Month: April 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Honduran national pleaded guilty today to his role in a scheme to illegally bring Honduran nationals to, and to distribute cocaine in, the United States.

According to court documents, beginning in as early as January 2021, Josue Flores-Villeda, 36, and six co-conspirators schemed to bring Honduran nationals and cocaine from Honduras to the United States. In February 2022, Villeda and his co-conspirators attempted to illegally bring 23 Honduran nationals and at least 24 kilograms of cocaine from Utila, Honduras, to Cocodrie, Louisiana, by boat. At some point, the vessel developed engine trouble in the Gulf of Mexico. Villeda and his co-conspirators then chartered a boat and attempted to bring fuel to the disabled vessel so that it could complete its journey to the United States. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Coast Guard located the vessel adrift approximately 95 miles off the coast of Grand Isle, Louisiana, and towed it to shore.

Villeda pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully bring aliens to the United States for financial gain and conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine hydrochloride. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 6 and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine his 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 Duane A. Evans for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and Special Agent in Charge David Denton of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans Field Office made the announcement.

HSI Houma is investigating the case with assistance from HSI Pittsburgh, HSI Atlanta, and the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation. The U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations, Louisiana State Police, Pennsylvania State Police, North Huntington Township Police, and Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office also provided valuable assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carter Guice and Ben Myers for the Eastern District of Louisiana and Acting Deputy Chief Rami Badawy of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) are prosecuting the case.

The investigation is being conducted under Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), which was established by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in June 2021 to marshal the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Department of Justice, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to enhance U.S. enforcement efforts against the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Since its creation, JTFA has successfully increased coordination and collaboration between the Justice Department, DHS, and other interagency law enforcement participants, and with foreign law enforcement partners, including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico; targeted those organizations who have the most impact on the United States; and coordinated significant smuggling indictments and extradition efforts in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country. JTFA is comprised of detailees from southwest border U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, including the Southern District of Texas, the Western District of Texas, the District of New Mexico, the District of Arizona, and the Southern District of California, and dedicated support for the program is also provided by numerous components of the Criminal Division that are part of JTFA – led by the HRSP, and supported by the Office of Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training (OPDAT), the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS), the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), the Office of Enforcement Operations (OEO), the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA), and the Organized Crime and Gang Section (OCGS). JTFA is made possible by substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, DEA, and other partners.

The investigation is also supported by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), as well as the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program, a joint partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI. The ECT program focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence, and prosecutorial resources. ECT coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

DETROIT – An Ypsilanti man pleaded guilty this week to making several false statements in his security clearance application for a job working with the United States Navy overseas, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.

Ison was joined in the announcement by James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to court records, Yifei Chu, age 57, a naturalized U.S. citizen and recent employee of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), applied for a three-year detailed assignment to the United States Embassy in Singapore working for the United States Navy. To obtain this position, Chu was required to apply for and obtain a security clearance. Chu made several false statements in his security clearance application during an interview with federal background investigators and in an affidavit he signed regarding his security clearance application.

Chu’s false statements were made to hide his extensive contacts with members of the Taiwanese Navy and a Taiwanese company. These contacts included the fact that Chu was hired by the Taiwanese company to provide consulting services on a “classified” Taiwanese Navy project, was paid money by the Taiwanese company, and that he traveled to Taiwan on multiple occasions to meet with members of the Taiwanese Navy on a military base in Taiwan in performance of his consulting services.

Chu pleaded guilty to both counts charged in the indictment: (1) making false statements and (2) falsifying records in a federal investigation. Chu faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison on the false statements charge, and a maximum of twenty years in prison on the false record in a federal investigation charge. Sentencing is set for August 15, 2023 before United States District Judge Victoria A. Roberts.

“It is vital that those individuals who gain access to classified information related to our national defense are truthful and honest about their connections to foreign governments so that our nation’s military secrets do not end up in the wrong hands,” said United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.

“This case is about more than just lying on a job application,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “In order to obtain a position with the U.S. Navy, Chu attempted to hide his extensive contacts with the Taiwanese government, potentially giving them access to our nation’s classified information and military technology. The FBI continues to work tirelessly to ensure only the most trusted people have access to the U.S. Government’s sensitive information.” 

The case was investigated by the FBI and handled by Assistant United States Attorney Ronald Waterstreet.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CONCORD – United States Attorney Jane E. Young announced the appointments of Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth R. Aframe to serve as the Criminal Division Chief and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer C. Davis to serve as the Deputy Criminal Division Chief.

“I am delighted to announce Seth Aframe as the Criminal Division Chief and Jennifer Davis as the Deputy Criminal Chief,” said U.S. Attorney Young.  “Together, Seth and Jen have diligently served the office for more than half a century.  Each bring strong legal, analytical, and mentorship skills.  Additionally, they have demonstrated an unparalleled devotion to this outstanding office.  I am confident that under their leadership the Criminal Division will continue to thrive.” 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aframe has served the U.S. Department of Justice since 2007 in the District of New Hampshire’s criminal and civil divisions, most recently serving as the Deputy Criminal Division Chief.  Over the course of his esteemed career, Mr. Aframe prosecuted a variety of federal violations, including fraud, drug, firearm, and child exploitation crimes. He also litigated over 100 appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Mr. Aframe has served as the District’s Elections Coordinator and Civil Rights Coordinator since 2018.

Mr. Aframe is a respected member of his community. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of New Hampshire Law School, and previously served as a School Board Member in Hopkinton. Mr. Aframe is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center. 

Ms. Davis has nearly 30 years of experience serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of New Hampshire. Most recently, she has conducted complex long-term narcotics investigations as the District’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Coordinator and National Opioid Coordinator. Since 2022, she has served as a mentor for her colleagues as the District’s Senior Litigation Counsel.

Ms. Davis has prosecuted and tried cases related to health care and security fraud, firearm and narcotics, immigration, and white-collar crimes. Earlier in her career, Ms. Davis received a detail appointment as the Assistant Director for Criminal Programs at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Education, where she oversaw the implementation of trainings for the country’s federal prosecutors. She is a graduate of Marquette University Law School.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

The United States filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Javier Campos; David DePablo; Krystallee Gonzalez; Alvaro Jauregui; Katya Rojas; Patricia Vanegas; JBC Tax Services LLC; WK Tax Services Inc.; Cutler Bay Tax Services Inc.; N.L.T.S., Inc. doing business as Naranja Lakes Tax Services Inc.; and Tax Services Group Corp. The civil complaint seeks to enjoin the defendants from preparing federal income tax returns for others. The complaint also requests that the court require Campos and the businesses he controls to disgorge the fees they obtained by preparing federal tax returns that make grossly incompetent, negligent, reckless, and/or fraudulent claims.

The civil complaint alleges that, from 2019 through 2022, the defendants prepared at least 12,000 tax returns annually. The complaint further alleges that Campos and the other defendants, using a variety of schemes, prepared tax returns that understate their customers’ tax liability and overstate their claimed refunds. The complaint alleges that the defendants prepared customers’ returns that included various false or fabricated deductions and credits, including:

• fabricated residential energy credits;
• fictitious deductions and credits for education expenses, including tuition and fees;
• false COVID-19 sick and family leave credits; and,
• bogus uncommon deductions, including for rental of personal property, unlawful discrimination claims, and reforestation amortization and expenses.

According to the complaint, Campos and the other defendants’ pattern of conduct has resulted in the issuance of inflated refunds to taxpayers and the loss of significant federal tax revenue.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers 10 tips to avoid tax season fraud and ways to safeguard their personal information.

In the past decade, the Department of Justice Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers.  Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page.  If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.