Month: November 2024

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced that it will provide an Organizational Assessment of the Marysville, Kansas Police Department through its Collaborative Reform Initiative. This is a voluntary program that is offered at the request of law enforcement agencies that are seeking to improve their services and operations. Over the next year, the Marysville Police Department will work in partnership with the COPS Office Collaborative Reform Initiative team to focus on:

• Community Policing
• Workforce Development
• Strategic Planning
• Employee Wellness
• Technology, Data, and Organizational Learning

“Requesting an Organizational Assessment review shows that an agency is being pro-active in its efforts to create the best department possible to serve the needs of its community,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “I applaud the Marysville Police Department for taking this important step, and the Department looks forward to working with them.”

“It is only by examining what’s going well, and what could be improved upon, that an agency can make strides to building a department the community wants and deserves,” said Director Hugh T. Clements Jr. of the COPS Office. “Ultimately, it’s the members of the Marysville Police Department and the Marysville community who will be the beneficiaries of this work.”

Regular updates on the team’s work with the Marysville Police Department will be provided at: www.cops.usdoj.gov/active-oa-site-marysville-ks-police-department as part of the transparency and public accountability of this new Organizational Assessment effort.

The Collaborative Reform Initiative encompasses three programs offering expert services to state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies: the Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center, Critical Response, and Organizational Assessment programs (complete details of these programs can be found at www.cops.usdoj.gov/collaborativereform). Managed out of the COPS Office, this continuum of services is designed to build trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve; improve operational efficiencies and effectiveness; enhance officer safety and wellness; build agencies’ capacity for organizational learning and self-improvement; and promote community policing practices nationwide.

The Organizational Assessment program provides the most intensive form of technical assistance on the continuum, involving in-depth assessments and long-term assistance to improve the fairness, effectiveness, and efficacy of agency operations that build trust with communities. A continual assessment and implementation process ensures that time and resources are used to focus on identifying areas for improvement, reinforcing agency strengths, and assisting with the implementation of improvements expeditiously. At the same time, the process provides transparency and accountability with routine public reporting and community input. Each engagement will be supported by a multidisciplinary assessment team composed of subject matter experts with diverse experience and perspectives, including in law enforcement, community engagement, research and evaluation, program management and organizational reform.

The COPS Office is the federal component of the Justice Department responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Justice Department agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. The COPS Office has been appropriated more than $20 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 138,000 officers.

Source: United States Department of Justice 2

The Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced that it will provide an Organizational Assessment of the Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) through its Collaborative Reform Initiative. This is a voluntary program that is offered at the request of law enforcement agencies that are seeking to improve their services and operations. Over the next year, NRP will work in partnership with the COPS Office Collaborative Reform Initiative team to focus on:

• Community Policing
• Workforce Development
• Strategic Planning
• Employee Wellness
• Technology, Data, and Organizational Learning

“The work of law enforcement encompasses a wide range of duties and responsibilities, but there are key and standard tenets to building all successful agencies,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “I applaud the Maryland Natural Resources Police for voluntarily taking on the work of applying these tenets to its operation.”

“Every law enforcement agency can benefit by taking an in-depth look at the work of its department and seeing what’s working and where there are opportunities for improvement,” said Director Hugh T. Clements Jr. of the COPS Office. “Focusing on key areas such as workforce development and employee wellness are critical for an agency to continue to grow and improve.”

Regular updates on the team’s work with the NRP will be provided at www.cops.usdoj.gov/active-oa-site-maryland-dnr  as part of the transparency and public accountability of this new Organizational Assessment effort.

The Collaborative Reform Initiative encompasses three programs offering expert services to state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies: the Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center, Critical Response, and Organizational Assessment programs (complete details of these programs can be found at www.cops.usdoj.gov/collaborativereform). Managed out of the COPS Office, this continuum of services is designed to build trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve; improve operational efficiencies and effectiveness; enhance officer safety and wellness; build agencies’ capacity for organizational learning and self-improvement; and promote community policing practices nationwide.

The Organizational Assessment program provides the most intensive form of technical assistance on the continuum, involving in-depth assessments and long-term assistance to improve the fairness, effectiveness, and efficacy of agency operations that build trust with communities. A continual assessment and implementation process ensures that time and resources are used to focus on identifying areas for improvement, reinforcing agency strengths, and assisting with the implementation of improvements expeditiously. At the same time, the process provides transparency and accountability with routine public reporting and community input. Each engagement will be supported by a multidisciplinary assessment team composed of subject matter experts with diverse experience and perspectives, including in law enforcement, community engagement, research and evaluation, program management and organizational reform.

The COPS Office is the federal component of the Justice Department responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Justice Department agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. The COPS Office has been appropriated more than $20 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 138,000 officers.

Source: United States Department of Justice 2

The Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced that it will provide an Organizational Assessment of the Marysville, Kansas Police Department through its Collaborative Reform Initiative. This is a voluntary program that is offered at the request of law enforcement agencies that are seeking to improve their services and operations. Over the next year, the Marysville Police Department will work in partnership with the COPS Office Collaborative Reform Initiative team to focus on:

• Community Policing
• Workforce Development
• Strategic Planning
• Employee Wellness
• Technology, Data, and Organizational Learning

“Requesting an Organizational Assessment review shows that an agency is being pro-active in its efforts to create the best department possible to serve the needs of its community,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “I applaud the Marysville Police Department for taking this important step, and the Department looks forward to working with them.”

“It is only by examining what’s going well, and what could be improved upon, that an agency can make strides to building a department the community wants and deserves,” said Director Hugh T. Clements Jr. of the COPS Office. “Ultimately, it’s the members of the Marysville Police Department and the Marysville community who will be the beneficiaries of this work.”

Regular updates on the team’s work with the Marysville Police Department will be provided at: www.cops.usdoj.gov/active-oa-site-marysville-ks-police-department as part of the transparency and public accountability of this new Organizational Assessment effort.

The Collaborative Reform Initiative encompasses three programs offering expert services to state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies: the Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center, Critical Response, and Organizational Assessment programs (complete details of these programs can be found at www.cops.usdoj.gov/collaborativereform). Managed out of the COPS Office, this continuum of services is designed to build trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve; improve operational efficiencies and effectiveness; enhance officer safety and wellness; build agencies’ capacity for organizational learning and self-improvement; and promote community policing practices nationwide.

The Organizational Assessment program provides the most intensive form of technical assistance on the continuum, involving in-depth assessments and long-term assistance to improve the fairness, effectiveness, and efficacy of agency operations that build trust with communities. A continual assessment and implementation process ensures that time and resources are used to focus on identifying areas for improvement, reinforcing agency strengths, and assisting with the implementation of improvements expeditiously. At the same time, the process provides transparency and accountability with routine public reporting and community input. Each engagement will be supported by a multidisciplinary assessment team composed of subject matter experts with diverse experience and perspectives, including in law enforcement, community engagement, research and evaluation, program management and organizational reform.

The COPS Office is the federal component of the Justice Department responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Justice Department agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. The COPS Office has been appropriated more than $20 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 138,000 officers.

Source: United States Department of Justice

An indictment was unsealed yesterday in the Northern District of Texas charging two co-founders of Blueacorn, a lender service provider, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain COVID-19 relief money guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

According to court documents, Nathan Reis, 45, and Stephanie Hockridge, 41, also known as Stephanie Reis, both of Puerto Rico and previously of Arizona, allegedly submitted false and fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of themselves and their businesses, including by fabricating documents that they submitted in their loan applications in order to receive loan funds for which they were not eligible.

The indictment also alleges that Reis and Hockridge, who are married, co-founded Blueacorn in April 2020, purportedly to assist small businesses and individuals in obtaining PPP loans. In order to obtain larger loans for certain PPP applicants, Reis and other co-conspirators allegedly fabricated documents, including payroll records, tax documentation, and bank statements. Reis and Hockridge allegedly charged borrowers illegal kickbacks based on a percentage of the funds received.

As part of the alleged scheme, Reis, Hockridge, and others expanded Blueacorn’s operations through lender service provider agreements (LSPAs) with two lenders. Under the LSPAs, Blueacorn collected and reviewed PPP applications from potential borrowers on behalf of the lenders and worked with the lenders to submit applications to the SBA in exchange for a percentage of the fees that the SBA paid to the lenders for approved PPP loans. Blueacorn also had a program called “VIPPP” in which Hockridge and others offered a personalized service to help potential borrowers complete PPP loan applications. Reis and Hockridge allegedly recruited co-conspirators to work as VIPPP referral agents and coach borrowers on how to submit false PPP loan applications. In order to obtain a greater volume of kickbacks from borrowers and percentage of lender fees from the SBA, Reis, Hockridge, and their co-conspirators submitted PPP loan applications that they knew contained materially false information.

Reis and Hockridge are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton for the Northern District of Texas; Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge Chris Altemus of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Dallas Field Office; Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) Brian Miller; Special Agent in Charge John Ellwanger of the Western Division, Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (FRB-OIG); and Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware of the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG) made the announcement.

FBI, IRS-CI, SIGPR, FRB-OIG, and SBA-OIG investigated the case.

Acting Assistant Chief Philip Trout of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, Trial Attorneys Elizabeth Carr and Ryan McLaren of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht for the Northern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

MLARS’s Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes banks and other financial institutions, including their officers, managers, and employees, whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the enactment of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 200 defendants in more than 130 criminal cases and has seized over $78 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.

In May 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Justice Department in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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