Month: December 2024

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Following a comprehensive investigation, the Justice Department announced today that the Memphis Police Department (MPD) and City of Memphis (City) engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law.

Specifically, the Justice Department finds that:

• MPD uses excessive force.
• MPD conducts unlawful stops, searches and arrests.
• MPD unlawfully discriminates against Black people when enforcing the law.
• The City and MPD unlawfully discriminate in their response to people with behavioral health disabilities.

The Justice Department also identified serious concerns about MPD’s treatment of children. Finally, the Department identified deficiencies in policy, training, supervision and accountability that contribute to MPD’s and the City’s unlawful conduct.

“The people of Memphis deserve a police department and city that protects their civil and constitutional rights, garners trust and keeps them safe,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Our exhaustive investigation found that the Memphis Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of using excessive force, conducting unlawful stops, searches and arrests and discriminatory policing of Black people and residents with behavioral health disabilities. Our investigation also identified troubling policing practices that impact some of Memphis’ most vulnerable residents — its children. We acknowledge Memphis’ cooperation during our investigation and look forward to instituting reforms that will address the harms we identified.”

“This process and these findings uncovered that our city has a lot of work to do,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Reagan Fondren for the Western District of Tennessee. “Memphians are rightly concerned with gun violence and violent crime. They are also rightly concerned about the collective approach that we must take to tackle these issues. We hope to work with Mayor Young, Chief Davis, the Memphis Police Department and our Memphis partners to move forward.”

The City and MPD cooperated fully with the Justice Department’s investigation. The department provided a comprehensive written report of its investigative findings to the City and MPD. The report acknowledges the changes already made by the City and MPD, and it identifies additional remedial measures that the department believes are necessary to fully address its findings.

The department opened this investigation on July 27, 2023. The investigation was conducted by career attorneys and staff in the Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section and in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee. The team conducted numerous onsite tours; interviewed MPD officers, supervisors and command staff; spoke with City officials and employees; accompanied behavioral crisis responders and officers on ride-alongs; reviewed thousands of documents; and reviewed hundreds of hours of body-worn camera footage. Department attorneys and staff also met with community members, advocates and service providers in the Memphis area.

The department conducted this investigation pursuant to 34 U.S.C. § 12601 (Section 12601), which prohibits law enforcement officers from engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of rights protected by the Constitution or federal law, the Safe Streets Act of 1968, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The findings announced today are the result of the department’s civil pattern or practice investigation and are separate from the department’s criminal cases against former MPD officers for federal crimes related to the death of Tyre Nichols.

The department will be conducting outreach to members of the Memphis community for input on remedies to address the department’s findings. Individuals may also submit recommendations by email at Community.Memphis@usdoj.gov or by phone at 888-473-3730. The department will hold a virtual zoom community meeting on Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. CT. Please use this link to register for the event: www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_hf-KK_oOTpWQ6qinosSN2w. Members of the public are encouraged to attend to learn more about the findings.

This is one of 12 investigations into law enforcement agencies opened by the Justice Department under Section 12601 since April 2021. In 2023 and 2024, the department issued findings reports regarding five of those investigations: the Louisville, Kentucky, Metro Police Department, Minneapolis Police Department, Phoenix Police Department, Lexington, Mississippi, Police Department, and Trenton, New Jersey, Police Department. The five other ongoing investigations cover the Louisiana State Police; Mount Vernon, New York, Police Department; New York City Police Department’s Special Victims Division; Oklahoma City Police Department; and Rankin County, Mississippi, Sheriff’s Department.

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available at www.justice.gov/crt.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A White Plains, Maryland, man pleaded guilty today to preparing and filing a false tax return for a client.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Anthony Judd was a full-time special police officer staffed at the National Archives and Records Administration and a part-time return preparer. Since at least 2013, Judd prepared and filed more than 40 false tax returns for individual clients which reduced the amount of taxes they owed and inflated their refunds. These returns reported losses for businesses that the clients did not actually have, and deductions for expenses — such as transportation and job-related expenses — that the clients did not actually incur. Judd prepared and filed each client’s tax return as a “ghost preparer,” meaning that he did not identify himself as the preparer on the returns. Judd caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $484,525.

Judd is scheduled to be sentenced on April 16, 2025. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Assistant Chief Jorge Almonte and Trial Attorney Evan C. Mulbry of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today announced the recipients of the Seventh Annual Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing. This prestigious award recognizes law enforcement officers who demonstrate exceptional dedication to strengthening trust, promoting community engagement, and enhancing public safety.

“All 21 of today’s awardees have demonstrated what community-oriented policing looks like in practice,” said Attorney General Garland. “They come from all different parts of the country. They represent communities of all shapes and sizes.  Their typical days might not all look the same. But they are united by a deep commitment to protecting their communities.”

The Attorney General’s Award recognizes individual state, local, and Tribal sworn officers, deputies, and troopers for exceptional efforts in community policing. The awarded individuals have demonstrated active engagement with the community in one of three areas: criminal investigations, field operations, or innovations in community policing.

“Today, we stand in the presence of extraordinary individuals who exemplify the very best of what it means to protect and serve,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “We celebrate a remarkable truth: the profound and positive impact that law enforcement officers and deputies have on the communities they serve every single day. These awards honor those who exemplify the very best of the profession and showcases these individuals as pillars of trust, empathy, and unity.”

The 2024 award recipients are:

Category: Criminal Investigations

• Detective Matthew Newbold of the Polk County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office;
• Detective Liz Grant of the Kennewick, Washington, Police Department;
• Detective Tyler Norman of the Salt Lake City, Utah, Police Department; and
• Police Officer Reece Walno of the Spearfish, South Dakota, Police Department.

Category: Field Operations

• Deputy Sheriff Jahmar Robinson of the Palm Beach County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office;
• Lance Corporal Justin Boyd of the Columbia, South Carolina, Police Department; and
• Detective/Community Policing Officer Stephen Leacroy of the La Marque, Texas, Police Department.

Category: Innovations in Community Policing

• Corporal Adrian Maldonado, Deputy James Mackey, Deputy Jason Coker, Deputy Tammy Fox, and Deputy Yanick Exceus of the Palm Beach County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office;
• Detective Edwin Hugh and Police Officer Thomas Joy of the Suffolk County, New York, Police Department;
• Officer Stephen Malandro, Officer Trevor Stamper, and Specialist Todd Nutbrown of the Largo, Florida, Police Department;
• Officer Wesley Griffith and Officer Bill Koehn of the Overland Park, Kansas, Police Department;
• Master Police Officer Thomas Rodriquez of the Manassas City, Virginia, Police Department; and
• Master Officer Shauna Moller of the Manassas City Police Department.

“It is an honor to share the stage with these recipients,” said Director Hugh T. Clements Jr. of the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). “I am inspired by their actions and service.”

The awardees were selected from a nationwide pool of nominees for their outstanding achievements in fostering safer, more inclusive communities.

The Justice Department commends these officers for their service, leadership, and unwavering commitment to their communities. For more information about the awards, visit www.justice.gov.

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 Criminal Division

A podiatrist and a patient recruiter were sentenced to 45 months and 60 months in prison, respectively, and ordered to pay over $7 million in restitution for their roles in a scheme to fraudulently bill TRICARE — the health care program for U.S. service members and their families — for compounded creams that were medically unnecessary and procured through kickbacks and bribes.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Brian Carpenter, 58, of Paradise, Texas, was a podiatrist who signed prescriptions for compounded pain and scar creams for TRICARE beneficiaries to whom he never spoke and whom he never examined or treated. Jerry Lee Hawrylak, 71, of Lake Worth, Texas, recruited Carpenter to sign the prescriptions and recruited TRICARE beneficiaries to accept the medically unnecessary creams. From November 2014 to January 2017, Carpenter, Hawrylak, and others caused the Fort Worth-based pharmacy involved in the conspiracy to fraudulently bill TRICARE approximately $8.5 million for these creams. Evidence at trial included so-called standing orders signed by Carpenter that were backdated so the pharmacy could change prescriptions after the fact to maximize TRICARE reimbursement. The prescriptions Carpenter signed and maintained in his office authorized unlimited refills and listed fake addresses for beneficiaries.

In April 2023, a jury in the Northern District of Texas convicted both Carpenter and Hawrylak of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and six counts of health care fraud.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan Settle of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Southwest Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Jason E. Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas Regional Office; Acting Special Agent in Charge P. J. O’Brien of the FBI Dallas Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Casey Howard of the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG) Central Regional Office; and Special Agent in Charge Kris Raper of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG) South Central Field Office made the announcement.

DCIS, HHS-OIG, FBI, DOL-OIG, and VA-OIG investigated the case.

Assistant Chief Brynn Schiess and Trial Attorney Andrea Savdie of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

Source: United States Department of Justice 2

A White Plains, Maryland, man pleaded guilty today to preparing and filing a false tax return for a client.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Anthony Judd was a full-time special police officer staffed at the National Archives and Records Administration and a part-time return preparer. Since at least 2013, Judd prepared and filed more than 40 false tax returns for individual clients which reduced the amount of taxes they owed and inflated their refunds. These returns reported losses for businesses that the clients did not actually have, and deductions for expenses — such as transportation and job-related expenses — that the clients did not actually incur. Judd prepared and filed each client’s tax return as a “ghost preparer,” meaning that he did not identify himself as the preparer on the returns. Judd caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $484,525.

Judd is scheduled to be sentenced on April 16, 2025. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Assistant Chief Jorge Almonte and Trial Attorney Evan C. Mulbry of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.