Month: February 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Vietnamese national has been sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing methamphetamine to distribute and a firearm.

Hon Chau, 44, no known address, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Monday, Feb. 13, to 14 years and two months in federal prison without parole.

On Aug. 16, 2022, Chau pleaded guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

Chau was arrested on Feb. 27, 2020, when he drove a Chrysler 200 and parked in the driveway of a Springfield residence while law enforcement offices were executing a search warrant. Officers ordered Chau to get out of his vehicle, but he refused. Instead, Chau backed his vehicle into the officers’ vehicles parked behind him. Officers broke out the driver’s side window and attempted to remove Chau from his vehicle, but Chau continued to resist and reach towards his right hip. Officers used a Taser and were able to get him out of the vehicle. Chau had a loaded IMEZ .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol in a holster on his right hip. This pistol had been reported as stolen.

Chau had a baggie that contained 287 grams of pure methamphetamine inside his sweater pocket. Officers found $6,943 in cash inside Chau’s vehicle.

Chau, who had a dozen prior state felony convictions prior to this federal case, had been released from the Missouri Department of Corrections less than a year earlier.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Eatmon. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Justice Department announced today that it filed a complaint and proposed consent decree with the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota to resolve allegations that the Minnesota Department of Corrections (MNDOC) violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The department previously found that the MNDOC discriminated against incarcerated individuals with disabilities enrolled in its General Educational Development (GED) program by denying individuals with disabilities opportunities to apply for or receive needed modifications on the GED exam, courses or practice tests, such as extended time and frequent breaks. The proposed consent decree will provide damages to harmed individuals and requires the MNDOC to make changes to end this discrimination.

“Prisons and jails have an obligation to meet the needs of people with disabilities. This settlement agreement stands to impact hundreds of incarcerated people with disabilities, opening doors to higher education and other opportunities that have been unjustly closed to them for far too long,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “MNDOC is now firmly on a path to providing accommodations to students with disabilities on standardized exams and preparation courses, actions that will help promote rehabilitation and increase prospects for reentry.”

“We are pleased to reach a resolution with MNDOC that will help ensure incarcerated individuals with disabilities have equal opportunities to benefit from critical education programs in its facilities,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger for the District of Minnesota. 

The department’s complaint alleges that the MNDOC discriminates against individuals with disabilities in multiple ways: (1) failing to notify them about reasonable modifications for GED courses, practice tests and exams; (2) preventing them from applying for GED exam accommodations and (3) failing to give them reasonable modifications, such as extended time and breaks, in GED courses and on practice tests. Without reasonable modifications, many incarcerated individuals with disabilities repeatedly failed their practice tests or official exams, were denied access to other prison programs, and were released from incarceration without a GED.

Under the terms of the consent decree, which requires court approval, the MNDOC will revise its policies and procedures, train relevant personnel and educate incarcerated individuals on these revised policies and the ADA, hire an agency-wide ADA Compliance Officer and designate facility-level ADA and education coordinators, conduct a corrective action review to determine appropriate relief for currently-incarcerated individuals with disabilities and provide regular reports to the department. The MNDOC will also pay over $70,000 in compensatory damages to aggrieved individuals with disabilities.

The Justice Department plays a central role in advancing the nation’s goal of equal opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities. For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit the ADA website at http://www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov. ADA complaints may be filed online at http://www.ada.gov/complaint/.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Erie, PA pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

Walter Scott McMahon, age 56, of Erie, PA, pleaded guilty to Count Two of the Superseding Indictment before Senior United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson.

In connection with the guilty plea, from July 2019 to June 2020, McMahon did conspire to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.

Judge Gibson scheduled sentencing for June 20, 2023. The law provides for a minimum of 10 years in prison to a maximum of life in prison, a fine of up to $10,000,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of McMahon. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, Clearfield County District Attorney’s Office, Erie County District Attorney’s Office, Millcreek Police Department, Erie Bureau of Police, and other local law enforcement agencies.

This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

 Memphis, TN – Joel Evan Lattimer, 43, of Bartlett, TN., has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for solicitation of child pornography and attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor. United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced the sentence today.

According to the information presented in court, between October and November 2021, FBI undercover agents communicated with Lattimer using social networking applications, such as Whisper, Kik, and Wickr. During the investigation, the undercover agents posed as a father and his minor daughter who told Lattimer that the father frequently sexually abused his 12-year-old daughter. He requested to see photos and videos of the sexual abuse of the minor. In November, Lattimer sent the minor two videos of himself engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Lattimer pled guilty to the charges brought in a two-count Information.

On February 9, 2023, United States District Judge Thomas L. Parker sentenced Lattimer to 60 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. The Court also assessed a $10,000 fine under the Justice for Victims Trafficking Act of 2015.

This case was investigated by the FBI Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force.

United States Attorney Kevin Ritz thanked Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Delery, who prosecuted this case, as well as law enforcement partners who investigated the case.

                                                                                                 ###

For more information, please contact Public Information Officer Cherri Green at (901) 544-4231 or cherri.green@usdoj.gov. Follow @WDTNNews on Twitter for office news and updates.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Pinellas Corporation (Pinellas), a for-profit school offering computer training courses in McLean and Richmond, and CEO and sole owner Paul Giordano, of Washington, D.C., agreed to pay $450,000 to settle allegations that Pinellas paid bonuses to consultants based on their success in securing enrollments of students receiving military veterans benefits.

Under the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (Post-9/11 GI Bill), military veterans can receive tuition assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to enroll as students at approved educational institutions. Their tuition assistance is paid directly to the educational institution. During the relevant period, education institutions could not be approved to enroll students receiving Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits “if the educational institution provides any commission, bonus, or other incentive payment based directly or indirectly on success in securing enrollments or financial aid to any persons or entities engaged in any student recruiting or admission activities or in making decisions regarding the award of student financial assistance.”

The United States alleged that from 2015 through 2016, Pinellas d/b/a New Horizons Computer Learning Center of Richmond Virginia, and New Horizons Computer Learning Center Of Washington, D.C., at Giordano’s direction, paid bonuses to consultants who recruited students receiving Post-9/11 GI Bill financial assistance based on their success in securing enrollments. The United States further alleged that, between August 15, 2015, and December 31, 2016, Pinellas falsely certified that it had exercised reasonable diligence in meeting all applicable requirements of Title 38 of the U.S. Code in submitting nearly 1,000 claims to the VA for Post-9/11 GI Bill payments.

The government alleged that because of the false certifications Pinellas made to the VA, the VA paid tuition payments to Pinellas that Pinellas was not eligible to receive, in violation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill and the False Claims Act.   

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and VA’s Veterans Benefits Administration.

The matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Starr and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Krista Anderson. The civil claims settled by this False Claims Act agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.