Month: October 2024

Source: United States Department of Justice

The Office of Information Policy (OIP) is pleased to announce that the Chief FOIA Officers (CFO) Council will hold a virtual meeting on Thursday, November 7^th 2024 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM ET.    

The CFO Council meeting is open to all agency FOIA professionals and members of the public.  Time will be provided for members of the public to address the Council.  Registration is required on Eventbrite.  All attendees must register by 11:59 PM ET on Monday, November 4, 2024.  The meeting will also be livestreamed on the National Archives’ YouTube channel.

In accordance with the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, the Chief FOIA Officers Council is tasked with developing recommendations, sharing best practices, and developing and coordinating initiatives to improve agency FOIA administration.  The Council is co-chaired by the Directors of OIP and OGIS and is comprised of each agency Chief FOIA Officer and the Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management Budget.

Do you have ideas for future meeting topics and potential panelists?  Please email us at DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty today to four counts of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl.

According to court documents, Marvin Pompilus, 39, of Stoughton, conspired to use force, threats of force, fraud and coercion to compel three adult victims to engage in commercial sex acts in the Randolph, Massachusetts, area between October 2021 and October 2022. He also conspired to compel another other adult victim to engage in commercial sex acts in September 2022. In addition, Pompilus pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine and fentanyl with the intent to distribute in September 2022. Pompilus was previously arrested and charged in November 2023. He has remained in federal custody.

According to court documents, Pompilus knew that the victims abused opioids and cocaine, and he specifically targeted the victims because of this vulnerability. For example, Pompilus promised the victims cocaine, heroin and fentanyl in exchange for engaging in commercial sex, with all the profits of the sex acts going directly to Pompilus. Pompilus also possessed distribution quantities of cocaine and fentanyl when Randolph Police Department conducted a car stop in September 2022 and found these drugs inside the crotch of his pants.

Court documents also demonstrate that Pompilus was previously convicted in Suffolk Superior Court in February 2018 of multiple counts of trafficking a person for sexual servitude and deriving support for prostitution. Pompilus was sentenced to six years in state prison and he was released in October 2021. Within days of his release, Pompilus began the sex trafficking conspiracy to which he pleaded guilty today.

“This defendant callously picked up right where he left off when he was released from state prison, believing that he could profit by peddling drugs and misery to people suffering with substance abuse issues,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The defendant specifically targeted victims who were struggling with addiction to opioids and cocaine, coerced them into sex trafficking and cruelly exploited them because of their vulnerability. The Justice Department will continue to investigate and prosecute human traffickers who exploit for their own personal gain the most vulnerable members of society, such as those experiencing substance abuse disorders.”

“Marvin Pompilus targeted and brutalized his victims, and this was promptly after he was released from jail following his conviction on similar state charges,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the District of Massachusetts. “These crimes are a violation of human dignity and human rights. Our office, along with our federal, state and local partners, are dedicating substantial resources to both protecting victims of trafficking and holding defendants accountable by prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law. This is especially true for repeat offenders like Mr. Pompilus.”

“Marvin Pompilus admitted today that as soon as he got out of state prison for sex trafficking, he started doing it again, targeting and exploiting four vulnerable women using violence and threats to force them to engage in commercial sex,” said Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Boston Field Office. “What he did is unconscionable, and the harm he’s inflicted on these women is immeasurable. The FBI will do everything in its power to protect trafficking victims from further harm and see the predators who so viciously abuse them brought to justice.”

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23, 2025. According to the plea agreement, Pompilus faces a minimum penalty of 12 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Boston Field Office, Massachusetts State Police and Randolph Police Department investigated the case. Massachusetts State Police Troopers Ashleigh Moore and John Hagerty are especially commended for identifying Pompilus and detecting his trafficking scheme during a routine car stop in the summer of 2021.

Chief of the Civil Rights and Human Trafficking Unit Liz Riley-Cunniffe for the District of Massachusetts and Trial Attorney Meghan Tokash of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit are prosecuting the case.

Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ASRC Federal Data Solutions LLC (AFDS), headquartered in Reston, Virginia, has agreed to resolve False Claims Act allegations in connection with a government contract related to its storage of unsecured personally identifiable information of Medicare beneficiaries. Under the resolution, AFDS will pay $306,722. It will also waive any rights to reimbursement for remediating a data breach involving the information, including at least $877,578 in costs it incurred notifying beneficiaries and providing credit monitoring. AFDS promptly notified the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the data breach, worked with CMS to address the impact of the breach, cooperated with the Justice Department’s investigation and took other remedial measures.

“Government contractors that handle personal information must take required steps to safeguard that information from cyberattacks,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will vigilantly pursue contractors that fail to comply with required cybersecurity protocols, while at the same time extending cooperation credit where warranted for self-disclosure, cooperation and remediation.”

AFDS provided certain Medicare support services under a contract with CMS. The settlement resolves allegations that from March 10, 2021, through Oct. 8, 2022, AFDS and a subcontractor stored screenshots from CMS systems containing personally identifiable information and potentially personal health information of Medicare beneficiaries on the subcontractor’s server without individually encrypting the files to protect them against exposure in the event of a breach. The subcontractor’s server employed disk-level encryption that protected files from unauthorized access but not from access using authorized credentials. The subcontractor’s server was breached by a third party in October 2022 and the unencrypted screenshots were allegedly compromised during that breach.

The United States alleged that the storing of screenshots on the subcontractor’s server violated AFDS’ contractual cybersecurity requirements, and that AFDS knowingly billed CMS in violation of these requirements.

“Safeguarding patients’ sensitive personal information is of paramount importance,” said Special Agent in Charge Stephen Niemczak of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “This settlement demonstrates the commitment by HHS-OIG and our law enforcement partners to use every available tool to protect the health care data of all Americans and to investigate allegations of fraud, waste and abuse against the public and taxpayer-funded health care programs.”

On Oct. 6, 2021, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced the department’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, which aims to hold accountable entities or individuals that put U.S information or systems at risk by knowingly providing deficient cybersecurity products or services, knowingly misrepresenting their cybersecurity practices or protocols or knowingly violating obligations to monitor and report cybersecurity incidents and breaches. Information on how to report cyber fraud can be found here.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and HHS-OIG.

Senior Trial Counsel Jonathan H. Gold of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section handled the matter.

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

Settlement

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A former U.S. Air Force member was charged in an indictment unsealed today in the Southern District of Florida with sexually assaulting another service member at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, United Kingdom, in May 2019.

The indictment charges James Loubeau, 36, of Miami, with one count of sexual abuse and two counts of abusive sexual contact. Loubeau made his initial court appearance today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

According to the indictment, on May 4, 2019, Loubeau sexually assaulted the victim at Royal Air Force Mildenhall. Loubeau was later discharged from the Air Force in March 2020. The charges were brought under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), which establishes U.S. jurisdiction over certain offenses committed abroad by, among others, persons who served with the armed forces but who are no longer subject to military prosecution.

If convicted, Loubeau faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Michael Koellner of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI); and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of FBI’s Miami Field Office made the announcement.

The Air Force OSI and FBI are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Ryan Lipes of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Arielle Klepach for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

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

Today the Office of Information Policy (OIP) is pleased to release its summary and assessment of agencies’ 2024 Chief FOIA Officer (CFO) Reports.  OIP’s 2024 summary and assessment focuses on steps agencies have taken to improve FOIA administration in five key areas highlighted in the Attorney General’s 2022 FOIA Guidelines:

• FOIA Leadership and Applying a Presumption of Openness;
• Ensuring Fair and Effective FOIA Administration;
• Proactive Disclosures;
• Utilizing Technology to Improve Efficiency; and
• Steps Taken to Remove Barriers to Access, Improve Timelines, and Reduce Backlogs.

This past March marked the fifteenth year that agency CFOs submitted these reports to the Department of Justice.

OIP encourages agencies and the public to read both OIP’s summary and each agency’s individual report to gain a comprehensive understanding of the various steps taken to improve the administration of the FOIA across the government.

In addition to the summary, OIP’s 2024 assessment provides a broad overview of agency efforts in several key areas of FOIA administration.  The assessment covers those agencies that received more than 50 requests and distinguishes between high and medium volume agencies, using a five-step scoring system to denote agency success for each milestone.  For the 2024 assessment, OIP selected twenty-two milestones for scoring high volume agencies and twenty milestones for scoring medium volume agencies.  The full assessment, including a detailed methodology, is available as both a spreadsheet and PDF.

Based on the review of the 2024 reports, OIP has included guidance to assist agencies in making further improvements to FOIA administration in the years ahead.  This guidance addresses FOIA training and the role of the Chief FOIA Officer, maintaining current FOIA websites, and timely processing of and reporting accurate metrics for requests for expedition. 

OIP’s yearly assessment is intended to serve as a vehicle to both recognize agency successes and to identify areas where further improvement can be made.  You can read OIP’s 2024 Summary and Assessment of Agency CFO Reports on our Reports page alongside previous summaries and assessments.  OIP’s guidance for further improvement based on our review of agency 2024 CFO Reports is available both as a part of this year’s summary as well as on our Guidance page.

OIP is also issuing new guidelines for agencies’ 2025 CFO Reports, which continue to focus on the five key areas of FOIA administration highlighted in the Attorney General’s 2022 FOIA Guidelines.  The 2025 CFO Report Guidelines once again include separate reporting requirements for agencies depending on the number of FOIA requests received in the prior fiscal year.  Agencies that received 50 requests or less in Fiscal Year 2023 are encouraged to report on any efforts or success stories that are not captured in their Fiscal Year 2024 Annual FOIA Report.  All other agencies receiving more than 50 requests have more extensive reporting requirements.

Agencies that received more than 50 requests must submit their draft 2025 Chief FOIA Officer Reports to OIP for review by no later than Monday, January 13, 2025.  For the remaining agencies receiving 50 requests or less in Fiscal Year 2023, if they do have information to report, they must provide their reports by no later than Friday, February 7, 2025.  A listing of all agencies with a link to their reporting requirements is included at the end of the Guidelines.

Additional details on the review and submission process are included in the Guidelines.  OIP will once again host refresher training on the preparation of the 2025 Chief FOIA Officer Reports.