Month: December 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland met yesterday in Washington, D.C. with Dutch Minister of Justice and Security Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius.

In the meeting, Attorney General Garland and Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius renewed their commitment to the close law enforcement partnership between the United States and the Netherlands. This partnership includes cooperation aimed at combating cybercrime, organized crime, drug trafficking, money laundering, and terrorism, among other law enforcement matters. Both leaders agreed that the cross-border nature of criminal organizations requires enhanced cross-border cooperation.

“Our international partnerships are force-multipliers in the Justice Department’s work to keep our country safe, defend democracy, and uphold the rule of law,” said Attorney General Garland. “We are grateful for the assistance and collaboration of our Dutch law enforcement partners, and we will continue to strengthen our shared efforts to disrupt and combat the most urgent threats facing both of our nations.”

Attorney General Garland thanked Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius for the Netherlands’ assistance to the United States’ efforts, through Task Force KleptoCapture, to hold accountable Russian oligarchs and others who seek to evade U.S. sanctions. They also discussed their joint commitment to uphold the rule of law and seek justice for victims of Russia’s continued aggression in Ukraine.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that GIOVANNI SIERRA, 29, of New London, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 15, 2021, New London Police observed Sierra conducting what appeared to be a narcotics transaction from his car.  Investigators subsequently stopped Sierra’s car for a motor vehicle violation.  A search of the car revealed a privately made handgun (“ghost gun”) loaded with an extended magazine, distribution quantities of crack cocaine and fentanyl, two digital scales, and other narcotics paraphernalia. 

Sierra has been detained since his federal arrest on May 11, 2021.  On February 16, 2022, he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

This investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the New London Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natasha M. Freismuth through the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program

PSN 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.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Edmund Thornton, 65, who until recently lived in East Calais, pleaded not guilty today in United States District Court in Burlington to a charge that he failed to register as a sex offender after moving to Vermont.  U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle ordered that Thornton be detained pending trial, which has not been scheduled.

According to court records, on October 27, 2022, a federal grand jury in Vermont returned a one count indictment alleging that Thornton violated the Sex Offender Registration And Notification Act (SORNA).  Thornton was arrested in Pennsylvania on the charge on October 31 and has been held pending his transfer to Vermont.  

Records indicate that in 1999, Thornton pleaded guilty in Pennsylvania to charges that included attempted deviate sexual intercourse with a ten-year-old girl.  Thornton served several years in prison.  Under Pennsylvania law, Thornton was required to register in that state as a convicted sex offender upon his release from custody.  The federal Sex Offender Registration And Notification Act also required Thornton to promptly register with authorities in any state to which he moves.  According to the indictment, Thornton moved to Vermont in about June 2020 but failed to register with authorities here, as required by SORNA.

The United States Attorney emphasizes that the charge in the indictment is merely an accusation and that Thornton is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty.

If convicted, Thornton faces up to ten years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.  The actual sentence would be determined with reference to federal sentencing guidelines.

This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service.

Thornton is represented by the Office of the Federal Defender.  The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.

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 Child Exploitation Obscenity Section, Criminal Division (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

Source: United States Department of Justice News

          GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney Mark Totten today announced that Jonathon Thomas Burgett, 37, of Holland, Michigan was sentenced to 30 years in the Bureau of Prisons for the sexual exploitation of a child. In imposing sentence, U.S. District Judge Jane M. Beckering noted that Burgett “engaged in conduct that will, for a lifetime, severely impact” the victim. Burgett will be on supervised release for 5 years when he gets out of prison.

          “This type of predation harms some of the most vulnerable members of our society and can cause lasting damage,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “My office will always pursue people who create child pornography and we will seek penalties to help protect other children from being victimized.”

          Burgett was caught taking photographs through an adult female’s window in Allegan County. When law enforcement searched his phone, they found hundreds of images of child pornography, including sexually explicit images he had taken of a four-year-old. Judge Beckering noted that Burgett had “a long history” of similar offenses and despite treatment starting at an early age, “this was an addiction” for him.

          “The images Burgett created are not merely pictures but are a permanent record of his sexual abuse and exploitation of a child,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “I struggle to think of behavior more reprehensible, and that is why investigating child predators is a priority for the FBI. I would like to thank the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office for bringing this defendant to our attention and for its assistance in obtaining some measure of justice for this victim.”  

          This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan; county prosecutor’s offices; HSI; ICAC; the West Michigan Based Child Exploitation Task Force (WEBCHEX); and federal, state, and local law enforcement are working closely together to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children. Anyone with information or concerns about possible child exploitation should contact local law enforcement. For more information about Project Safe Childhood in West Michigan, including resources for children and parents, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmi/project-safe-childhood

          This matter was investigated by the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s WEBCHEX task force.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Sacramento attorney and filer of thousands of disability discrimination lawsuits pleaded guilty today to filing a false tax return on which he underreported the income he earned from many of those lawsuits. U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Scott Norris Johnson, 60, of Carmichael, owned and operated Disabled Access Prevents Injury Inc (DAPI), a legal services corporation. First using DAPI, and later a law firm, Johnson filed more than 4,000 lawsuits in the Eastern District of California and elsewhere under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and related California statutes, naming himself as the plaintiff.

Under the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996, payments related to lawsuit settlements or awards are taxable unless paid on account of personal physical injury or physical sickness. Johnson, who worked as an attorney at the IRS earlier in his career, was required to report the taxable portion of the lawsuit settlements and awards he received. He nonetheless intentionally underreported this income on his 2012, 2013, and 2014 tax returns. By understating the lawsuit settlements and awards, Johnson and DAPI paid little to no income tax for tax years 2012, 2013 and 2014. Johnson caused a loss to the IRS of more than $250,000.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine T. Lydon and Assistant Chief Matthew J. Kluge of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

Johnson is scheduled to be sentenced on March 7. 2023, by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez and faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for filing a false tax return. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.