Month: January 2025

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a court enforceable agreement with the City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) to resolve the Department’s findings that the city and MPD engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the First, Fourth, and 14th Amendments of the Constitution as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal anti-discrimination laws.

The consent decree, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota and subject to court approval, sets forth the roadmap to reform within the city and MPD. The decree’s requirements focus on preventing excessive force; stopping racially discriminatory policing; improving officers’ interactions with youth; protecting the public’s First Amendment rights; preventing discrimination against people with behavioral health disabilities; promoting well-being of officers and employees; and enhancing officers’ supervision and accountability. The decree calls for the appointment of the Effective Law Enforcement For All team as an independent monitor to assess whether the requirements of the decree are being implemented. The independent monitor will report publicly on the city’s implementation efforts on a regular basis.

“This agreement places the City of the Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department on a path toward achieving the significant reforms, lawful policing, and appropriate emergency response services that the residents of Minneapolis deserve,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “As I said last summer when I announced the findings of this investigation — George Floyd should be alive today. This agreement is an important step toward ensuring that meaningful, durable reform is achieved in Minneapolis.”

“The people of Minneapolis deserve constitutional policing, bias-free public safety efforts, and effective emergency response services,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The consent decree we unveil today marks a new chapter for Minneapolis, a city still healing following the tragic death of George Floyd. Through this consent decree, the City and the Minneapolis Police Department have committed to instituting reforms that will make Minneapolis a model law enforcement agency that respects everyone’s civil and constitutional rights.  We look forward to working collaboratively with city officials, the Minneapolis Police Department, and the people of Minneapolis to usher in a new era of change and transformation.”

“This agreement calls for focused, measurable, and detailed reforms that reflect input from the community and a shared goal of positive transformation to benefit the City, the police, and the citizens of Minneapolis,” said Civil Chief and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana Voss for the District of Minnesota.

Under the consent decree, the City of Minneapolis and MPD will implement comprehensive reforms to:

• Use de-escalation to minimize the need to use force and increase the likelihood of voluntary compliance; resolve incidents without force where possible; use force proportional to the threat; and adopt use of force policies, training, and review systems that provide sufficient guidance and develop necessary skills;
• Enforce the law fairly and impartially, providing equal protection of the law for all people in Minneapolis and barring racial discrimination in enforcement;
• Respect the First Amendment rights of all persons;
• Maintain an emergency response system that respects the rights of people with behavioral health disabilities;
• Investigate allegations of employee misconduct fully, fairly, and efficiently; predicate investigative findings on the appropriate standard of proof and document them in writing, and hold officers who commit misconduct accountable pursuant to a disciplinary system that is fair, consistent, and provides due process;
• Approach youth in a manner that is developmentally appropriate, age-appropriate, and trauma-informed; and
• Provide confidential mental health wellness services to all MPD officers and other groups of public safety personnel.

The Justice Department announced its findings in June 2023, following a thorough investigation into the City of Minneapolis and MPD. The Department found that it had reasonable cause to believe that MPD: uses excessive force, including unjustified deadly force and unreasonable use of tasers; unlawfully discriminates against Black people and Native American people in its enforcement activities; violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech; and — together with the city — discriminates against people with behavioral health disabilities when responding to calls for assistance. The Department concluded that persistent deficiencies in policy, training, supervision, and accountability contribute to the unlawful conduct.

The Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota conducted the investigation, with the assistance of law enforcement professionals, pursuant to the pattern or practice provision of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. Since January 2021, the Special Litigation Section has opened 12 investigations into law enforcement agencies. The section is enforcing 15 agreements with law enforcement agencies and two post-judgment orders. Additionally, on Dec. 12, 2024, the Department and Louisville, Kentucky, Metro Government filed a joint motion in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky to enter a consent decree intended to resolve the Justice Department’s findings that Louisville Metro and the Louisville Metro Police Department engage in a pattern or practice of violations of the Constitution and federal law. That motion remains pending court approval.

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available at www.justice.gov/crt. Additional information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota is available at www.justice.gov/usao-mn.

Information specific to the Civil Rights Division’s police reform work can be found at www.justice.gov/crt/conduct-law-enforcement-agencies.

The Justice Department will hold a virtual community meeting at 7:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Jan. 14. Members of the public are encouraged to attend to learn more about the consent decree.

View the consent decree fact sheet here.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Athira Pharma Inc., located in Bothwell, Washington, has agreed to pay $4,068,698 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by failing to report allegations of research misconduct to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Research Integrity in grant applications and grant award progress reports and assurances.

“The partnership between the scientific community and the federal government is built on trust and shared values of ethical scientific conduct,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement demonstrates that the Justice Department will pursue grantees that undermine the integrity of federal funding decisions.”

“The research into neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease is critical to growing numbers of patients in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman for the Western District of Washington. “That research must not be tainted by the misconduct highlighted in this case. To its credit, Athira immediately notified NIH of the research misconduct after the full board of directors learned of it. The company’s transparency significantly helped Athira mitigate its damages and demonstrated its resolve towards coming into compliance with the relevant law and regulations.” 

“The failure of Athira to properly disclose allegations of falsified and manipulated scientific images by its former CEO to the NIH undermines public trust in taxpayer-funded research,” said Special Agent in Charge Steven J. Ryan of the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG). “This settlement demonstrates HHS-OIG’s commitment to protecting the integrity of federally funded research.”

The settlement resolves allegations that, between Jan. 1, 2016, and June 20, 2021, Athira failed to report allegations that its former CEO, Leen Kawas, falsified and manipulated scientific images in her doctoral dissertation and in published research papers that were referenced in several grant applications submitted to NIH, including in a grant that NIH funded in 2019. Specifically, Athira violated its regulatory obligations to disclose the allegations to NIH in grant applications and Research Progress Performance Reports, and to disclose them to the HHS Office of Research Integrity in Small Business Organization Statements, Institutional Assurances or Annual Reports on Possible Research Misconduct.

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the FCA by Andrew P. Mallon Ph.D.  Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. Mallon will receive $203,434 under today’s settlement. 

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, with assistance from HHS-OIG.

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the FCA.  Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to HHS at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

Trial Attorney Erin Colleran of the Justice Department’s Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Bohl for the Western District of Washington handled the matter.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A California man was sentenced today to two years in prison for his role in an insider trading scheme that netted more than $650,000 in illicit profits.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between 2012 and 2013, Shahriyar Bolandian, 36, of the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, received material non-public information about two upcoming corporate acquisitions from his childhood friend, who was an investment banking analyst at J.P. Morgan Securities LLC. Bolandian then used the inside information to trade in advance of the public announcements of Integrated Device Technology Inc.’s April 2012 planned acquisition of PLX Technology Inc., and Salesforce.com Inc.’s June 2013 acquisition of ExactTarget Inc. As a result of his illegal trades, Bolandian personally made over $340,000, which he used, among other things, to cover previous trading losses and repay loans to family and friends.

In April 2024, a federal jury convicted Bolandian of six counts of insider trading.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent S. Wible, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California; and Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Los Angeles Field Office investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Della Sentilles of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Ali Moghaddas and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Roach for the Central District of California prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice

Two indictments were unsealed today and Saturday charging India-based companies Raxuter Chemicals and Athos Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. (Athos Chemicals) and Bhavesh Lathiya, a founder and senior executive of Raxuter Chemicals, with criminal conspiracies to distribute and import fentanyl precursor chemicals to the United States. Lathiya was arrested on Jan. 4, in New York City and arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Marutollo for the Eastern District of New York. Lathiya was ordered detained pending trial.

“The Justice Department is targeting every link in fentanyl trafficking supply chains that span countries and continents and too often end in tragedy in the United States,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We allege these companies, and a company founder and senior executive who is now in custody, conspired to distribute and import fentanyl precursor chemicals from India to the United States and Mexico. We made a promise that the Justice Department would never forget the victims of the fentanyl epidemic, and that we would never stop working to hold accountable those who bear responsibility for it — that is what we have done, and that is what we will continue to do.”

“Much of our nation’s illicit fentanyl crisis can be traced to bad actors overseas who knowingly and illegally traffic precursor chemicals to North America, where cartels refine them into deadly narcotics and wreak immeasurable heartbreak and destruction on so many American communities,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “The Department of Homeland Security, alongside our federal partners, will continue to take the fight against fentanyl directly to alleged foreign precursor chemical exporters like the companies and the individual indicted today — because the best way to stop illicit fentanyl from killing Americans and devastating communities is by preventing it from being manufactured in the first place.”

“Our efforts to disrupt the global fentanyl supply chain are being fought on many fronts, and as alleged in these indictments, by charging two chemical companies based in India and a company executive with knowingly distributing the chemical building blocks of fentanyl,” stated U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “My office will vigorously prosecute those pushers of poison, here and abroad, who are responsible for fueling our nation’s opioid epidemic without any regard for the extreme harm they are causing.”

Fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, is the deadliest drug threat currently facing the United States. It is a highly addictive synthetic opioid that is approximately 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl is designated as a Schedule II controlled substance while various precursors that can be used to produce fentanyl are included on the controlled substance schedules List I and List II.

Raxuter Chemicals and Lathiya are charged with conspiracy to distribute and import a listed chemical, distribution and importation of a listed chemical knowing it would be used to manufacture fentanyl, smuggling, and other related offenses. Athos Chemicals is charged with similar offenses, including conspiracy to distribute and import a listed chemical and distribution and importation of a listed chemical.

As alleged in the indictments and court filings, the defendants supplied precursor chemicals to the United States and Mexico, among other places, knowing they would be used to manufacture fentanyl. They also sent their chemical products to the United States and Mexico using international mail and package carriers. The chemicals distributed by the defendants included all the materials necessary to manufacture fentanyl via the most common methods or pathways. To prevent detection and interception of chemical products at the borders, the defendants employed deceptive and fraudulent practices, such as mislabeling packages, falsifying customs forms, and making false declarations at border crossings.

For example, on or about June 29, 2024, a package shipped by Raxuter Chemicals was delivered to an address in the Eastern District of New York. The package had a false manifest that listed its contents as Vitamin C. In truth, the contents were a List I chemical, 1-boc-4-piperidone, an unlawfully imported fentanyl precursor.

On or about Oct. 2, 2024, and Oct 15, 2024, Lathiya appeared on a video call to discuss sale of fentanyl precursor chemicals with an Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) undercover officer. After being told by the undercover officer that his “clients in Mexico were very happy with the quality of what you sent me” and with “the yield they got of the final product,” Lathiya agreed to sell 20 kilograms 1-boc-4-piperidone, which is a List I chemical used in fentanyl synthesis. Lathiya also proposed mislabeling the chemical as an antacid. The undercover officer replied and asked if it would be easier to ship the product to Mexico, stating “This is a very controversial product … Because like you said it’s banned and in Mexico I think it could be easier but there’s so much pressure on them because of fentanyl.” On or about Nov. 23, 2024, Raxuter Chemicals and Lathiya shipped approximately 20 kilograms of 1-boc-4-piperidone to the Eastern District of New York. The package was mislabeled as an antacid.

In addition, on or about Feb. 20, 2024, Athos Chemicals agreed to sell 100 kilograms of 1-boc-4-piperidone to a known drug trafficker in Mexico who was making fentanyl in association with a drug trafficking organization.

Mexican drug trafficking organizations, including but not limited to the Sinaloa Cartel, have increasingly availed themselves of the fentanyl precursors developed and distributed by companies like the defendants. The chemicals provided by the defendant companies have enabled such cartels and other drug trafficking organizations to produce fentanyl in clandestine laboratories in Mexico on a massive scale for subsequent distribution in the United States and elsewhere.

If convicted, Lathiya faces a maximum penalty of 53 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

HSI New York investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s New York Field Office provided assistance.

HSI New York investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s New York Field Office provided assistance.

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

On Dec. 30, 2024, Special Master Mary Patrice Brown authorized payments from the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund (the Fund) totaling $1.035 billion to nearly 19,000 victims of state‑sponsored terrorism.

In the first week of January, the Fund issued over $766 million to approximately 14,700 claimants and will continue issuing payments on a rolling basis.

“This year, the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund has authorized a distribution of over $1 billion in compensation to support victims of state-sponsored terrorism — bringing the total authorized to date to over $7 billion,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent S. Wible, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Criminal Division — through its Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, which administers the Fund — is tireless in its pursuit of justice for victims of state sponsored terrorism.”

“Although the amount distributed is significant, no amount of money can fully compensate those devastated by acts of international terrorism for their tremendous loss and trauma,” said Special Master Brown. “As many victims have shared, it is not about the monetary compensation, it is about justice. The dedicated team at the department has remained steadfast in the pursuit of justice for these victims.”

The Fund was established by Congress and is administered by the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, under the leadership of the Special Master. The Fund has previously allocated more than $6 billion for thousands of victims of state-sponsored terrorism and their families in four rounds of distributions and one round of lump sum catch-up payments. The distribution announced today brings total authorized distributions to over $7 billion. Apart from an initial appropriation of approximately $1 billion from Congress and additional congressional appropriations for lump sum catch-up payments, funds available for distributions result from certain Justice Department prosecutions and cases and other U.S. government enforcement actions.

In 2024, the Fund accepted more than 4,500 newly eligible claimants, bringing the total number of eligible claimants to more than 20,000. Amounts outstanding and unpaid on these claims exceed $120 billion. Claims are anticipated to grow in the coming years as more victims of state-sponsored terrorism apply to the Fund. While the amount of funds available is not sufficient to compensate the victims’ claims in full, this compensation provides some measure of justice for victims of state‑sponsored terrorism.

More information about the Fund’s compensation to victims of state‑sponsored terrorism is available on the Fund website at www.usvsst.com, including application materials, frequently asked questions, and publications.