Month: July 2024

Source: United States Department of Justice

A Peruvian national pleaded guilty today for his participation in a transnational mail and wire fraud conspiracy. 

According to court documents, Jose Alejandro Zuñiga Cano, 40, of Lima, Peru, was the operator of a Peruvian call center that defrauded and extorted Spanish-speaking U.S. residents by falsely threatening them with arrest, court proceedings and immigration consequences. Zuñiga was extradited from Peru in March to face charges related to the scheme.

Zuñiga is the 12th defendant to be convicted in connection with a $15 million transnational fraud scheme that defrauded and threatened Spanish-speaking U.S. consumers, claiming they would suffer legal consequences if they did not pay for English-language learning products they never requested. The scheme was responsible for defrauding more than 30,000 Spanish-speaking residents of the United States. Many of the victims were recent immigrants who had expressed interest in learning English.    

The 12 defendants include eight Peruvian call center owner-operators and four distribution center owner-operators who processed payments, distributed products and facilitated the fraud in the United States. Many of the defendants shared strategies on how to defraud Spanish-speaking residents of the United States. 

“The Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch is dedicated to protecting vulnerable U.S. consumers from fraudsters, including those who reside beyond our borders,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Individuals who defraud our immigrant communities will be brought to justice and held accountable in U.S. courts.” 

“The long arm of the American justice system has no limits when it comes to reaching fraudsters who prey on our nation’s most vulnerable populations, to include the elderly and recent immigrants,” said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida. “We will not allow transnational criminals to use fear tactics and intimidation to steal money from the public we serve. Individuals who defraud American consumers will be brought to justice, no matter where they are located.”

“This investigation attests that justice will be pursued relentlessly to protect U.S. consumers,” said Inspector in Charge Juan A. Vargas of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Miami Field Division. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office worked steadfastly to uphold the integrity of our legal system and the postal system. Today’s 12th conviction should send a strong message to those who exploit the mail for criminal use. You will be brought to justice.”

According to court documents, Zuñiga owned and operated a call center in Lima that placed unsolicited calls to Spanish-speaking consumers in the United States and falsely claimed that they had won or qualified for free products, including computer tablets and English language courses. On later calls, Zuñiga and his co-conspirators falsely claimed that victims were contractually obligated to pay large sums to receive the products. Zuñiga and his co-conspirators impersonated lawyers, court officials, police officers and representatives of a supposed “minor crimes court” to intimidate victims and force them to send payments. Zuñiga and his co-conspirators threatened victims with court proceedings, arrest and immigration consequences if they did not pay. 

Victims who paid were later re-victimized by Zuñiga and his co-conspirators with a related restitution scheme. According to court documents, the defendant and his co-conspirators placed additional calls to victims who had already paid and, while posing as lawyers for a U.S. court, falsely represented that victims were entitled to restitution payments and would receive their money back if they paid the lawyer who purportedly brought the case on their behalf. In reality, there was no lawyer, no restitution order and no funds returned to the victims who made those additional payments. Instead, Zuñiga kept those additional victim payments for himself. 

Today, Zuñiga pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 10. Zuñiga faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Zuñiga is the eighth defendant to be extradited from Peru and plead guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud related to Peruvian call centers. In 2021 and 2022, U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola Jr. sentenced Henrry Milla, Carlos Espinoza, Jerson Renteria, Fernan Huerta, Omar Cuzcano, Evelyng Milla and Josmell Espinoza to sentences ranging from 88 to 110 months in prison. Additionally, four other co-conspirators who facilitated the operations of these call centers have also been sentenced. Most recently, in March 2023, U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz sentenced Luis Rendon, the operator of a U.S. distribution center that facilitated a substantial part of the fraud scheme, to 65 months in prison.   

USPIS and the Consumer Protection Branch investigated the case.

Senior Trial Attorney and Transnational Criminal Litigation Coordinator Phil Toomajian and Trial Attorney Carolyn Rice of the Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Annika Miranda for the Southern District of Florida is handling asset forfeiture. The Federal Trade Commission, Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Marshals Service, Peruvian National Prosecutor General’s Office and Peruvian National Police provided critical assistance. 

The Justice Department continues to investigate and bring charges in other similar matters involving threats against Spanish-speaking residents of the United States.

If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has experienced financial fraud, experienced professionals are standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Justice Department hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, can provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish and other languages are available.

More information about the department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative webpage. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov/ or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Justice Department provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at www.ovc.gov.

Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its fraud enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Note: View the indictment here

Iranian national Saeid Haji Agha Mousaei, 53, made his initial appearance yesterday in Chicago federal court following his extradition from the United Kingdom to face charges for his role in a years-long conspiracy to evade U.S. export restrictions and transship advanced U.S. electronic testing technology to Iran using third-party countries.

According to court documents, Mousaei was a manager of Dubai-based defendant company Millennium Product Company LLC (MPC). As alleged, from in or about January 2014 through at least August 2018, Mousaei, MPC and others, devised and participated in a scheme to obtain controlled electronics with military applications, including signals equipment like oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers, for export and re-export to Iran.

As alleged, Mousaei and his co-defendants understood export restrictions on U.S.-origin goods to prohibited destinations like Iran and falsely represented to U.S. distributors that their purchases would remain in countries other than Iran, like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or Armenia, where the defendants controlled unnamed companies. In reality, after arranging for distributors of U.S.-origin goods to export shipments to the UAE, the defendants allegedly transshipped goods from the UAE to Iran without the required license and in violation of U.S. law.

Mousaei and MPC are each charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison; smuggling goods from the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; wire fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Mousaei was arrested in the United Kingdom on Jan. 24, 2023, pursuant to an Interpol diffusion notice.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Morris Pasqual for the Northern District of Illinois, Executive Assistant Director Robert R. Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch and Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) made the announcement.

The FBI and BIS are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn D. McCarthy for the Northern District of Illinois and Trial Attorney Emma Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance in securing the extradition of Mousaei from the United Kingdom.

This prosecution is being coordinated through the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation states. Under the leadership of the Assistant Attorney General for National Security and the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement, the Strike Force leverages tools and authorities across the U.S. Government to enhance the criminal and administrative enforcement of export control laws.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A New Jersey man was sentenced today to 40 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release for committing a series of bias-motivated violent assaults on members of the Orthodox Jewish community in and around Lakewood, New Jersey.

Dion Marsh, 29, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi to an information charging him with five counts of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and one count of carjacking. With respect to the Shepard Byrd Act violations, Marsh admitted to willfully causing bodily injury to five victims and attempting to kill and cause injuries with dangerous weapons to four of the victims because they are Jewish.

“Enough is enough – hate-fueled attacks on the Orthodox Jewish community are abhorrent, unlawful and contrary to our values as Americans” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “As we aggressively work to confront and eradicate antisemitic violence, we recognize the unique vulnerabilities faced by Orthodox Jews who are often targeted because of religious clothing and yarmulkes. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute senseless hate crimes and we will protect people exercising their constitutional right to practice their religion.”

“The threat from hate-fueled violence is a sad reality that impacts far too many people across our state and our nation,” said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. “This defendant previously admitted to violently attacking five men, driving a car into four of them, stabbing one of them in the chest, and attempting to kill them simply because they were visibly identifiable as Orthodox Jews. The sentence imposed today holds Marsh accountable for his brutal and hate-filled rampage. We have no higher priority than protecting the civil rights of our New Jersey residents.”

“These victims were targeted by Marsh because of the way they were dressed, which is in accordance with their religious beliefs,” said Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy of the FBI Newark Field Office. “They have that right in this country. Marsh, however, did not have the right and broke federal law, when he attacked, stabbed and carjacked innocent people. The rise of hate crimes in our communities has become a noxious disease. FBI Newark and our law enforcement partners will aggressively pursue anyone who violates someone’s constitutionally protected civil rights to simply be who they are. We ask anyone who thinks they’ve been a victim, or knows someone who is, to contact us so we can help them.”

According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 8, 2022, Marsh carried out a series of violent assaults on members of the Orthodox Jewish Community in and around Lakewood. Each of Marsh’s victims were attired in traditional garments worn by members of the Orthodox Jewish community and were assaulted because they were visibly identifiable Orthodox Jews.

Specifically, at 1:18 p.m. on April 8, 2022, Marsh forced a visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man out of his car in Lakewood, assaulting and injuring him. Marsh took control of the man’s car and drove away.

At 5:20 p.m., Marsh was in Lakewood driving a different car when he deliberately struck another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man with the vehicle, attempting to kill the victim.

At 6:06 p.m., Marsh used that second vehicle to deliberately strike another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man, attempting to kill the victim and causing him to suffer several broken bones.

At 6:55 p.m., Marsh, once again driving the vehicle that he had stolen from the first victim, attempted to kill another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man who was walking in Lakewood by deliberately striking him with the vehicle. Marsh got out of the vehicle and stabbed the man in the chest with a knife, causing the victim to suffer a stab wound and other injuries.

At 8:23 p.m., Marsh, still driving the vehicle that he had stolen from the first victim, used it to deliberately strike another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man who was walking in nearby Jackson Township, New Jersey, attempting to kill the man and causing him to suffer several broken bones and internal injuries.

The FBI Newark Field Office, Red Bank Resident Agency, Lakewood Police Department, Jackson Township Police Department, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and New Jersey State Police investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Civil Rights Division R. Joseph Gribko for the District of New Jersey prosecuted the case with assistance from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Prysmian Cables and Systems USA LLC (Prysmian), located in Abbeville, South Carolina, has agreed to pay $920,000 to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly falsifying test results and failing to conduct required testing on military cable, known as M13486 cable, that was used in vehicles manufactured for use by the military. The alleged misconduct took place from approximately 2005 to 2021 at a facility in Paragould, Arkansas. Prysmian acquired the Paragould facility in 2018. The settlement resolves allegations disclosed by Prysmian under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)’s mandatory disclosure rule that Prysmian and prior owners of the Paragould facility had failed to conduct several required tests and, instead, had prepared and submitted to the United States falsified test results and false certifications of compliance.

In early 2021, a Defense Logistics Agency employee noticed discrepancies between the cable manufacturing and testing dates on test data submitted by Prysmian and refused to accept the test data, which triggered an internal investigation at Prysmian. As a result of its investigation, Prysmian terminated four employees involved in the alleged misconduct, including its quality manager, quality systems coordinator, quality engineer and product development supervisor. Prysmian also repurchased all suspect cable that had been shipped to its distributor and made a mandatory disclosure under the FAR. Prysmian cooperated with the United States’ subsequent investigation. 

“Companies who do business with the United States must comply with their contractual commitments,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will hold accountable government contractors who knowingly fail to perform required services or misrepresent their performance of such services, including mandatory testing requirements.”

“The manufacturing of defective products, including ones intended for use in military vehicles, creates a significant risk to America’s warfighters,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan Settle of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southwest Field Office. “DCIS remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners and the Justice Department to hold accountable those who commit fraudulent activity that impacts the Department of Defense.”

DCIS and the Army Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case.

Senior Trial Counsel Alicia J. Bentley of the Civil Division handled the matter.

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

Settlement

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Andrezj Boryga, 67, pleaded guilty and was sentenced today to 24 months in prison and two years of supervised release for willfully transmitting in interstate commerce threats to injure other people and for choosing his victims because of their religion.

According to the records filed in the case, between July 9 and Dec. 14, 2022, Boryga left voicemails at Anti-Defamation League offices located in New York, Texas, Colorado, and Nevada. Boryga used antisemitic slurs on eight voicemails as he threatened to assault or kill Jewish people.

In the last few months, the Justice Department has brought charges, obtained plea agreements, and obtained sentences for more than 30 defendants for criminal acts motivated by antisemitic hate.

“Hate-fueled threats of violence seek to fracture our society and isolate communities from one another,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This defendant made heinous, repeated violent threats targeting Jewish people and organizations. His actions were not just heinous, they were unlawful. This case represents the latest effort by the Justice Department to combat the disturbing increase in threats against Jews and Jewish institutions across the United States that we have seen in the wake of October 7th. We will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute threats and acts of violence motivated by antisemitism and by hatred of any kind.”

“The defendant’s vile and graphic threats demonstrated his hate-filled mindset, and the death threats levied caused genuine fear for the people who received them,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This type of antisemitic, hate-fueled conduct offends our most basic values and has no place in our society. This sentence should send a clear message to perpetrators and would-be perpetrators of hate crimes that we will not hesitate to prosecute those who threaten violence against the Jewish community.”

“Everyone in our country should be able to sit in safety regardless of how they worship, free from bigoted threats meant to make them afraid,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers for the Southern District of Indiana. “This criminal’s horrific threats sought to put fear into Jewish communities. Violent antisemitism and bigotry must be given no sanction in this country. Our office will continue to work closely with our partners at the Civil Rights Division and the FBI to hold criminals accountable for hate-based threats and violence.”

The FBI Indianapolis Field Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter A. Blackett for the Southern District of Indiana and Trial Attorney Anita Channapati of Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.