Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice

A Colorado businesswoman pleaded guilty today to not paying employment taxes.

According to documents and statements made in court, Shandel Arkadie, of Agate, Colorado, operated a home health care business, Alternative Choice Home Care Nursing LLC. Arkadie was responsible for withholding Social Security, Medicare and income taxes from Alternative Choice’s employees’ wages and paying those funds over to the IRS each quarter. She was also responsible for paying over Alternative Choice’s portion of Social Security and Medicare taxes. Between January 2015 and December 2020, the company withheld over $1,000,000 from its employees’ wages but did not pay the funds over to the IRS or file the requisite quarterly tax returns. In addition, the company owed approximately $500,000 in Social Security and Medicare taxes, which Arkadie did not pay.

In total, Arkadie caused a tax loss to the IRS of about $1,500,000.

Arkadie is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15. She faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, 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 Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Julia Rugg and Mahana Weidler of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice

Shannima Yuantrell Session, also known as Shalamar, 47, of Lake Placid, Florida, was sentenced today to life in prison for trafficking nearly a dozen women and girls. Previously, a jury in the Southern District of Florida found him guilty of 10 counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and three counts of sex trafficking of a minor. The court has set a restitution hearing date of April 17.

“Protecting victims of human trafficking and child exploitation is a top priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Michael S. Davis for the Southern District of Florida. “We are committed to aggressively combating these exploitative crimes that victimize the most vulnerable people in our society. Human beings are not commodities to be bought and sold, but rather demand our united protection. Our dedicated team of prosecutors, victim witness coordinators, and support personnel will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to combat human trafficking and child exploitation to bring these offenders to justice.”

“This substantial sentence is indicative of the egregious sexual exploitation committed by Shannima Yuantrell Session on numerous juveniles and women in Highlands County, Florida,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office. “It is a testament to the cooperation and commitment of several law enforcement agencies including the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. We will continue working with these and other partners to dismantle human trafficking networks that operate in the shadows and brutalize their victims.”

The evidence presented at the nine-day trial in September 2024 demonstrated that Session compelled victims to commit commercial sex acts between July 2011 and July 2013 as well as between February 2016 and February 2019. Session made promises of legitimate work and housing assistance to women and girls struggling with unstable living accommodations, substance abuse and neglect or who otherwise led unstable lives. Session’s promises were often false and empty, designed to provide him with the opportunity to learn about a victim’s vulnerabilities while misrepresenting himself as caring and empathetic. Session then exploited the victims’ vulnerabilities to compel their commercial sex acts.

At times, Session used food and housing to control and coerce the victims. For example, he would not permit one of his victims to eat if the victim did not follow his instructions. Often, Session required his victims to engage in sexual activity with him after they had spent a night having compelled sexual intercourse with up to 18 men.

Further, the evidence presented during the trial demonstrated that Session resorted to extreme physical violence to compel and intimidate certain victims. He violently punched some of the victims in the back of their heads in order not to leave marks on their bodies. Once, Session dragged a victim to a shower and beat her in the back of her head with a metal object until she fell limp to the floor. Session also choked another victim to the point that she lost consciousness, beat another victim with a bat and brutalized yet another so badly that her nose ring fell out due to the force of the assault. In addition, Session took multiple victims to a nearby lake, where he held two of their heads underwater and threatened to drown them if they did not do as he ordered.

The evidence also showed that Session used a firearm to intimidate and control his victims. He consistently kept a firearm in his possession and frequently displayed it to victims or referred to it when talking with them. Once, Session pointed a firearm at a victim while he was driving and threatened to “kill” her after she asked him how he would feel if someone treated his daughter the way he treated her.

Finally, the evidence indicated that Session manipulated and took advantage of some victims’ substance abuse problems to compel their commercial sex services. For example, Session provided victims with cocaine and methamphetamine to give them sufficient energy to engage in commercial sex acts and force them to lose weight.

The FBI Miami Field Office, Ft. Pierce Resident Agency, investigated the case, with assistance from the Highlands County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Hoover for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Leah Branch and Matthew Thiman of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit prosecuted the case.

Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

Source: United States Department of Justice

An indictment was unsealed today in Central Islip, New York, charging seven individuals with operating a multi-state conspiracy in which they attempted to defraud the United States of more than $600 million by filing more than 8,000 false tax returns claiming COVID-19-related employment tax credits. 

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact, Congress authorized a tax credit that incentivized businesses to keep employees on their payroll, also known as the “Employee Retention Credit” or ERC.

Congress also authorized a credit that reimbursed businesses for the wages paid to employees who were on sick or family leave and could not work because of COVID-19. This “paid sick and family leave credit,” or SFLC, was equal to the wages the business paid the employees during their leave.

According to the indictment, from November 2021 to June 2023, defendants Keith Williams, Jamari Lewis, Morais Dicks, Janine Davis, Tiffany Williams, James Hames Jr. and Ewendra Mathurin, all current or former New York residents, repeatedly exploited these programs that were intended to help businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The scheme was allegedly headquartered at Credit Reset, a purported credit repair business Keith Williams owned and operated. Acting as tax preparers, the defendants allegedly filed more than 8,000 false employment tax returns with the IRS claiming COVID-related tax credits on behalf of themselves and their clients. Each of these returns were allegedly fraudulent in that they claimed SFLC in excess of the amount of wages reported on the tax return, listed the same wages as both qualified sick leave wages and qualified family leave wages or claimed the SFLC and ERC for the same wages, none of which was permitted by law. The defendants allegedly profited from the scheme by receiving tax refund checks from the U.S. Treasury and by charging clients a fee or a percentage of the tax refund the client received. The defendants also allegedly recruited others into the scheme who were compensated by receiving a percentage of fraudulently obtained U.S. Treasury checks.

In total, the defendants sought more than $600 million of which the IRS paid approximately $45 million to the defendants and their clients. 

Additionally, the defendants allegedly concealed their preparation of the false tax returns by not listing themselves as the paid preparer on the tax returns and by using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to obscure their IP addresses while filing the false returns. If a client did not have a business, members of the conspiracy allegedly would sometimes sell shell companies to them in order to file false tax returns. After noticing discrepancies in the filed returns, the IRS and Social Security Administration (SSA) allegedly requested additional information regarding the tax returns the defendants prepared. In response, members of the conspiracy allegedly would often transmit false information to the IRS and SSA.

Some of the defendants also allegedly submitted false Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications.

In total, the defendants were charged with 45 counts relating to the scheme including conspiracy to defraud the United States, wire fraud and aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns.  Keith Williams, Lewis, Mathurin, Davis, Tiffany Williams and Dicks were also charged with wire fraud in relation to fraudulent PPP applications they submitted.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy to defraud the United States charge, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud charge arising out of the ERC scheme, a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for each wire fraud charge arising out of the PPP fraud and a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each charge of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false return charge. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence of each defendant after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney John J. Durham for the Eastern District of New York, Acting Inspector in Charge Brendan Donahue of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)’s New York Division and Special Agent in Charge Harry T. Chavis Jr. of IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) New York made the announcement.

IRS-CI and USPIS are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Richard Kelley of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Toporovsky and James Simmons for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case. Former Tax Division Trial Attorney Samuel Bean assisted with the investigation. 

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

Note: View the complaint here and the consent order here. 

The Justice Department announced today that SouthEast Bank agreed to pay $1.5 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of lending discrimination by disproportionately discouraging and denying Black and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) graduates seeking to refinance their student loans.

“Everyone in our country should have a fair chance and equal opportunity to refinance a school loan. By rejecting graduates based on where they obtained their degree, SouthEast Bank’s policy denied and discouraged Black, American Indian and Alaska Native graduates seeking to refinance student loans for reasons that were wholly unrelated to their personal merit or ability to repay their loans,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This is a reminder of how historic inequities in lending and refinance opportunities for Black and American Indian/Alaska Native students persist today, and why combating these inequities is an essential part of the Justice Department’s work.”

The complaint, which was filed on Jan. 18, in the Eastern District of Tennessee, alleges that, between December 2015 and April 2021, the refinance program’s eligibility criteria automatically denied graduates of schools with school-based default rates above thresholds SouthEast established. Under this policy, for example, Black bachelor’s degree recipients were as much as 4.3 times more likely to be excluded than bachelor’s degree recipients who were not Black. Similarly, AI/AN Bachelor’s degree recipients were as much as 3 times more likely to be excluded than bachelor’s degree recipients who were not AI/AN. The department’s complaint further alleges that SouthEast’s policy disproportionately excluded graduates of as many as 84.4% of majority-Black schools, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, but no more than 21.1% of colleges and universities whose student bodies were not majority-Black.

The consent order, which is subject to court approval, requires SouthEast Bank to spend a total of $1.5 million to:

• Compensate applicants who were denied the ability to refinance their student loans by the policy;
• Increase access to student loan refinancing for qualified graduates of schools that were previously excluded under the policy; and
• Provide consumer financial education to students and graduates of those previously excluded schools.

The department’s investigation into SouthEast’s student loan refinancing program originated from a referral by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. SouthEast cooperated with the investigation and worked with the Justice Department to resolve the allegations.

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division’s work to uphold and protect civil and constitutional rights is available at justice.gov/crt. Complaints about discriminatory practices may be reported to the Civil Rights Division through its internet reporting portal at civilrights.justice.gov.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

This past September, I had the profound honor of sitting with a group of survivors who bravely shared their stories, wisdom, and leadership during the commemoration of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) 30th Anniversary in the Great Hall at the Department of Justice. These courageous individuals, representing a rich diversity of backgrounds and experiences, spoke with unflinching honesty about their journeys and provided their recommendations for charting the path forward into this next decade. Their powerful words served as a poignant reminder of how far we have come in addressing domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking since the early 1990s when courageous survivors shared their accounts with members of Congress and contributed to the development and enactment of VAWA in 1994. Their accounts and recommendations, as well as those provided by others at the VAWA stakeholder summit, also underscore the critical work that remains to ensure safety, justice, and support for all survivors, and to end gender-based violence.

I am profoundly grateful for the trust placed in me to serve as the Director of the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) during the Biden-Harris Administration and for the tremendous opportunity that I have had to work with such an outstanding and dedicated team at OVW to provide funding and support for projects in communities across the United States, territories, and Tribal Nations to advance our nation’s commitment to prevent and address gender-based violence (GBV). This responsibility is both humbling and inspiring, as it represents support for the resilience and dedication of countless survivors, advocates, criminal and civil justice professionals, healthcare providers, community leaders, faith-based organizations, educational institutions, and many other service providers working tirelessly to bring hope and healing. Their unwavering commitment fuels this mission, which will continue to move forward thanks to the visionary spirit and tireless dedication of all those committed to this mission, at the local, state, Tribal, national, and international levels.

As I say farewell, it is also an opportunity to take stock of all that we have advanced together during the past four years of this administration. It is an honor to share this summary of accomplishments, highlighting new grant programs, initiatives, policies, and strategic engagement during this period. This includes numerous new grant programs and initiatives that OVW launched following the reauthorization and expansion of VAWA in 2022, as well as new initiatives through the appropriations acts in 2023 and 2024. OVW also distributed $690 million in Fiscal Year 2024, a record amount of annual funding, to support the work at the local, state, Tribal, and national level, marking a 35% increase compared to four years ago.

OVW also forged strong collaborations across other components of the Department of Justice, as well as with other federal agencies, to enhance our own coordinated community response (CCR) as federal partners and to ensure that our efforts to prevent and address gender-based violence are aligned with the recommendations of the field and responsive to the needs of survivors in a more comprehensive manner. Whether it was addressing the emerging threats of online abuse, strengthening local and federal partnerships to tackle firearms-related violence, launching new pilot programs to support restorative practices, strengthening efforts to uphold Tribal sovereignty and support Tribal communities, addressing sexual misconduct in prison facilities, or advancing equity by broadening access to federal funds, every initiative was rooted in a commitment to listening to the field and centering the voices of survivors.

VAWA was born from years of grassroots advocacy and the leadership of survivors, and it continues to be an important catalyst for the societal changes that have brought GBV out of the shadows so that offenders may be held accountable and survivors may access the resources they need to seek justice, safety, and healing. VAWA’s 1994 enactment and its reauthorizations in 2000, 2005, 2013, and 2022 are a testament to the power of what may be accomplished by working together – across civil society, community-based organizations, faith-based groups, private sector organizations, and federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments – to create a society that does not tolerate abuse of any kind. As we prepare to commemorate Martin Luther King Day on January 20, I am reminded of his quote, “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.” It is through this continuous struggle that we continue to advance this commitment. As we move forward into the next decade, survivors’ voices must continue to be our north star as we scale up what’s working well and identify and address the gaps and barriers that remain.

In conjunction with the 30th anniversary of VAWA, OVW released two reports to demonstrate VAWA’s impact over the last three decades by gathering input from survivors, advocates, and others working on the ground to prevent and address GBV in their communities. The first, Answering the Call: Thirty Years of the Violence Against Women Act, uses research, data, archival material, and the experiences of survivors and OVW grantees to tell the story of how VAWA evolved and how it transformed our national response to GBV. The second, A Legacy and Future of Safety and Justice, distills information gathered from survivors, advocates, key stakeholders, and other experts in the field over the course of this year to highlight VAWA’s immense impact since 1994, as well as the ways it must continue to evolve as the federal government seeks to continue advancing our nation’s commitment to prevent and address GBV.

Both reports recognize that although VAWA is enacted by Congress and implemented by federal agencies, it is only effective thanks to the hard work, dedication, and partnership of communities. We know that adopting multidisciplinary approaches that are survivor-centered, trauma-informed, and rooted in a CCR is the best way for survivors to feel heard, respected, and supported as they walk their unique paths to safety, healing, and justice. Because survivors’ lives do not exist in silos, it is critical that no individual or entity operates in a silo and that we all work together to prevent and effectively address GBV.

Though the CCR is most often applied to work happening at the local level, it is equally important for all systems to embrace the collaborative heart of the CCR model. To that end, OVW was glad to collaborate with many other federal agencies in contributing to the development of the first-ever U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence: Strategies for Action, which advances a whole-of-government approach to preventing and ending gender-based violence – a “federal coordinated community response” – and it acts as a blueprint that continues to build on the lessons learned and achievements made through the efforts of survivors, advocates, and others in the field. OVW remains committed to strengthening collaboration across the federal government to advance these goals. Likewise, this framework can be used at the local, state, territorial, and Tribal level to strengthen a broader coordinated community response to prevent and end GBV.

Similarly, all of us must apply an open, collaborative lens to our work by inviting everyone – our families, neighbors, coworkers, and communities – to be part of the effort to end GBV. Addressing the underlying drivers of GBV by emphasizing prevention is critical to changing the social norms that perpetuate violence: a goal that is only possible by enlisting people from all walks of life in our work to reduce risk factors and promote protective factors wherever people live, work, learn, socialize, and play.

It is only by embracing a whole-of-society approach that we will be able to prevent GBV, support survivors, and hold offenders accountable. I have seen firsthand in my work, both within and outside of OVW, the truth of this proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go farther, go together.” I am also reminded of the words of Dr. King and John Lewis calling on us all to work together toward a “beloved community” centered on love, justice, and solidarity. As I look toward the future, I am deeply grateful for all we have accomplished together, and I am confident that by continuing to expand this work together, we will collectively build a world that affirms the dignity, rights, and humanity of every individual; where gender-based violence and other forms of violence and oppression are not tolerated; and where healing and justice are accessible to all.