Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A former District of Columbia Department of Corrections Officer, Marcus Bias, 28, was sentenced today to 42 months in prison followed by 24 months of supervised release for one count of deprivation of rights under color of law for assaulting a handcuffed inmate. Bias previously pleaded guilty in March.

“This defendant had a duty to treat people in his custody humanely,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The defendant is being held accountable for violently ramming an inmate’s head into a metal doorframe while the victim was handcuffed, surrounded by six officers and posed no threat. The Justice Department will vigorously investigate and prosecute such excessive force against prisoners and will insist that corrections officers respect the civil and constitutional rights of those entrusted to their care.” 

“Like any other law enforcement officer, the defendant had a duty to protect the constitutional rights of anyone who was in his care and custody,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “The defendant ignored that responsibility, when he assaulted and seriously injured an inmate who posed no threat.  Such assaults are civil rights violations that will be prosecuted.”

“Today, Marcus Bias was sentenced for violently injuring an inmate and violating their civil rights,” said Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division. “The FBI is charged with investigating those who violate a person’s civil rights, and it’s a responsibility the FBI takes very seriously. I would like to thank our partners who worked side-by-side with the FBI on this investigation in order to hold Marcus Bias accountable for his criminal actions.”

According to court documents, Bias, intentionally and without provocation, pushed a detainee’s head into a metal doorframe while escorting him within the Department of Corrections on June 12, 2019, causing significant injuries. At the time, the detainee, J.W., had his hands handcuffed behind his back, was suffering from the effects of O.C. spray, was surrounded by five other officers and was not resisting. J.W.’s injuries required emergency medical attention at a hospital.

The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Anna Gotfryd of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Truscott for the District of Columbia prosecuted the case. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A federal grand jury in the District of Maryland returned an indictment yesterday charging a Pennsylvania man for defrauding the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) of approximately $16 million in federal grant funds.

According to court documents, Hoau-Yan Wang, 67, was a tenured medical professor at a public university’s medical school, as well as a paid advisor and consultant to a publicly traded Texas biopharmaceutical company. From approximately May 2015 through approximately April 2023, Wang allegedly engaged in a scheme to fabricate and falsify scientific data in grant applications made to the NIH on behalf of himself and the biopharmaceutical company. As alleged, the fraudulent grant applications to the NIH sought funding for scientific research of a potential treatment and diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s disease and resulted in the award of approximately $16 million in grants from approximately 2017 to 2021, part of which funded Wang’s laboratory work and salary. 

The indictment alleges that Wang’s work under these grants was related to the early developmental phases of the proposed drug and diagnostic test, typically referred to by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as Phase 1 and Phase 2. Wang’s alleged scientific data falsification in the NIH grant applications related to how the proposed drug and diagnostic test were intended to work and the improvement of certain indicators associated with Alzheimer’s disease after treatment with the proposed drug. 

Wang is charged with one count of major fraud against the United States, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of false statements. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the count of major fraud, 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud, and five years in prison for the count of false statements.  

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Washington Field Office is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Andrew Tyler, Deputy Chief Anna Kaminska, and Assistant Chief Leslie Garthwaite of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section 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 supported campus public safety and law enforcement leaders during the annual International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators Conference (IACLEA) from June 24 through June 27, in New Orleans. The conference brought together police chiefs, public safety directors, and security personnel at higher education institutions who are responsible for protecting millions of students worldwide to explore the latest trends and best practices, as well as the challenges facing institutions and communities.  

Director Steven Dettelbach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) led a featured session, “The Road to 2030: The Next Generation of Campus Leadership,” where he discussed the present and future evolution of campus police and public safety leadership.

In his remarks, Director Dettelbach said, “It is in our DNA to support you in every effort to both prevent and respond to serious threats on and off your campuses. And we are available to talk through any questions you have about evolving threats or concerns that might be on your mind — whether that is firearm safe storage, ghost gun trends in your communities, keeping students safe off-campus in high crime areas.”

Executive Director Paul M. Cell, of the IACLEA said, “IACLEA is proud to be a partner with ATF in addressing the challenges campuses are experiencing today. Under the leadership of Director Dettelbach, the partnership has fostered training opportunities, program development, and collaboration with regional and local ATF agents with the shared mission of creating safe campus learning and living environments.”

Acting Director Justin Long of the Community Relations Service’s (CRS) and Director Hugh Clements of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) also attended. COPS representatives led a session on “Facilitated Dialogue as Conflict Response and Conflict Prevention Strategy on Campus,” that highlighted an ongoing collaboration between COPS, CRS and the Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law to develop resources to help public safety agencies and communities engage in meaningful dialogue in the aftermath of critical incidents, such as police use of force, identity-based conflict, or hate crime.

COPS and ATF representatives led a panel on the recommendations from the department’s Critical Incident Review on the mass casualty incident at Robb Elementary School, a moderated panel discussion on de-escalation, as well as a session on identifying and documenting privately made firearms (PMFs).

FBI representatives led sessions on FBI’s National Domestic Communications Assistance Center’s (NDAC) resources for Law Enforcement in the digital age. NDCAC serves as a knowledge management hub for evidence collection from communications providers and devices, geolocation capabilities, and lawfully authorized electronic surveillance. The FBI also led a presentation on “Responders’ Wellness & Resilience,” which focused on responders’ wellness and resiliency after active shooter and mass shooting incidents.

With the conclusion of this successful IACLEA conference, the Justice Department emphasizes the importance of partnerships with campus law enforcement and continues to closely collaborate with them to promote public safety across the country.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Justice Department issued the following statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on the Supreme Court’s decision in Fischer v. United States:

“January 6 was an unprecedented attack on the cornerstone of our system of government — the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next. I am disappointed by today’s decision, which limits an important federal statute that the Department has sought to use to ensure that those most responsible for that attack face appropriate consequences.  

The vast majority of the more than 1,400 defendants charged for their illegal actions on January 6 will not be affected by this decision. There are no cases in which the Department charged a January 6 defendant only with the offense at issue in Fischer. For the cases affected by today’s decision, the Department will take appropriate steps to comply with the Court’s ruling.

We will continue to use all available tools to hold accountable those criminally responsible for the January 6 attack on our democracy.”

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Thank you, Liz Ryan. And thank you, Julie Herr.

Good afternoon. It’s great to see everyone again. I’m excited for today’s meeting of the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. We’ve got a great conversation in store this afternoon. We’ll be talking about trauma-informed and healing-centered approaches, and I want to thank our federal colleagues who will take part in today’s panel.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank the council for all the work you’ve been doing over the last two years. This, I am sad to say, will be my last council meeting. I’ve made the very difficult decision to step down from my post as Assistant Attorney General, effective July 19. This was not an easy decision, but it’s one that I feel is right for the moment. We’ve been able to generate some incredible momentum together in our work to support communities and secure better outcomes for justice-involved individuals, and this council has helped to lead the way.

You’ve put evidence-informed strategies at the center of your discussions. You’ve lifted up the voices of people with lived experience and of youth themselves. You’ve worked hard to identify a path toward a fair, effective and humane juvenile justice system. You’ve even taken your deliberations out to the field so that you could showcase promising programs that point to the future of juvenile justice in America.

These are impressive accomplishments that I know will open up opportunities for our young people and help justice-involved youth find their path, succeed in their communities and thrive. You should be very proud of the progress you are making, and I know that Liz and her team will continue to lean on your expertise to guide us into this new era of youth justice reform. You should also know that Department of Justice leadership deeply values your contributions — and you will hear directly from our Associate Attorney General, Ben Mizer, in just a moment.

And while I leave the Office of Justice Programs with no small sense of sadness, I go with absolutely no reservations about our leadership and its commitment to the mission of this body. Brent Cohen, who is the current Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, will be stepping forward as Acting Assistant Attorney General after my departure.

Brent has dedicated his career to supporting youth and young adults who come into contact with the system. He led groundbreaking efforts in New York to reduce the number of youth in secure care and connect young people on probation to community resources. He’s also an OJP veteran who knows how to keep our interests and priorities front and center at the department.

And of course, it goes without saying that you are in the very best of hands with Liz and her amazing team. I cannot say enough how much Liz has meant to me as an advisor, leader and friend. She impresses me, every day, with her incredible knowledge and passion for the issues affecting youth, and I know she will continue to be the champion that we need.

So, while I leave with a host of conflicting emotions, I remain not just optimistic, but truly excited about the future of juvenile justice and the work of this council.

In the meantime, we’re forging ahead, getting closer to the finish line on the report to Congress — and we continue to explore evidence-informed strategies for supporting youth. And I’m really pleased that today, you’ll be talking about trauma-informed and healing-centered approaches to serving youth.

As I mentioned earlier, we’re working across OJP to bring trauma-informed services to people across the justice system, on both the youth and adult side. I know Liz plans to say a few words about the great work OJJDP is doing to bring this approach to scale in the juvenile system. I’d just like to take a couple of minutes to highlight how we’re applying it across the community safety spectrum — in our approach to victim services, in our work to reduce community violence and in our strategies to address behavioral health issues in the justice system.

First, we know that trauma affects many people. Research shows that over 60 percent of adults have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. Trauma can lead to numerous long-term effects, but there are also serious immediate consequences. Victims of violent crime suffer physical injuries, emotional distress, financial burdens and profound disruptions in social support systems, all of which pose significant barriers to services and healing. These obstacles are even more imposing in historically marginalized and underserved communities, where distrust of government and healthcare systems might prevent people from seeking help.

Our Office for Victims of Crime is taking a huge step toward helping communities build their capacity to support victims in the aftermath of trauma. They have just launched a solicitation for a Trauma Recovery Center Demonstration Project, to provide one-stop, individualized services for victims, from counseling and therapy, to peer support, to basic necessities like groceries and medication.

Another example of our focus on trauma-informed services is in our work to support community violence intervention. Over the last two years, our Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative has invested almost $200 million in community-driven strategies aimed at mitigating trauma and disrupting patterns of violence.

A critical element of our efforts in this space is addressing the vicarious trauma and healing and wellness needs of the people who do this important work. CVI professionals are regularly exposed to violence, but are too often left on their own to deal with the consequences.

We need to create an environment where these professionals get the support, care and healing that they need and deserve — not unlike the steps that many law enforcement agencies have taken to support the health and wellness of their officers. I’m really pleased that we’ll be making up to $2.5 million later this year to support trauma-informed services for CVI professionals.

And one final example focuses on bringing trauma-informed and healing-centered services to those with behavioral health issues in the justice system. Our Bureau of Justice Assistance has supported hundreds of cross-system collaborations that pair behavioral health specialists with law enforcement and other justice system professionals to better serve the treatment needs of people who come into contact with the system.

The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program and the Connect and Protect initiative are two programs that help communities bring trained healthcare professionals to the scene of crises. Their involvement helps to de-escalate potentially volatile encounters, it averts unnecessary arrests, and — most important — it allows trained specialists to assess behavioral health needs and direct people to much-needed treatment and recovery services.

In all of these efforts, we are looking to community organizations, to health and behavioral health professionals, to educators and community leaders, and to people with lived experience, including young people. These stakeholders are key to sustainable community solutions and to the long-term success of those who come into contact with the system.

This is what we mean when we say in our mission statement that we’re strengthening the role of community as co-producer of safety and justice. Community partners are in a strong position to address the root causes and symptoms of trauma and victimization. They have credibility and trust — and unique expertise — that can help facilitate individual and community healing.

Needless to say, I am so pleased that you are dedicating this meeting to a discussion of these trauma informed and healing strategies – focusing on our youth — and I am so proud that we have visionary and compassionate leaders like Liz Ryan and our colleagues across the federal government, as well as distinguished partners across the country, to strengthen and expand our capacity to meet the needs of our youth.

It has been a privilege to be part of these deliberations and to work with all of you as we march toward our shared goal of safer communities and healthy, thriving youth. I wish you all the very best in your efforts, and I look forward to following the success that I know you will achieve and hearing about the difference I know you will make.

I’m now pleased to turn it back over to Liz. I’ve already said how much her guidance and support have meant to me and to the Office of Justice Programs. When Liz joined OJP a little more than two years ago, I knew we were getting one of the top minds in juvenile justice, but she has truly helped us and the field re-envision a juvenile justice system that puts the needs of our young people first.

Our nation’s youth, and the system that serves them, have been truly well served by Liz Ryan. I am so proud of the momentum she and her team have generated, and so excited about the great things that lie ahead for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and for youth across the country.