Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal court today enjoined an Irvington, Alabama, company and several of its operators from distributing adulterated seafood products in violation of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).

In a civil complaint for permanent injunction filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama on April 25, the United States alleged that Irvington Seafood, Inc., and its owner, Kevin S. Sakprasit, and company officers Helene Nou and Kammie C. Richardson, violated the FDCA by distributing adulterated ready-to-eat crabmeat products. According to the complaint, the defendants process the products at their Alabama facility and then sell and distribute them to businesses and consumers throughout the country. 

The complaint alleges that between 2006 and 2022, multiple Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspections of the defendants’ facility revealed that the defendants prepared, packaged, and held crabmeat products under insanitary conditions and failed to comply with required current good manufacturing practices and seafood hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) regulations. According to the complaint, during inspections of the defendants’ facility FDA inspectors found, among other things: the presence of maggots, flies, and roaches; the presence of the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes on food contact and non-food contact surfaces of equipment; and that employees were failing to properly wash their hands and aprons. Food contaminated with L. mono can cause serious illness and even death in vulnerable groups, such as newborns and people with impaired immune systems. The complaint alleges that the defendants failed to take necessary corrective actions after repeated FDA warnings.

“Food manufacturers and distributors must operate in strict compliance with the law,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to working hand in hand with the FDA to help ensure the safety of the nation’s food supply.”

The defendants agreed to settle the suit and be bound by a consent decree of permanent injunction. The order entered by the federal court permanently enjoins the defendants from violating the FDCA and requires that they destroy all raw ingredients and food products currently in their possession. Before processing or distributing any food in the future, the defendants must notify the FDA in advance, comply with specific remedial measures set forth in the injunction, and permit the FDA to inspect their facilities and procedures.

Senior Trial Attorney Arturo DeCastro of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch is handling the case with the assistance of Associate Chief Counsel Kyrsten L. Melander of the FDA’s Office of the General Counsel.

Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.

The claims resolved by the resolution announced today are only allegations.  There has been no determination of liability.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Three people – two from North Carolina and one from New York – were sentenced today on felony charges for their actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Their actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

            Dale Jeremiah Shalvey, 38, of Conover, North Carolina, was sentenced to 41 months in prison, 24 months of supervised release, and a fine/restitution for $2,000, for assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers and obstruction of an official proceeding. His wife, Tara Aileen Stottlemyer, 37, also of North Carolina, and Katharine Hallock Morrison, 38, of Dansville, New York, were each sentenced to eight months in prison, 24 months of supervised release, and a fine/restitution of $2,000 for obstruction of an official proceeding. The three defendants pleaded guilty on October 3, 2022, in the District of Columbia.

            According to court documents, the three defendants traveled together on Jan. 6, 2021, and illegally entered the Capitol grounds. At approximately 2:09 p.m., Shalvey walked to a bike rack on the West Front of the Capitol, which was to act as a barricade, and assaulted law enforcement officers by throwing an object that hit an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department. 

            At approximately 2:20 p.m., Shalvey, Stottlemyer, and Morrison entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing door and then moved to various areas within the building, including the Crypt, the House’s Suite, the Rotunda, and the Senate Chamber. Inside the Senate Chamber, Shalvey and Morrison looked through Senators’ desks, while all three defendants took pictures of documents that were in and on those desks. Shalvey also took a letter written by Senator Mitt Romney to Vice President Michael Pence from a Senator’s desk and destroyed it after leaving the Capitol. They exited the building at approximately 3:05 p.m.

            Shalvey was arrested on March 9, 2021, in Washington, D.C.  Stottlemyer was arrested on Sept. 14, 2021, in Conover, North Carolina. Morrison was arrested on Feb. 10, 2022, in Dansville, New York.

            The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Justice Department’s National Security Division prosecuted the case, with valuable assistance provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern District of Missouri, Western District of New York, Western District of North Carolina, and Western District of Pennsylvania.

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Buffalo, Charlotte, Pittsburgh, and Washington Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department.

            In the 28 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,000 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 320 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 2

A federal court today enjoined an Irvington, Alabama, company and several of its operators from distributing adulterated seafood products in violation of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).

In a civil complaint for permanent injunction filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama on April 25, the United States alleged that Irvington Seafood, Inc., and its owner, Kevin S. Sakprasit, and company officers Helene Nou and Kammie C. Richardson, violated the FDCA by distributing adulterated ready-to-eat crabmeat products. According to the complaint, the defendants process the products at their Alabama facility and then sell and distribute them to businesses and consumers throughout the country. 

The complaint alleges that between 2006 and 2022, multiple Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspections of the defendants’ facility revealed that the defendants prepared, packaged, and held crabmeat products under insanitary conditions and failed to comply with required current good manufacturing practices and seafood hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) regulations. According to the complaint, during inspections of the defendants’ facility FDA inspectors found, among other things: the presence of maggots, flies, and roaches; the presence of the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes on food contact and non-food contact surfaces of equipment; and that employees were failing to properly wash their hands and aprons. Food contaminated with L. mono can cause serious illness and even death in vulnerable groups, such as newborns and people with impaired immune systems. The complaint alleges that the defendants failed to take necessary corrective actions after repeated FDA warnings.

“Food manufacturers and distributors must operate in strict compliance with the law,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to working hand in hand with the FDA to help ensure the safety of the nation’s food supply.”

The defendants agreed to settle the suit and be bound by a consent decree of permanent injunction. The order entered by the federal court permanently enjoins the defendants from violating the FDCA and requires that they destroy all raw ingredients and food products currently in their possession. Before processing or distributing any food in the future, the defendants must notify the FDA in advance, comply with specific remedial measures set forth in the injunction, and permit the FDA to inspect their facilities and procedures.

Senior Trial Attorney Arturo DeCastro of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch is handling the case with the assistance of Associate Chief Counsel Kyrsten L. Melander of the FDA’s Office of the General Counsel.

Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.

The claims resolved by the resolution announced today are only allegations.  There has been no determination of liability.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON –Jonathan Montiethe Perry 39, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty this week to one count of importation of a controlled substance (Gamma Butyrolactone), announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon, of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. Field Office, and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            Perry entered the plea on May 9, 2023, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton scheduled a sentencing hearing for August 18, 2023.

            According to the Government’s evidence, on or about December 26, 2022, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers assigned to the John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport, New York, NY Mail Branch conducted an inspection of an international package that was addressed to the defendant in Washington D.C.  The package was found to contain five unmarked plastic bottles filled with clear liquid, weighing approximately 6.07 kilograms (gross weight including the plastic bottles). CBP officers used a Gemini Thermo Scientific system to analyze the clear liquid and returned a presumptive positive match for Gamma Butyrolactone (GBL).  The package contained approximately 5,000 milliliters of GBL which weighed approximately 5 kilograms. A subsequent laboratory analysis of samples taken from the five bottles further confirmed that the clear liquid contained GBL.

            On January 5, 2023, at approximately 10:15 a.m., an undercover law enforcement officer conducted a controlled delivery of a package to an apartment complex where it was eventually retrieved by the defendant. Shortly thereafter, the defendant was followed and observed entering another apartment complex, then into a specific apartment with the target package in his hand.  Law enforcement waited several minutes, knocked on the apartment door, announced their presence, and subsequently executed a search warrant.  The defendant was present and detained without incident. Upon entering the residence, law enforcement observed the target package on the kitchen table next to a pair of scissors. On a separate nearby table, there was an open laptop computer with the USPS package tracking website open and the target package’s tracking number displayed. In addition, law enforcement officers recovered hundreds of empty, unfilled plastic pill capsules, a plastic bag containing several dozen empty plastic vials, a box containing six small empty, blue-colored vials and several glass droppers. Law enforcement also recovered one plastic bag that contained at least several dozen empty plastic vials and had a maximum capacity of 400 vials. 

            In announcing today’s plea, U.S. Attorney Graves, Special Agent in Charge Gordon, and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from Homeland Security Investigations and the Metropolitan Police Department.  They acknowledge the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Karla Nunez.

            Finally, they commended the efforts of Assistant United States Attorney Shehzad Akhtar who investigated and prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Four men were sentenced for their participation in a website dedicated to child sexual exploitation.

Kyle William Leishear, 43, of Bayonet Point, Florida, was sentenced yesterday to 20 years in prison. On April 25, Leishear’s three co-defendants were sentenced for their roles in a child exploitation enterprise: Christopher William Kuehner, 38, of Bremerton, Washington, was sentenced to 20 years in prison; Jacob Royce Mullins, 20, of South Webster, Ohio, was sentenced to seven years in prison; and Matthew Martin, 25, of Lancaster, Wisconsin, was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison. 

“We cannot and will not tolerate websites like Rapey.su that invite and encourage members to congregate, discuss, and engage in the sexual exploitation of children and young women, to memorialize this exploitation, and to distribute illegal sexually explicit images of the victims,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to rooting out these websites and bringing to justice those who join them for the purpose of perpetuating the victimization of some of the most vulnerable members of society.” 

According to court documents, Leishear, Kuehner, Mullins, and Martin were prominent members of the “Rapey.su” website, which was dedicated to, among other things, child sexual exploitation. After becoming a member of the website, Leishear enticed multiple minor victims, including one as young 12-years-old, to produce and share sexually explicit images. Kuehner also repeatedly induced minor victims to produce and post sexually explicit images and videos to the site. Additionally, Leishear attempted to distribute child sexual abuse material on the website. Mullins and Martin both repeatedly distributed child sexual abuse material images on the website, and Mullins enticed another website user to produce and share sexually explicit images of a minor victim. Mullins also produced videos of himself engaging in sex with a minor he had met on the website. 

“I am grateful for the hard work of our agents and prosecutors to seek justice in this horrific case. These defendants caused immeasurable trauma on their victims, amplified by the group’s online sharing of their abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This case shows that internet anonymity will not protect offenders from facing full accountability for their illegal online conduct.”

“The actions of the four individuals in this case were nothing short of reprehensible,” said Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. “They shamefully targeted the most vulnerable members of our community for their own perverse desires. HSI Washington, D.C. remains committed to protecting children from abuse and holding accountable those individuals who would victimize minors. HSI remains vigilant in watching for indicators of child exploitation throughout our communities.”

HSI investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Whitney Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Schlessinger for the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.