Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Defendant Pretended to Collect for Charities But Only Paid Himself

            WASHINGTON – James Trankle, 55, previously of Churchton, Maryland, was convicted today of conspiracy to commit mail and bank fraud, and five additional counts of bank fraud all stemming from a scheme in which he created fake charities, solicited donations, and then stole the identities of the donors he tricked into giving funds.

            The verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Inspector-in-Charge Damon Wood of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Washington Division. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 29, 2023.

            The offenses of conspiracy to commit mail and bank fraud, and the five further counts of bank fraud, each carry a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and financial penalties.

            According to evidence presented in court, from 2013 to 2018, Trankle and his co-defendant, Stephen Sibert, were charged with creating fake charities and registering those entities with the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (“DCRA”) and then presenting them as legitimate charities. Examples included the “Disabled and Paralyzed Veterans Fund,” the “National Breast Cancer Awareness Fund,” and the “Children’s Leukemia of America Fund.”

            Trankle used a post office box address in Washington, D.C., as the claimed official mailing address for the fraudulent charities.  He opened numerous bank accounts in the names of the fraudulent charities.  And he sent solicitations via U.S. mail to thousands of potential donors—i.e., victims—nationwide asking the recipients to send personal checks as donations. Through the scheme, Trankle obtained over 1,600 personal checks from victims making charitable donations, which he then deposited into bank accounts that the conspirators Trankle and Sibert controlled.

            In addition, Trankle and his conspirator purchased check making supplies such as stock paper and printing equipment. Using the bank account and routing information from the victims’ checks, the conspirators printed additional unauthorized counterfeit checks payable to their fraudulent charities that were drawn against the victims’ personal checking accounts. The conspirators deposited those unauthorized counterfeit checks into the bank accounts they  controlled.  They later withdrew and spent the funds for various personal expenses. 

            The fraudulent charities did not perform any of the charitable work described in their solicitations, nor did the fraudulent charities provide any significant funds to other charities that did so.

           This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Borchert and Brian Kelly, and Paralegal Specialist Gina Torres Trujillo.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Bridgeport, West Virginia, woman has admitted to possessing more than 50 grams of crystal methamphetamine.

Courtney M. Oliverio, 42, pled guilty today to possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine. According to court documents, during a traffic stop in Harrison County Oliverio had nearly 60 grams of methamphetamine, also known as “ice,” and more than $3,000 cash. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, officers also found digital scales and other drug paraphernalia.

Oliverio is facing at least 10 years and up to life in prison. She is being held in the Central Regional Jail pending sentencing. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case was investigated by the Greater Harrison Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office and the Bridgeport Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Bauer is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.

Source: United States Department of Justice

The Justice Department announced today an agreement with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) to resolves a race discrimination civil rights complaint under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In response to the complaint, LCSO worked cooperatively with the Justice Department to reach a resolution agreement that will modernize its policing operations and further its ongoing efforts to prevent and address discriminatory law enforcement practices.

In May 2022, the Justice Department received a complaint from Delaware State University (DSU), a historically Black university, alleging that LCSO discriminated against its student athletes, athletic coach, and driver when it conducted a racially discriminatory traffic stop in Georgia of a bus charted by DSU. Following the traffic stop, the University alleged that the subsequent questioning and search of the personal belongings of the primarily Black passengers, including through the use of a drug-sniffing dog, constituted unlawful race discrimination in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (Title VI). Title VI prohibits recipients of federal financial assistance from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin. LCSO is a recipient of federal funding from the Justice Department.

“Fairness and racial equity are fundamental principles for effective law enforcement, especially for those agencies that receive federal funding,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The students and staff at Delaware State University deserve policing that is racially equitable and bias-free. The agreement that we have secured with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office will help ensure that its policing practices are free from racial bias and discrimination going forward. We will continue working to ensure that federally funded law enforcement agencies comply with our federal civil rights laws.”

“Law enforcement is most effective when it is supported by public confidence,” said U.S. Attorney Jill E. Steinberg for the Southern District of Georgia. “The agreement announced today is a step toward ensuring that policing occurs in an evenhanded manner.”

Under the agreement, LCSO will review its bias-free policing policies, make necessary updates to its policies on traffic enforcement and searches, and develop and implement data collection procedures, among other provisions.

The enforcement of Title VI is a top priority of the Civil Rights Division. 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 https://civilrights.justice.gov/report/.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Massachusetts man was arrested on May 9 for allegedly acting as an agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) without providing notification to the U.S. Attorney General.

Litang Liang, 63, of Brighton, was indicted on one count of acting as an agent of a foreign government without providing notification to the U.S. Attorney General and one count of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government without providing notification to the U.S. Attorney General.

“We will not tolerate the PRC’s efforts to interfere with public discourse and threaten civic participation in the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “This case demonstrates, once again, the lengths that the PRC government, including its Ministry of Public Security, will go to target people in the U.S. who exercise their rights to speak out against the PRC.”

“The Department of Justice will protect these individual rights and protect our country against those who seek to unlawfully act on behalf of foreign governments while within our borders,” said U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins for the District of Massachusetts. “We allege that Mr. Liang engaged in a series of acts on behalf of the PRC government including providing information on Boston-area residents, organizations and dissidents to PRC government officials – potentially placing people at risk here in Massachusetts and abroad. Attempts to repress constitutionally protected rights here in the United States will never be tolerated. Anyone who infringes upon those rights on American soil will be identified and held to account.”

“The United States requires agents of foreign countries to register with our government, and for good reason – in such cases, those agents often act against the interests of the United States,” said Assistant Director Suzanne Turner of the FBI Counterintelligence Division. “The FBI is not going to stand by and allow undeclared agents of the People’s Republic of China to operate in our country unchecked. We will continue to steadfastly enforce the law of the land, uncovering these efforts and holding accountable all those who work with foreign governments to violate our laws.”

According to the charging documents, from in or around 2018 through at least 2022, Liang acted within the United States as an agent of the PRC government by allegedly providing PRC government officials with information on Boston-area individuals and organizations; organizing a counter-protest against pro-democracy dissidents; providing photographs of and information about dissidents to PRC government officials; and providing the names of potential recruits to the PRC’s Ministry of Public Security. At no point did Liang notify the U.S. Attorney General that he was acting as a PRC government agent.

Specifically, beginning in or around 2018, Liang allegedly provided information about Chinese individuals and organizations in the Boston area to PRC government officials – including PRC officials formerly in the United States, the Ministry of Public Security, and the United Front Work Department, an entity which reports directly to the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and works to further the CCP’s goals.

It is alleged that Liang provided PRC government officials with information regarding members and leaders of Boston-area, Chinese family associations and community organizations with pro-Taiwan leanings. Additionally, it is alleged that Liang sent information regarding anti-PRC dissidents to PRC officials including: identification of an individual he accused of having “sabotaged” PRC flags in Boston’s Chinatown in October 2018; video of a dissident attending the “Boston Stands with Hong Kong” march in August 2019; and photographs of anti-PRC dissidents in front of the Boston Public Library in September 2019.

The charge of acting as an agent of a foreign government without providing notification to the U.S. Attorney General provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government without providing notification to the U.S. Attorney General provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy H. Kistner for the District of Massachusetts is prosecuting the case. Valuable assistance was provided by Trial Attorney Elizabeth Abraham of the Justice Department’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Justice Department announced today that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama has provisionally approved its $2 million settlement agreement with the Sheriff of Mobile County, Alabama. The agreement, announced by the department on April 24, resolves the department’s lawsuit alleging that female corrections officers at the Mobile County Metro Jail were regularly subjected to severe and pervasive sexual harassment in the workplace by male inmates and that the sheriff’s office failed to take prompt and effective action to remedy this harassing conduct as required by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The court’s provisional approval means that the parties can begin to implement the agreement, including by providing notice to the current and former employees who have a right to request a monetary award under the agreement. Those individuals will then have an opportunity to submit comments on the settlement, which the court will consider at a fairness hearing on Aug. 25, 2023, before giving final approval to the agreement.

“The Justice Department brought this litigation to bring an end to the hostile work environment faced by women employed at the Mobile County Metro Jail,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The court’s action will help ensure that impacted female employees receive the relief that they rightly deserve.”

Under the terms of the agreement, the sheriff will pay compensatory damages to plaintiffs named in the lawsuit. The sheriff will also establish a $1.41 million settlement fund to compensate other women harmed by the discrimination alleged by the department.

• All women who have worked as corrections officers or corporals at the Mobile County Metro Jail at any time between Jan. 1, 2011, and April 21, 2023 are potentially eligible to recover monetary relief under the fund.
• Over the next several weeks, a claims administrator retained by the department will contact women who may be eligible to notify them of the fund and provide specific instructions about next steps, including when they can apply to the fund.
• People with questions about the agreement and claims process can contact the Justice Department at mcso@usdoj.gov or 1-800-556-1950 (option 6).

In addition to the monetary relief, the agreement also requires the sheriff to implement specific changes at the jail to reduce the instances of sexual harassment of female jail employees. These changes are based on recommendations from a corrections expert who has run jails and consulted with dozens of jails throughout the country for over three decades. None of the settlement funds will be used to implement these changes.

This lawsuit is part of the Civil Rights Division’s Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Initiative. The initiative is aimed at eradicating sexual harassment in state and local government workplaces. It focuses on litigation, outreach, and development of effective remedial measures to address and prevent future sex discrimination and harassment.

The full and fair enforcement of Title VII is a top priority of the Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division and the Employment Litigation Section is available on its websites www.justice.gov/crt and www.justice.gov/crt/employment-litigation-section.