Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON — A New Jersey man, who is a member of the Oath Keepers, pleaded guilty today to a felony charge related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress which was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related for the 2020 presidential election.

            James Breheny, aka Seamus Evers, 61, of Little Ferry, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding.

            According to the court documents, Breheny is affiliated with the Oath Keepers – a large but loosely organized collection of individuals, some of whom are associated with militias – and served as Bergen County Coordinator for the New Jersey chapter. On the morning of Jan. 6, Breheny was in a group chat titled “DC Op: Jan 6 21” on Signal, an encrypted messaging application. Messages from the chat reference Breheny “coming in with a team from NJ, and who also has contacts with several militia leaders coming in.” Other members participating in this chat have been indicted on conspiracy charges in U.S. v. Caldwell et al., 21-cr-28-APM, and U.S. v. Rhodes et al., 22-cr-15-APM.

            According to publicly available video footage, Breheny was in close proximity to the ongoing violence against law enforcement officers that caused the East doors to be breached and emergency alarm bells to ring loudly. Videos taken by members of the public as well as closed circuit television from the U.S. Capitol show Breheny willfully entering the Capitol, and inside the rotunda.

            A physical search of Breheny’s phone revealed text messages including, “I breached the Capitol door!” and “Made it in Brother,” as well as, “I have to clear chats.” His phone also contained texts from associates that read, “They’re going through social media looking at pictures to try to identify and prosecute anyone in the Capitol building,” and “Delete all pictures, messages and get a new phone. Praying for you brother.” Breheny deactivated his Facebook account on Jan. 8. According to evidence subsequently gathered from a search of Breheny’s Facebook account, Breheny transmitted photos from the Jan. 6 riots on the account and made various statements about the riots on the account.

            This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Newark and Washington Field Offices, with valuable assistance from the Metropolitan Police Department and the Capitol Police. 

            In the 29 months since Jan. 6, more than 1,000 individuals have been charged in relation to the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, including nearly 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.  

            Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced today that there is insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights or District of Columbia charges against an agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation who was involved in the fatal shooting, on December 7, 2022, of Troy N. Bullock.

            The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) conducted a comprehensive review of the incident. This included a review of law enforcement and civilian eyewitness accounts, surveillance footage from inside of the Metro station, physical evidence, recorded cell phone footage, recorded radio communications, forensic reports, and the autopsy report.

            According to the evidence, on December 7, 2022, at approximately 6:11p.m., an FBI Special Agent was standing on the platform at the Metro Center station.  The agent, who was off duty at the time, observed Mr. Bullock attempting to initiate a physical confrontation with an individual who was also standing on the platform by challenging him to a fight.  To defuse the situation, the agent indicated to Mr. Bullock that he should leave the individual alone.  Mr. Bullock then became physically aggressive toward the agent by grabbing the agent and pushing him over a utility wall.  The wall is approximately three feet high.  The agent fell backward over the utility wall, and Mr. Bullock fell over the wall with him – a fall of over eight feet.  Below, Mr. Bullock resumed his attack on the agent, who sustained an injury in the fall, drew his service weapon, and shot Mr. Bullock.  Despite life-saving efforts, Mr. Bullock was pronounced dead at the scene.   

            After a careful, thorough, and independent review of the evidence, federal prosecutors have found insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the agent used excessive force under the circumstances.

Use-of-force investigations generally

            The U.S. Attorney’s Office reviews all police-involved fatalities to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to conclude that any officers violated either federal criminal civil rights laws or District of Columbia law.  To prove civil rights violations, prosecutors must typically be able to prove that the involved officers willfully used more force than was reasonably necessary.  Proving “willfulness” is a heavy burden.  Prosecutors must not only prove that the force used was excessive, but must also prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the officer acted with the deliberate and specific intent to do something the law forbids. 

            The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains committed to investigating allegations of excessive force by law enforcement officers and will continue to devote the resources necessary to ensure that all allegations of serious civil rights violations are investigated fully and completely. The Metropolitan Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division investigates all police-involved fatalities in the District of Columbia.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Virginia man was sentenced today to two years in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare of over $1 million in prescription drug benefits.

According to court documents, Ronald A. Beasley II, 33, of Portsmouth, was the pharmacist in charge at NH Pharma, a pharmacy located in Lake Mary, Florida. Through NH Pharma, Beasley and his co-conspirators billed Medicare for expensive compound drug creams that they never actually purchased or dispensed, instead providing Medicare patients an inexpensive compound drug cream that Medicare did not cover. In fact, NH Pharma did not buy enough of the expensive prescription drugs to fill all the prescriptions NH Pharma billed to Medicare. In total, Beasley and his co-conspirators received more than $1 million in fraudulent Medicare proceeds.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge David Walker of the FBI Tampa Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Reginald Cuyler Jr. and Darren C. Halverson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 25 federal districts, has charged more than 5,000 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $24 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Remarks as Delivered

Thank you, Director Clements, for your tremendous leadership and a huge thanks to the COPS Office staff for all their work on this awards program and today’s ceremony. It is my honor to welcome our honorees, your families and all our distinguished guests to this ceremony and to the Justice Department.

Everyday law enforcement officers put themselves in harm’s way to keep us safe. The public expects this and too often takes it for granted. Today’s award ceremony allows us to take a moment to show appreciation for this immense public service. The Justice Department is proud to celebrate the individuals being recognized today. I have read your stories and know that you epitomize community policing at its best.

Community policing advances community safety by building trust, respect, and collaboration between police and communities. It’s a model of policing that respects civil rights and engages the community as a full partner in creating safer communities for police and residents alike.

The Justice Department knows that as we uplift policing, we must also invest in officer wellness programs. We have to support effective strategies for recruitment and retention, and we must build community-police trust.

Today’s awardees demonstrate problem-solving skills, a willingness to find and engage in innovative community-policing strategies, and above all, a commitment to the communities and people you serve. We received nominations not only from proud supervisors, but also from professional peers and others impacted by your work.

As Director Clements noted, we received hundreds of nominations from across the country, and we went through several stages of review to get to today’s honorees.

We started with a panel consisting of representatives from 10 leading law enforcement associations, some of whom are represented today in this room:

• International Association of Chiefs of Police
• Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies
• Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)
• Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association
• Major Cities Chiefs Association
• Major County Sheriffs of America
• National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives
• National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives
• National Sheriffs Association; and
• Police Executive Research Forum

Following that, there was a federal review panel consisting of executives from several Department of Justice components. And then finally, selection and approval by the Attorney General himself.

I hope that today’s honorees know just how much everyone here appreciates and deeply values your contributions to building trust and strengthening police-community relationships. It’s the backbone of safe and healthy communities.

And now, it is my great honor to introduce the Attorney General of the United States, Merrick Garland. I will not attempt to sum up the Attorney General’s entire distinguished career. We don’t want to take up two hours of time on that. But as many of you know, prior to his nomination by President Biden and confirmation as Attorney General in March of 2021, the Attorney General was Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. And before his time on the bench, he spent much of his career here, in the Justice Department, serving under five different Attorneys General in a variety roles, including as a prosecutor overseeing the Oklahoma City bombing, Unabomber and Montana Freemen cases.

As Attorney General, he has set out three coequal priorities for each of us at the Justice Department: upholding the rule of law, keeping this country safe and protecting civil rights. And in carrying out each of these priorities, in his daily work and during visits at U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and with our state and local law enforcement partners across the country, I have seen firsthand the Attorney General’s immense partnership and championing of law enforcement and community policing. And I am honored every day to serve with him.

And so, without further ado, it is my great pleasure to introduce the Attorney General.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Remarks as Delivered

Thank you, Vanita for that overly generous introduction. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us for the sixth annual Attorney General’s Awards for Distinguished Service in Community Policing.

Can we have another round of applause to the students from McKinley Technology High School and Justice Department’s own Rhea Walker for starting this ceremony on such a lovely note?

I want to thank Director Clements and his entire team at the COPS Office for making today’s ceremony possible. And for the work they do every day to advance community policing.

The Associate Attorney General mentioned my long career at the Justice Department. I was here at the founding of the COPS Office, so I have an extra stake in this particular set of awards.

Today we are awarding 19 outstanding officers with the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing. 

These awards acknowledge their exceptional work in criminal investigations, field operations, and innovative community policing strategies.

It is an honor to be here as we recognize these extraordinary individuals.

At the Justice Department, as the Associate Attorney General said, our mission is to uphold the rule of law, to keep our country safe, and to protect civil rights. 

But we do not – and we cannot – do this work alone. 

Every day, law enforcement officers across the country work to protect their communities. 

They forge and maintain strong community ties that are essential to ensuring public safety. 

And they put their lives on the line to make their communities better places to live.

State, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies are some of the Department’s most important partners in our efforts to keep our country safe.

We know that you shoulder the heaviest burden when it comes to protecting your communities.

And we are proud to stand next to you and to work alongside you.

It is a special honor to recognize officers like today’s awardees, who represent the very best of this noble work.

You led complex investigations and pursued justice on behalf of victims who can no longer advocate for themselves.

You collaborated with your law enforcement partners across government to get illegal guns and drugs off the streets.

You deescalated dangerous situations and prevented them from ending in tragedy.

You created programs for under-served youth and older adults. And even in the midst of the pandemic, you found ways to connect with your communities.

You are true public servants. You are heroes. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I also am grateful to our awardees’ family members and loved ones, many of whom are with us today. Thank you for supporting these officers as they have pursued their careers in public safety.

At the end of the shift, you are there.

You are there through long hours and late nights.

You are there to support your loved ones as they bear the weight of the stress and the trauma that these jobs can inflict.

And you are there despite the sacrifices these jobs require of both the officers and their families. It is your care and encouragement that makes their service possible. Thank you.

Law enforcement is an indispensable profession.

At the Justice Department, we know it is also a difficult one.

Every day, law enforcement officers are asked to respond to some of the most difficult, most traumatic moments that our communities face.

You are asked to be on the frontlines of combatting violent crime. You are also asked to serve as first responders to some of our most entrenched social problems.

You confront devastating and dangerous situations. You witness horrible tragedies.

You endure extraordinary violence and threats of violence directed at you.

You do all of this as your offices continue to struggle with a crisis in recruitment and retention – increasing the already heavy load on those who serve.

And you did all of this during a global pandemic that strained your offices nationwide and made your jobs even harder.

At the United States Department of Justice, we are committed to doing everything in our power to support you. And to give back to the officers who have given so much to this country.

This year, the Department is seeking $2.7 billion for our COPS Office Hiring Program.

This funding will enable us to help our state and local law enforcement partners hire more full-time law enforcement professionals.

We are also investing in programs that support officer safety, health, and wellness; in incentives to improve recruitment and retention; and in initiatives that help law enforcement build trust between police and the communities they serve.

We are doing this because we know that when our officers are healthy and safe, our communities are, too.

Again, to every officer here today and to our honorees in particular: Thank you for all that you have done for our communities.

And thank you for all that you will continue to do.

The Justice Department, and our country, are grateful to you.