Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Rodolfo Maldonado-Bustos, also known as Don Jose, and Euclides Camacho-Goicochea, also known as El Quilles, who occupy leadership roles in the La Nueva Familia Michoacana drug cartel, were charged by a federal grand jury with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin and conspiracy to import heroin into the United States.

Earlier today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) announced financial sanctions against Camacho-Goicochea and Maldonado-Bustos, who are fugitives believed to be residing in Mexico.

“These actions demonstrate that in addition to holding cartel leaders accountable for their crimes, we are working together with our partners at the Treasury Department to hit the cartels’ criminal operations where it hurts the most – their profits,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We will continue to mobilize a whole-of-government effort to disrupt the cartels profiting from the drug trafficking and human smuggling that devastate communities and endanger our national security.”

“These cartel members allegedly imported massive amounts of heroin from Mexico to the Atlanta area and elsewhere in the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. “The federal indictments in conjunction with the recent imposition of OFAC sanctions send a strong message that our office, in coordination with our law enforcement partners, will relentlessly investigate, prosecute, and defund individuals around the globe who import deadly drugs into our communities.”

“Denying drug cartels the profits earned from distributing poison in our communities is an essential tool in DEA’s efforts to combat these drug cartels,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Murphy of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Atlanta Field Division. “DEA Atlanta will continue to attack the La Nueva Familia cartel on all fronts by arresting its members, as well as seizing their drugs and assets.”

“IRS Criminal Investigation special agents are highly skilled financial investigators who can unravel complex schemes cartels use to hide their money,” said Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)’s Atlanta Field Office. “IRS-CI and other members of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces will continue working together to bring these international criminals to justice.”

According to the indictments and other information presented in court, in September 2016, agents of the DEA and the IRS-CI initiated an investigation into Mexico-based La Nueva Familia Michoacana cartel members allegedly importing heroin, cocaine, and marijuana into the United States, including to the Northern District of Georgia. As part of the investigation, agents identified Maldonado-Bustos as a high-level cartel member who allegedly coordinated the manufacturing of large quantities of heroin in Mexico.

In particular, the investigation revealed that Maldonado-Bustos allegedly directed the harvesting of gum from opium fields, procured chemicals to process the gum into heroin, and supplied Camacho-Goicochea and other conspirators in Mexico with the heroin to import into cities in the United States, including Atlanta, and Houston. The investigation further revealed that Camacho-Goicochea allegedly coordinated the collection and return of drug proceeds from the United States back to Mexico. In early 2017, agents seized over $580,000 in drug proceeds from vehicles and homes in the Atlanta area, which were ultimately destined for the cartel in Mexico.

Rodolfo Maldonado-Bustos, also known as Don Jose, 59, and Euclides Camacho-Goicochea, also known as El Quilles, 51, both of Guerrero, Mexico, were charged with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin and conspiracy to import heroin into the United States. Camacho-Goicochea was also charged with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. The indictments were returned in August 2017 and were recently unsealed.

The DEA and IRS-CI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebeca Ojeda for the Northern District of Georgia is prosecuting the case against Camacho-Goicochea and Maldonado-Bustos. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laurel Milam for the Northern District of Georgia and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Hartigan for the Eastern District of North Carolina, provided valuable assistance to the investigation.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

The specific mission of the David G. Wilhelm Atlanta OCDETF Strike Force (the Strike Force) is to degrade and dismantle major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the Northern District of Georgia. To accomplish this mission, the Strike Force will target these organizations’ leaders, focusing on targets designated as Consolidated Priority Organization Targets (CPOTs), Regional Priority Organization Targets (RPOTs), and their associates. The Atlanta Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from ATF, DEA, FBI, HSI, USMS, USPIS, and IRS, as well as numerous state and local agencies, and the prosecution is being led by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

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 announced today that it has secured an agreement with the Florida State Attorney’s Office for the Second Judicial Circuit (SAO) resolving allegations of violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI).

Specifically, the agreement resolves allegations of discrimination against Hispanic defendants charged with driving without a valid driver’s license by providing less favorable plea offers to them than it did to non-Hispanic defendants charged with the same crime. Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin by recipients of federal financial assistance.

“To ensure fair, equitable treatment as well as public safety, state and local prosecutors must provide equal treatment in all aspects of the administration of justice, including plea deals,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Through this agreement, the State Attorney for Florida’s Second Judicial Circuit is taking action that will help ensure that the community is served without bias or discrimination.”

The department’s inquiry was prompted by allegations that the SAO posted plea offer guidelines that discriminated based on national origin by providing for harsher plea offers for Hispanic individuals driving without a valid license as compared to similarly situated individuals.

The SAO fully cooperated with the department’s inquiry and, under the terms of the agreement, agreed to take a number of steps to ensure nondiscrimination in prosecution, including implementing a new nondiscrimination policy and training its staff about nondiscrimination obligations.

Additionally, the SAO committed to convene a working group of community stakeholders to assist with the SAO’s continuing efforts to develop best practices for working with the community it serves. The SAO also will send a letter to defendants who may have been impacted by the alleged discriminatory policy, offering them an opportunity to seek an alternative disposition of their charge. The letter will be translated for defendants with limited English proficiency. The SAO has stated that it remains committed to ensuring that no defendant was discriminated against with respect to any plea offer made for the charge of driving without a valid driver’s license.

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website 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 former Kentucky sheriff’s deputy was sentenced today to 110 months in prison for violating the constitutional rights of multiple people he arrested during his tenure as a law enforcement officer.

Former Boyle County Sheriff’s Deputy Tanner M. Abbott, 31, was convicted by a federal jury in March of five felonies and one misdemeanor related to using excessive force against four arrestees, performing an illegal search and writing and conspiring to write false police reports to cover up his abuse.

“This defendant habitually and routinely abused his authority and used his badge to shield himself from accountability for years,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This sentence should send a loud message that such abuses by law enforcement will not be tolerated. The Justice Department is steadfast in its commitment to hold law enforcement accountable when they violate the civil and constitutional rights of people in their country.”

“Instead of protecting and serving the community, the defendant was physically abusing people — even bragging about the injuries he caused,” said U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “That is not law enforcement; that is brazen criminal conduct. The community deserved better. Fortunately, he now has a criminal sentence that he deserves.”     

At the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that the crimes for which Abbott was convicted were part of a larger pattern of abuse of authority spanning his career. An investigator testified that, during its two-year investigation of numerous allegations against Abbott, the FBI discovered evidence that Abbott frequently used excessive force against suspects. This evidence included text messages recovered from Abbott’s work-issued cell phone in which Abbott bragged, sometimes in graphic and vulgar terms, about causing injuries to people he had arrested. The government also presented cell phone evidence showing that Abbott sometimes took photographs of injuries he had caused and sent the photographs to friends and acquaintances, but never included or submitted them in official police documents. Two additional witnesses testified that they had been physically abused by Abbott while being arrested.

The court also found that Abbott obstructed justice during his trial by testifying falsely in his own defense.

The FBI Louisville Field Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Dembo for the Eastern District of Kentucky and Trial Attorney Alec Ward of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice

The Justice Department filed a civil federal lawsuit today in the Middle District of Florida against five people for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which prohibits anyone from using force, threats of force or physical obstruction against any person because they are seeking or providing reproductive health services.

The lawsuit alleges that Calvin Zastrow, Kenneth Scott, Chester Gallagher, Eva Zastrow and Katelyn Sims, also known as Katelyn Velasco, committed violations of the FACE Act in Ft. Myers, Florida, on Jan. 27, 2022. Specifically, the complaint alleges that the defendants trespassed onto a reproductive health center’s property, blocked the entrances and temporarily stopped operations at the center. The complaint seeks injunctive relief and monetary penalties as provided by the FACE Act.

“These five defendants deliberately obstructed access to reproductive health services,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Physically blocking those seeking or providing reproductive health services in order to impose their views is unlawful. The Justice Department will continue enforcing the FACE Act to protect against such obstruction.”

“The Justice Department ensures that individuals cannot pick which laws they wish to follow,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “We look forward to continuing to protect the rights of patients and providers to access reproductive health care.”

The Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida are handling the case.   

For additional information about the Civil Rights Division and the Special Litigation Section, please visit www.justice.gov/crt/special-litigation-section. Those interested in finding out more about the FACE act can visit www.justice.gov/crt/freedom-access-clinic-entrances-places-religious-worship. Past FACE Act cases by the Special Litigation Section can be found at www.justice.gov/crt/special-litigation-section-cases-and-matters#face.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Justice Department announced today that it has secured a settlement agreement with eTeam Inc. (eTeam), an online staffing agency that provides services to companies throughout the United States and around the world. The agreement resolves the department’s determination that eTeam discriminated against non-U.S. citizens with permission to work in the United States by excluding them from job opportunities based on their citizenship or immigration status, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

“Staffing companies cannot engage in hiring and recruiting practices that unlawfully exclude or deter people with permission to work in the United States because of their citizenship or immigration status,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to hold companies accountable for engaging in practices that create barriers to employment, in violation of our nation’s federal civil rights laws.”

The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER)’s investigation found that during various months in 2021, eTeam regularly distributed job advertisements that contained unlawful hiring restrictions based on citizenship status or otherwise screened out candidates based on their citizenship status. These actions harmed lawful permanent residents and individuals granted asylum or refugee status by deterring them from applying to the job advertisements and failing to meaningfully consider those who did apply.

Under the terms of the settlement, eTeam will pay $232,500 in civil penalties to the United States and set aside $325,000 to compensate affected workers. The agreement also requires eTeam to train its personnel on the INA’s requirements, revise its employment policies and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements.

IER is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute generally prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation and intimidation. 

Find more information on how employers can avoid discrimination in recruiting and hiring on IER’s website. Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify) or subjected to retaliation, may file a charge. The public can also call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation; email IER@usdoj.gov; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Sign up for email updates from IER.