Month: April 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PROVIDENCE – A 39-year-old Burrillville man who falsely claimed on federal documents that he was not an unlawful user of controlled substances, including cocaine, when he purchased and possessed more than 200 firearms and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition was sentenced today to more than five years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

In February 2022, when Burrillville Police responded to reports of shots fired at the home of Ronald Andruchuk, numerous gunshots could be heard – with some bullets passing overhead of responding officers. Andruchuk was found wearing a Commando-style multipurpose vest and was carrying four firearms and methamphetamine. After Andruchuk was taken into custody, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) agents and Burrillville Police executed a federal search warrant and seized 219 firearms strewn unsecured within Andruchuk’s home.  Among the items seized were an AR-style privately-made firearm; assorted firearm ammunition magazines and accessories; and approximately 25,390 rounds (1,555.8lbs) of assorted boxed and loose ammunition of various calibers.

Additionally, an ATF investigation determined that Andruchuk previously admitted to law enforcement that he was a user of controlled substances and that he had a substance abuse problem. Further investigation determined that when attempting to purchase firearms from federally licensed firearms dealers, Andruchuk falsely claimed on federal forms that he was not “an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.”

“By repeatedly violating federal law to acquire an arsenal of firearms – firearms that he stored and used in a way that is the antithesis of responsible gun ownership, Ronald Andruchuk put his family, his neighbors, and our communities at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Cunha.  “Today’s sentence should make crystal clear that we and our law enforcement partners intend to vigorously enforce federal gun laws to keep our communities safe.”

“Individuals who illegally use controlled substances are prohibited from possessing firearms,” said James M Ferguson Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Boston Field Division “ATF will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure these offenders do not have the opportunity to illegally possess firearms. In this case, we were able to recover 219 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition from Ronald Andruchuk”

“Ronald Andruchuk’s child-like infatuation with weapons, recklessness and illegal drug use posed an extreme threat to the lives and safety of his neighbors, his family and the Burrillville Police, added Burrillville Police Chief Colonel Stephen J. Lynch. “The Burrillville Police is appreciative of the collaborative work with ATF, its Task Force members, and the US Attorney’s Office in bringing Andruchuk to justice.”

According to court documents, during a routine review of multiple sales reports of firearms, ATF learned that between July and November of 2021, Andruchuk had purchased 169 firearms. Agents began to investigate further to ensure that Andruchuk was not involved in illegal firearms-trafficking activities. During that review, agents learned that Andruchuk had previous contact with the Cranston Police Department, during which he admitted to being a medical marijuana user. During a later contact with Cranston Police, Andruchuk was arrested on controlled substance offenses and admitted to having a substance abuse problem.

Further investigation by ATF determined that, in December 2021, two firearms, drugs, and other items were located in the drop ceiling of a bathroom inside a Millbury, MA, retail store shortly after Andruchuk vacated the restroom. Both firearms were traced to Andruchuk as the purchaser. He did not have a license to carry a firearm in Massachusetts.

Andruchuk pleaded guilty on January 18, 2023, to two charges of making a false statement of material fact during a firearm purchase and possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of a controlled substance. At sentencing today, U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy sentenced Andruchuk to sixty-three months in federal prison to be followed by three years of federal supervised release, and to pay a $10,000 fine.

At the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the court ordered the 219 firearms and more than 25,000 rounds of ammunition seized from the defendant to be forfeited to the Government to be destroyed.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United Sates Attorney Ronald R. Gendron.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Justice Department announced today a settlement agreement with Spokane Public Schools in Spokane, Washington, to address the discriminatory use of seclusion and restraint against students with disabilities. The settlement agreement, which resolves the department’s investigation under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), will protect students with disabilities by eliminating seclusion and reforming the district’s restraint practices.

The department’s investigation concluded that the school district inappropriately and repeatedly secluded and restrained students with disabilities and did not limit its use of restraint and seclusion to emergency situations, as required by state law and the district policy. Instead, the district restrained and secluded students with disabilities to address noncompliant behavior, even when those actions appeared to escalate the behavior or when students showed clear signs of trauma. As a result, students with disabilities missed hundreds of hours of instructional time. Under the settlement agreement, Spokane Public Schools has agreed to end the use of seclusion, overhaul its restraint practices and better train staff on how to anticipate, address and de-escalate students’ disability-related behaviors through effective and appropriate interventions and supports. 

“When schools discriminate against students with disabilities through improper restraints and seclusion, they unjustly deprive those students of equal access to education and the opportunity to succeed,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Schools need the tools and the training to appropriately serve all students, including students with disabilities. This agreement will put Spokane Public Schools firmly on a path to systemic reforms that will protect students with disabilities and provide them with a safe and supportive learning environment. The Civil Rights Division will continue to fight discrimination against children with disabilities in public schools across the country.”

“Each and every child deserves a fair and equal opportunity to learn and thrive,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref for the Eastern District of Washington. “Our office, in partnership with the department’s Civil Rights Division, will vigorously investigate allegations of discrimination on the basis of disability in all settings, including in our public schools. We are heartened by the school district’s commitment to this sweeping agreement, which will undoubtedly improve the education and everyday lives of many of our students in the Spokane community.”

The district fully cooperated throughout the investigation, and before entering the agreement, began steps to voluntarily reform its practices. Among other actions, under the agreement, the district will:

• Prohibit the use of seclusion (referred to in the agreement as “isolation”) at all district schools;
• Only restrain students when their behavior poses an imminent likelihood of serious harm to the student or another person;
• Improve data collection efforts and establish review protocols following the use of restraint;
• Review and improve behavioral intervention plans;
• Create classroom-wide behavior management plans that promote positive behaviors and de-escalate noncompliant behaviors to support teachers and students in classrooms serving students with high-intensity behaviors;
• Deliver appropriate training and resources to help schools implement the agreement and respond appropriately to student behavior;
• Create a complaint procedure through which families can file a complaint with the district regarding the use of seclusion or restraint;
• Offer counseling and compensatory education services to students with disabilities who were subjected to the district’s discriminatory practices; and
• Appoint an Intervention Coordinator to ensure the district’s compliance with the agreement and Title II of the ADA.

Enforcement of Title II of the ADA is a priority of the Civil Rights Division. This agreement is the most recent in a series of division settlements to address and prevent unlawful seclusion and restraint of students with disabilities in public schools. On Feb. 16, for example, the division reached a settlement with the Anchorage School District in Alaska to address the discriminatory use of seclusion and restraint against students with disabilities. The division reached similar agreements in December 2022 with the Okaloosa County School District in Florida, in September 2022 with the Cedar Rapids Community School District in Iowa, in December 2021 with the Frederick Public School District in Maryland and in December 2020 with the North Gibson School Corporation in Indiana. 

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt, and additional information about the Educational Opportunities Section’s work is available at www.justice.gov/crt/educational-opportunities-section. To learn more about the section’s work under the ADA to combat improper seclusion in schools, visit this website: www.justice.gov/schoolseclusion.

Members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at www.civilrights.justice.gov/.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Sibley Hospital (Sibley) and its parent company, Johns Hopkins Health System (Johns Hopkins), have agreed to pay the United States $5 million to resolve allegations arising from claims that Sibley submitted to the Medicare Program, the Justice Department announced today.

The Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly known as the Stark Law, prohibits a hospital from billing Medicare for certain services referred by physicians with whom the hospital has a financial relationship, unless that relationship satisfies one of the law’s statutory or regulatory exceptions. It is intended to ensure that medical decision-making is not influenced by improper financial incentives and instead is based on the best interests of the patient.

Today’s settlement resolves allegations that, from 2008 through 2011, Sibley violated the Stark Law by billing Medicare for services referred by ten cardiologists to whom Sibley was paying compensation that exceeded the fair market value of the services provided. These allegations arose out of conduct that Sibley and Johns Hopkins self-disclosed to the United States.

“Improper financial arrangements between hospitals and physicians can influence the type and amount of health care that is provided,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to holding accountable those who violate prohibitions designed to protect the integrity of physician decision-making.”

“Patients have the right to medical care that is strictly about their health and not about the financial benefit or obligation that a physician might receive or owe,” said U.S. Attorney Graves for the District of Columbia. “We welcome conversations with anyone who might have credible information that medical care is being undermined by outside influences. This office works in concert with many partners to protect the public, including the Fraud Section of the Department of Justice and the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health, to ensure the rules are followed.”

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch (Fraud Section), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services.

This matter was handled by Fraud Section Attorney David Wiseman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Graham-Oliver for the District of Columbia.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A former Bristol woman who perpetrated a scheme to fraudulently collect more than $42,000 in Social Security Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits earmarked for a disabled child who was no longer in her care or custody was sentenced today to three years of federal probation and ordered to reimburse the Social Security Administration, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

Sonia Pimentel, 44, formerly of Bristol, RI, now residing in Norwich, CT, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Providence on December 1, 2022, to a charge of theft of public funds.

Pimentel admitted that, from December 2011 through October 2016, she continued to receive, and to keep for her own personal use, monthly SSI payments totaling $42,346.73; those funds were earmarked for the care of a disabled child who was no longer in her custody or care at the time. The child was, in fact, in the custody and care of his father at that time Pimentel fraudulently and willfully collected and retained the SSI payments.

At sentencing today, U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy sentenced Pimentel to three years of federal probation and ordered her to pay restitution in the amount of $42,346.73 to the Social Security Administration.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise M. Barton.

The matter was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Martinsburg, West Virginia woman has admitted to trafficking a teenager to a Florida man.

Destiny Rebecca Somersall, age 41, pled guilty today to one count of sex trafficking of a child. Somersall sent photographs and videos of the minor to 75-year-old John Balch for cash and gifts. One of the videos included a second victim. Somersall later drove the teen to a hotel in Maryland for sexual contact with Balch for money on multiple occasions. Investigators found at least 60 cash transactions between Balch and Somersall over a period of two years totaling $13,725.  

Balch has been indicted in the District of Maryland on related charges.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland assisted.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberley Crockett is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.

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.  

For more information on human trafficking, go to www.stophumantraffickingwv.org. To report a potential human trafficking crime, email USWVN-Report@usdoj.gov or call 304-234-0100.