Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Director Rosemarie Hidalgo of the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) met with representatives yesterday from 12 pilot sites across the country that receive funding and support through the Firearms Technical Assistance Project (FTAP) and announced a comprehensive strategy to address the lethal intersection of domestic violence and firearms. Meeting with FTAP grantees, Director Hidalgo emphasized the urgent need to enhance efforts to prevent and address this dangerous issue, which increases the likelihood of death for victims of domestic violence.   

FTAP, an OVW grant program funded by appropriations through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), provides communities with the tools and support needed to develop and implement effective strategies for preventing the use of firearms in domestic violence incidents and for strengthening a coordinated community response to increase access to safety and support for victims. OVW has awarded a total of $5.99 million to 12 FTAP sites across the nation, including one Tribal nation. These initiatives are part of the Justice Department’s broader strategy to reduce violent crime and enhance community safety.

The convening, coordinated by the Battered Women’s Justice Project, which runs the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Firearms, brought together grantees from the following sites: Tucson, Arizona; Georgia Department of Community Supervision; Detroit; Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) of Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley, Tennessee; Austin, Texas; Yakima, Washington; Birmingham, Alabama; Muscogee (Creek) Nation; Columbus, Ohio; Brooklyn, New York; State of Vermont; and Spokane, Washington.

In her opening remarks, Director Hidalgo highlighted a startling statistic: over half of the women murdered in the United States are killed by a current or former intimate partner, and the presence of firearms increases the risk of homicide by 500%. This heightened threat to individuals and public safety necessitates a coordinated community response involving law enforcement, prosecutors, civil and criminal courts, victim service providers, and community-based organizations. Effective intervention and support can mean the difference between life and death for victims, as well as for law enforcement officers responding to domestic violence incidents. In addition to increased lethality and serious injuries, firearms are used by abusive partners to inflict fear, intimidation, and coercive control.

Director Hidalgo noted the statement by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland following the Supreme Court’s 8-1 decision in United States v. Rahimi, in which he stated that the decision, “upholds Congress’s longstanding prohibition on the possession of firearms by people subject to domestic violence restraining orders. That law protects victims by keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous individuals who pose a threat to their intimate partners and children.” The Attorney General also said, “The Justice Department will continue to enforce this important statute, which for nearly 30 years has helped to protect victims and survivors of domestic violence from their abusers. And we will continue to deploy all available resources to support law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, and victim advocates to address the pervasive problem of domestic violence.”

To support community efforts, Director Hidalgo unveiled OVW initiatives that are part of a comprehensive strategy aimed at raising awareness of federal laws that prohibit firearm possession by domestic abusers and bolstering partnerships across federal, state, Tribal, and local levels. She highlighted the increased collaboration among key Justice Department components, such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (FBI/NICS), Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA), OVW, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), and other Justice Department components. The Justice Department is dedicated to forging strong collaborations between federal partners with state and local prosecutors, law enforcement agencies, and victim advocates to enhance our collective response to this critical issue.

DOJ recently released the Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Resource Card. This resource explains the tools available under existing federal law to prevent the purchase of firearms and prosecute DV offenders who illegally possess them — including through implementation of the new dating-relationship provisions recently enacted through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) that narrow the so-called “boyfriend loophole.” This resource is designed to ensure that law enforcement, courts, and the public understand the domestic violence firearm prohibitions to increase effective implementation.

 Justice Department representatives recently conducted a training at the Conference on Crimes Against Women, held in Dallas in May, and shared information on the role played by different Department components in firearms relinquishment, and ways to strengthen implementation by law enforcement and courts at the local level. Next month, DOJ will launch new roll call videos for law enforcement to ensure accurate documentation of relationships in FBI/NICs records to properly implement the dating violence prohibitions that were recently enacted through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

To support communities in accessing federal resources and strengthening a coordinated community response, OVW and OJP have developed the Resource Guide for Addressing the Intersection of Domestic Violence and Firearms. This guide details the Justice Department’s funding, training and partnership opportunities aimed at enforcing firearms laws and strengthening efforts at the local, state, Tribal and federal levels to keep guns out of the hands of adjudicated abusers.

To complement department resources and training, the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Firearms (NRCDVF), an OVW-funded national training and technical assistance provider, will conduct additional virtual trainings. These trainings will focus on best practices for law enforcement, prosecutors, and victim service providers, ensuring communities receive the latest and most effective tools when implementing surrender or relinquishment protocols.

Efforts also include expanding outreach to raise awareness about OVW grant funding that can support community initiatives to remove firearms from adjudicated abusers. This included recently sending a letter to grant administrators in every state and territory informing them about opportunities to use Services, Training, Officers and Prosecutors (STOP) formula grant program funds to prevent homicides by addressing the intersection of domestic violence and firearms, as well as providing information about additional training and support to STOP administrators to enhance state implementation plans to address these issues. Additionally, OVW is notifying state domestic violence coalitions about ways communities can leverage both OVW formula and discretionary grant funds to prevent domestic violence abusers from purchasing or possessing firearms.

Later in the day, Director Hidalgo conducted a listening session with representatives from the 12 FTAP pilot sites to explore each site’s best practices and challenges in implementing their programs. The discussions provided valuable insights into effective strategies nationwide to address the intersection of domestic violence and firearms. Key topics included fostering trauma-informed approaches that center around survivors; best practices for enhancing partnerships between law enforcement, prosecutors, victim services providers, community-based organizations, courts and other system and community partners; identifying areas of support needed to increase the effectiveness of their programs; and ways OVW could further support partnerships at the local level with federal partners, such as U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and ATF.

In particular, representatives of the FTAP pilot sites highlighted the progress they have made in their jurisdictions by forming multi-disciplinary teams to identify barriers and challenges to implementation and then developing collaborative strategies to address these barriers. This included: developing protocols and updating court forms in the civil and criminal courts for the relinquishment of firearms by adjudicated abusers; addressing issues with high rates of civil protection orders that were not being served; providing timely information to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System; improving training for law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, and community partners; identifying storage facilities for relinquished firearms, which can be a particular challenge in rural areas; improving language access and partnerships with culturally-specific community-based organizations; developing co-responder models for advocates to respond to the scene and provide support for victims of domestic violence; and increasing access to advocates for victims to navigate complex systems and obtain trauma-informed services.

Director Hidalgo emphasized that these resources and efforts highlight the crucial role of a coordinated community response, a cornerstone of the Violence Against Women Act. By fostering effective partnerships, these initiatives seek to remove firearms from dangerous situations, ensure community safety, support survivors and their children, reduce community violence, and prevent the use of firearms to cause injury or instill fear and coercive control in domestic violence situations.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Texas man made his initial appearance in court and pleaded guilty today to violating the Endangered Species Act by importing protected Australian reptiles into the United States on behalf of a fake zoo which he represented as legitimate.

According to court documents, Don Church imported 165 native Australian reptiles by providing false information to Australian and U.S. authorities. The imported reptiles included three Rusty Monitor (Varanus Semiremex) lizards, which are protected internationally by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Church imported the reptiles on behalf of the “Austin Reptile Center,” a non-existent facility. He submitted documents to Australian authorities containing misrepresentations about the facility, including photographs of reptile exhibits, employee names and positions, floor plans, location and financial information. But Church knew no facility suitable for reptile care existed.

To gain purported legal authority to import the reptiles, Church submitted documentation containing misleading and erroneous information about the fictious Austin Reptile Center to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). He then imported the reptiles on behalf of the Austin Reptile Center, knowing that import was unlawful. 

To protect species against over-exploitation, CITES regulates trade in endangered and threatened species through permit and quota requirements. The U.S. and 183 countries are signatories to the CITES treaty. The United States implements CITES through the Endangered Species Act, and the USFWS enforces it.

Church pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging violation of the Endangered Species Act. He faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $50,000.

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Assistant Director Edward Grace of the USFWS’ Office of Law Enforcement made the announcement.

The USFWS is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Sarah M. Brown of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section is prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached settlements with the City of El Paso, Texas (the City); United Road Towing Inc., doing business as UR Vehicle Management Solutions (URT); and Rod Robertson Enterprises Inc (RRE) to resolve allegations that they violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The United States’ complaint, which was filed on Feb. 2, 2023, alleges that the City and its contractors auctioned or otherwise disposed of over 170 vehicles owned by protected servicemembers without first obtaining court orders allowing them to do so.

“Members of our armed forces should not have to worry about their cars being auctioned off while they are on the front lines defending our freedoms, liberties and rights,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “These settlements should send a strong message to other cities that they should not take advantage of the rights of our servicemembers while they are defending us from harm.

“My office is committed to safeguarding the rights of servicemembers who call the Western District of Texas home,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “I am proud of our partnership with the Civil Rights Division and our work fighting for the men and women in this district who have been deployed overseas.”

Under the agreements, which are subject to court approval, the City must develop new policies and procedures to ensure that contractors who are responsible for auctioning or otherwise disposing of impounded vehicles comply with the SCRA in the future. The City is also responsible for the payment of a $20,000 civil penalty.

RRE, which was the City’s contractor from January 2015 until April 2019, must establish a $140,000 settlement fund to compensate the affected servicemembers and pay a $20,000 civil penalty.

URT, which has been the City’s contractor since June 2019, must establish a $57,395 settlement fund to compensate servicemembers, pay a $24,980 civil penalty, provide SCRA training to its employees, adopt policies and procedures to investigate the military status of any registered owner prior to auctioning a vehicle and obtain a court order or a valid SCRA waiver prior to auctioning a vehicle owned by a protected servicemember.

The department launched its investigation after receiving a complaint from U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Lisa Dechent. While she was deployed to Afghanistan, the City had her 2016 White Chevrolet Silverado truck towed to the impound lot. URT sold it at auction for $6,200, without obtaining the court order required by the SCRA. At the time of the auction, Lieutenant Colonel Dechent still owed approximately $13,000 on the loan she had used to finance the purchase of the truck.

The department’s enforcement of the SCRA is conducted by the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country. Since 2011, the department has obtained over $481 million in monetary relief for over 147,000 servicemembers through its enforcement of the SCRA. For more information about the department’s SCRA enforcement efforts, please visit www.servicemembers.gov.

Servicemembers and their dependents who believe that their rights under SCRA have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program Office. Office locations may be found at legalassistance.law.af.mil/.

View the consent order here.

View the order approving settlement here.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Three real estate investors have pleaded guilty to engaging in an extensive, multi-year conspiracy to fraudulently obtain a $74 million loan and a $45 million loan and fraudulently acquire multifamily properties.

Fredrick Schulman, 72, of New York, and Chaim “Eli” Puretz, 29, of New Jersey, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution. Moshe “Mark” Silber, 34, of New York, pleaded guilty on July 9 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution.

According to court documents, between 2018 and 2020, Silber, Schulman, and Puretz conspired with others to deceive lenders into issuing a mortgage loan for a multifamily property and Fannie Mae into funding or purchasing the mortgage loan. Silber and Schulman were managing members of Rhodium Capital Advisors, an entity that was involved in the acquisition and management of Williamsburg of Cincinnati, an apartment complex in Cincinnati, Ohio. Puretz was one of the owners of commercial property Troy Technology Park in Troy, Michigan. Silber, Schulman, Puretz, and their co-conspirators provided the lenders and Fannie Mae with falsified documents, including a purchase contract with an inflated purchase price and other fraudulent documents.

In March 2019, Williamsburg of Cincinnati was acquired for $70 million. However, Silber, Schulman, and other co-conspirators utilized a stolen identity to present a lender and Fannie Mae with a purchase and sale contract for $95.85 million and other fraudulent documents. On March 8, 2019, two closings were performed, one for the true $70 million sales price and another for the fraudulent $95.85 million sales price presented to the lenders. Based on the co-conspirators’ false statements, the lender and Fannie Mae funded a loan in the amount of $74.25 million for the purchase of Williamsburg of Cincinnati.

In September 2020, Troy Technology Park was acquired by Puretz and co-conspirators for $42.7 million. However, to support an inflated purchase price of $70 million, Puretz and his co-conspirators submitted to the lender and appraiser a fraudulent letter of intent to purchase the property from another party for $68.8 million and other fraudulent documents. Based on the fraudulent documents, the lender funded a loan for $45 million. To conceal the fraudulent nature of the transaction, Puretz and his co-conspirators arranged for a short-term $30 million loan, which was used to make it appear that they had the funds needed to close on the sale. On Sept. 25, 2020, a title company based in Lakewood, New Jersey, performed two closings, one for the true $42.7 million sales price and another for the fraudulent $70 million sales price presented to the lender.

Silber, Schulman, and Puretz are scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 3 and each face a maximum penalty of five years 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 Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey; Inspector General Brian M. Tomney of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG); and Postal Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Criminal Investigations Group made the announcement.

The FHFA-OIG and USPIS are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Siji Moore of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Martha Nye for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case.

Anyone with information concerning similar multifamily or commercial mortgage fraud can report it by contacting the FHFA-OIG Hotline at 800-793-7724 or via the web at www.fhfaoig.gov/ReportFraud#hotlineform.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi entered permanent injunctions yesterday against Thomas Walt Dallas, Jason Todd Mardis and Capital Preservation Services LLC to bar them from making statements about tax benefits for compensation, among other relief. The defendants consented to entry of the injunctions.

According to the complaint, Dallas, Mardis and Capital Preservation Services marketed a tax scheme at numerous professional conferences and media appearances targeting medical professionals and small business owners. They allegedly, falsely claimed that customers following their “Tax Plans” could claim multiple deductions to which they were not actually entitled. This included false claims that (1) customers’ businesses could take deductions for paying large, unnecessary “marketing fees” to newly-created, sham marketing companies; (2) the marketing companies could employ family members, including minor children, and take deductions for family meals, vehicle expenses and tuition, among other items; and (3) customers could “rent” their homes to their businesses on a short-term basis at exorbitant rates and avoid paying taxes on the rental income.

The complaint further alleges that Dallas, Mardis and Capital Preservation Services knew or had reason to know that their statements to customers about the supposed tax benefits of the tax plans were false. The alleged the harm from the scheme could be as much as $130 million in lost tax revenue since 2014.

Deputy Assistant General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

Each year the IRS highlights some of the tax scams that put taxpayers at risk of losing money, personal information, data and more. In the IRS’ most recent list, it specifically warned taxpayers “to beware of promoters peddling bogus tax schemes aimed at reducing taxes or avoiding them altogether.”

Working with the IRS, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers and tax scheme promoters over the past decade. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.