI called the Rongelap Atoll Special Administrative Region (RASAR) that would benefit the business interests of Yan, Zhou, and their associates. Yan and Zhou carried out the bribery and money laundering scheme using the New York NGO, including the physical use of its headquarters in Manhattan, to meet with and communicate with RMI officials. 

In November 2020, Thai authorities arrested Yan and Zhou in Thailand at the request of the United States pursuant to the U.S.-Thailand extradition treaty, and following court proceedings, the Thai government extradited Yan and Zhou to the United States on Sept. 2.

Yan and Zhou each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). They each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. 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, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York, and Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll of the FBI New York Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI investigated the case. The Royal Thai Government, the Embassy of the United States in Bangkok, and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of the defendants.

Assistant Chief Gerald M. Moody Jr. and Trial Attorney Anthony Scarpelli of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hagan Scotten, Lara Pomerantz, and Derek Wikstrom for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.