Month: January 2025

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Justice Department announced today an agreement with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO), the Sangamon County Central Dispatch System (SCCDS), and Sangamon County, Illinois, to resolve an investigation of race and disability discrimination in the provision of policing and dispatch services.

The department launched its investigation based on complaints and reports about an SCSO deputy’s fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, a Black woman experiencing a mental health crisis, while responding to Ms. Massey’s 911 call for help.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division investigated the entities’ compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), the nondiscrimination provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act (Safe Streets Act), and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Title VI and the Safe Streets Act collectively prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex and religion by recipients of federal financial assistance, such as SCSO. Title II of the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by public entities.

“The death of Sonya Massey was a terrible tragedy for a woman experiencing a mental health crisis, her family, and the entire Sangamon County community,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This agreement reflects Sangamon County’s commitment to instituting reform and taking action that will help improve public safety and restore trust with the community in the road ahead.”

In response to the investigation, the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office worked cooperatively with the department to reach a resolution agreement to ensure that SCSO has the tools and training to conduct its policing activities in a nondiscriminatory manner and that the County and SCCDS provide dispatch services in a nondiscriminatory manner.

Under the agreement, the entities will review and update policies, rules, and procedures and provide training on a variety of topics, including non-discriminatory policing and interactions with individuals with behavioral health disabilities. The agreement requires the development and implementation of a mobile crisis team program, which will include trained behavioral health staff who timely respond to individuals needing urgent behavioral health assistance. The agreement also provides for the development of a Community Engagement Plan to ensure collaborative problem-solving and nondiscrimination in policing, as well as to increase transparency and community confidence. The agreement sets forth a framework for data collection and reporting for a two-year period of departmental monitoring, among other provisions. The agreement does not constitute any admission of liability by the entities, and the department has not reached a finding of discrimination.

Nondiscrimination under Title VI, the Safe Streets Act, and the ADA is a top priority of the Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available at www.justice.gov/crt.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A federal grand jury in Greenbelt, Maryland, returned a 22-count indictment today, charging a Maryland attorney with tax evasion, assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, failure to pay taxes and making false statements to two separate mortgage lenders.

According to the indictment, between 2016 and 2023, Thomas C. Goldstein, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., was the sole owner of Goldstein & Russell P.C., a boutique law firm specializing in appellate litigation, including litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court. Goldstein was allegedly also a high-stakes poker player, frequently playing in games involving millions of dollars.

During that time, Goldstein allegedly engaged in a scheme to evade his taxes. Goldstein allegedly took various steps to carry out his scheme including diverting legal fees that were due to the law firm to his personal bank account, and then using them to pay personal poker-related debts; using the law firm’s assets to satisfy his personal poker debts and causing those payments to be falsely classified as “legal fee” expenses on the firm’s books and records; and using firm assets to pay salaries and health insurance premiums for people with whom Goldstein had a personal relationship but who performed little or no work for the law firm and did not qualify for its health insurance.

Goldstein also allegedly did not report, or falsely understated, millions of dollars of gambling winnings on his tax returns. In addition, for 2016 through 2021, except 2018, Goldstein allegedly did not pay the taxes he self-reported were due on his returns, while simultaneously spending millions of dollars on personal expenses such as gambling debts, travel, vacation rentals and luxury goods.

In 2021, Goldstein also allegedly submitted false mortgage applications to two separate mortgage lending companies, seeking financing to purchase a $2.6 million home in Washington, D.C. On those mortgage applications — which required Goldstein to list all his liabilities and debts — Goldstein allegedly omitted millions of dollars of liabilities, including over $14 million he owed at the time on two promissory notes, as well as taxes he owed to the IRS. Goldstein’s false statements to one of the mortgage lenders allegedly resulted in his obtaining a $1.98 million loan.

If convicted, Goldstein faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each of the tax evasion charges; a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of assisting in the preparation of false tax returns; a maximum penalty of one year in prison for each of count of willful failure to pay taxes; and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for each count of making false statements to mortgage lenders. He also faces a period of supervised release, monetary penalties and restitution. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI are investigating the case.

Senior Litigation Counsel Stanley Okula and Trial Attorneys Emerson Gordon-Marvin and Hayter Whitman of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Kibbe for the District of Maryland 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

The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Houston County, Georgia, to challenge the county’s at-large method of electing the Houston County Board of Commissioners.

The lawsuit alleges that the county’s current at-large method of electing county commissioners results in Black citizens having less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect candidates of choice, in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Black residents make up more than 31% of the county’s voting-age population. In recent years, Black-preferred candidates have run for the Board of Commissioners and have routinely lost, despite the county’s sizeable and growing Black population.

“The Voting Rights Act guarantees that all eligible citizens have an equal opportunity to participate in the democratic process and to elect representatives of their choice, regardless of race or ethnicity,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department has a solemn duty to protect the right to vote by enforcing the Voting Rights Act and ensuring that all communities have a fair and equal chance to participate. We look forward to working with Houston County officials to bring the county into compliance with the Voting Rights Act.”

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, alleges that changing how commissioners are elected can create opportunities for Black voters to elect candidates of their choice to the five-member Board of Commissioners. For example, by electing commissioners from fairly drawn single-member districts rather than countywide, Black voters would have an equal opportunity to elect a representative of their choice to the Board. The lawsuit seeks a federal court order implementing a new method of electing the Houston County Board of Commissioners.

The Justice Department looks forward to continued discussions with Houston County toward resolution of this matter.

More information about voting and elections is available at www.justice.gov/voting. Learn more about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws at www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section. Complaints about possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be submitted through the Civil Rights Division’s website at civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931.