Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Baltimore, Maryland – Lawrence Aquilla Colby, IV, a/k/a “Buddy,” age 34, of Elkton, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to federal charges related to his participation in a conspiracy to sexually abuse a child, from the age of approximately four months to two years old, to producing and receiving images documenting the sexual abuse of the child, and to possession of child pornography.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Cecil County State’s Attorney James Dellmyer; and Cecil County Sheriff Scott Adams.

At today’s plea hearing, Colby admitted that he and his co-conspirator, Summer McCroskey, sexually abused a child, starting at the time the victim was approximately four months of age through at least October 2021, when the victim was two years old, and produced videos and images of the abuse.  Both Colby and McCroskey participated in the abuse.  Additionally, Colby received files documenting the sexual abuse of the child, which were sent to him by McCroskey.

Colby faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in federal prison for conspiracy to sexually exploit a child and for each of five counts of sexual exploitation of a child; a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for each of three counts of receipt of child pornography; and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography.  U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for Colby on July 27, 2023.

Co-defendant Summer McCroskey, age 25, also of Elkton, previously pleaded guilty to her role in the conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 18, 2023, at 11:00 a.m.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.   

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, the Cecil County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul E. Budlow and Colleen E. McGuinn who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

# # #

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Three individuals were sentenced to prison for orchestrating and implementing a scheme to solicit millions of dollars in contributions to two political action committees (PACs) based on false and misleading representations that the funds would be used to support presidential candidates during and after the 2016 election cycle. 

On April 24, Matthew Nelson Tunstall, 36, of Los Angeles, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Tunstall previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to cause false statements to the Federal Election Commission and one count of money laundering. 

Robert Reyes Jr., 40, of San Juan Bautista, California, was sentenced today to seven years in prison. Reyes previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to cause false statements to the Federal Election Commission and one count of money laundering.

Kyle George Davies, 31, of Austin, Texas, was sentenced today to five years of probation. Davies previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to cause false statements to the Federal Election Commission.

According to court documents, from 2016 through at least April 2017, Tunstall, Reyes, and Davies operated two PACs – Liberty Action Group PAC and Progressive Priorities PAC – that solicited contributions from the public via robocalls and radio and internet advertisements. The two PACs represented that the contributions would be used to support the presidential nominees of the two major political parties, respectively.  Instead, the co-conspirators used the funds to enrich themselves and to fund additional fraudulent solicitations. Specifically, the two PACs raised approximately $4 million in contributions during the 2016 election cycle and subsequent months.

To conceal the origin and nature of the proceeds, Tunstall and Reyes instructed a third-party vendor to withdraw approximately $353,000 from the two PACs in excess of the payments for services rendered, then deposit the excess payments into accounts held by shell companies that they controlled. 

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Oliver E. Rich Jr. of the FBI San Antonio Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI San Antonio Field Office, Austin Resident Agency investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Michael N. Lang and Celia Choy of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section (PIN) prosecuted the case. Former PIN Trial Attorney Rebecca Schuman also contributed significantly to the investigation.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that attorneys GEORGE CONSTANTINE and MARC ELEFANT and orthopedic surgeon ANDREW DOWD were sentenced yesterday and today for their participation in a massive trip-and-fall fraud scheme between 2013 and 2018.  CONSTANTINE and DOWD, who were convicted at trial in December 2022 of mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, were each sentenced to 102 months in prison.  ELEFANT, who pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, was sentenced to 24 months in prison.  U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein imposed all three sentences.    

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “George Constantine, Andrew Dowd, and Marc Elefant abused their professional licenses and degrees and exploited some of the most vulnerable members of society – many of whom were poor, drug addicts, or homeless – in order to enrich themselves through this egregious trip-and-fall fraud scheme.  As officers of the court, Constantine and Elefant had a duty to honestly represent their clients and uphold the rule of law.  Instead, they filed hundreds of fraudulent lawsuits that were filled with lies and stole millions of dollars from small businesses and insurance companies.  Likewise, Dowd, as a medical doctor, took an oath to do no harm.  But motivated by pure greed, Dowd performed hundreds of medically unnecessary surgeries, earning thousands of dollars per surgery.  These sentences send a clear message to all who chose to engage in fraud – no matter their professional title or degree – that they will be held accountable.”

According to the Indictment, the evidence presented in court during trial, and other statements made during court proceedings:

Between 2013 and 2018, CONSTANTINE, ELEFANT, and DOWD, among others, engaged in an extensive fraud scheme (the “Fraud Scheme” or “Scheme”), through which Scheme participants defrauded businesses and insurance companies by staging trip-and-fall accidents and filing fraudulent lawsuits arising from those staged trip-and-fall accidents.  CONSTANTINE and ELEFANT were personal injury lawyers involved in the Scheme, while DOWD was an orthopedic surgeon.

Fraud Scheme participants recruited individuals (the “Patients”) to stage or falsely claim to have suffered trip-and-fall accidents at particular locations throughout the New York City area (the “Accident Sites”).  In the course of the Fraud Scheme, Scheme participants recruited more than 400 Patients.  Members of the Fraud Scheme often recruited Patients who were extremely poor.  For example, it was common for Patients to ask for food when they would appear for their intake meetings with the lawyers.  Many of the Patients did not have sufficient clothing to keep them warm during the winter and had poor quality shoes.  Members of the Fraud Scheme also recruited Patients who were drug addicts, and it was common for Scheme participants to recruit Patients from homeless shelters in New York City.

In the beginning, Scheme participants would instruct Patients to claim they had tripped and fallen at a particular location, when in fact, the Patients had suffered no such accidents.  Eventually, at the direction of the lawyers who filed fraudulent lawsuits on behalf of the Patients, Scheme participants began to instruct Patients to stage trip-and-fall accidents, i.e., to go to a location and deliberately fall.  Common Accident Sites used during the Fraud Scheme included cellar doors, cracks in concrete sidewalks, and purported “potholes.”

After the staged trip-and-fall accidents, Patients were referred to specific attorneys, including CONSTANTINE and ELEFANT, who would file personal injury lawsuits (the “Fraudulent Lawsuits”) against the owners of the Accident Sites and/or insurance companies of the owners of the accident sites (the “Victims”).  The Fraudulent Lawsuits did not disclose that the Patients had deliberately fallen at the Accident Sites or, in some cases, had not fallen at all.  During the course of the Fraud Scheme, the defendants, together with others, attempted to defraud the Victims of more than $31,000,000.  CONSTANTINE personally filed nearly 200 Fraudulent Lawsuits and earned more than $5 million dollars in settlement fees from these fraudulent cases.  ELEFANT likewise filed nearly 200 Fraudulent Lawsuits and earned millions of dollars in settlement fees.

The Patients were also instructed to receive ongoing chiropractic and medical treatment from certain chiropractors and doctors, including DOWD.  The Fraud Scheme participants advised the Patients that if they intended to continue with their lawsuits, they were required to undergo surgery, which was critical to boosting the value of any potential settlement.  Patients generally were told to undergo two surgeries.  Fraud Scheme participants looked for doctors, like DOWD, who were willing to perform surgeries, even when others would not.  During the course of the Scheme, DOWD performed nearly 300 medically unnecessary surgeries and earned more than $3.2 million dollars.  DOWD received approximately $10,000 per surgery.  

*                *                *

In addition to their prison terms, CONSTANTINE, 60, of Plainview, New York, DOWD, 67, of Miller Place, New York, and ELEFANT, 50, of Woodmere, New York, were each sentenced to three years of supervised release.  CONSTANTINE was further ordered to pay $4,774,709 in forfeiture.  DOWD was further ordered to pay $2,900,905 in forfeiture.  ELEFANT was further ordered to pay $955,281.54 in forfeiture.  Restitution will be decided by the Court within 90 days of today’s sentencings.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Mr. Williams also thanked the National Insurance Crime Bureau for their assistance in the investigation.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Chiuchiolo, Nicholas Folly, Danielle Kudla, and Alexandra Rothman are in charge of the prosecution.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Good morning. Thank you for that warm welcome.  

I wanted to be here with you in person—and to join this first all-warden training since the pandemic—because the work you do is critically important to the safety of the American people.

You represent a long and proud tradition in managing corrections facilities going back to the establishment of the Bureau in 1930.

As wardens you basically run small cities—it is honorable work with many challenges.

It is honorable work because every day, your leadership is part of the Department’s overall work to keep the country safe, uphold the rule of law, and protect civil rights.

As the Director discussed this morning, the Bureau of Prisons has a dual mission—and one that she and the Bureau’s leadership team is reinvigorating with new mission and vision statements and a set of core values to guide the work of the Bureau into the future.

The Bureau is charged with ensuring public safety through the safe and humane housing of adults in custody and—just as importantly—ensuring that those adults in custody return to their communities fully prepared to be good neighbors.

I know you all work every day to uphold that mission. Your leadership of our nation’s federal correctional institutions is mission critical.

I also know that you share my deep concern when we fail to live up to that mission. And we have come up short too frequently in recent years.

I’ve spent more than 16 years in the Department of Justice—and the last two years as Deputy Attorney General. I know the complexity of the mission you carry out. That’s why early in my tenure, I recognized the need to bring both reform and resources to the Bureau of Prisons.

So, when it came time to select a new Director, I knew that we needed a reform-minded leader to take the helm and set the course.

In Colette Peters, the Bureau has a passionate leader and supporter of all of you who carry out the Bureau’s mission.

Colette has hit the ground running and done a great job in her first nine months as the Bureau’s Director. Her work, and your work, give me great confidence and optimism for the Bureau’s future.

The direction she and the leadership team are charting—and that she laid out this morning—is focused on change and reinvigorating the Bureau’s mission and values. But it cannot be done alone.

The Bureau needs great leadership not just from its Director but from all of its leaders—that means each of you. You laid the groundwork for these efforts before Director Peters’ arrival, and you will carry the mission forward.

Your staffs look to you as examples of how to conduct themselves. Through your actions, you can strengthen the Bureau now and for years to come.

You can effect positive change in the culture of this institution, positive change in the lives of your staff and those in your care and custody, and positive change for our nation’s communities.

So, the Bureau’s mission must be our collective work.

The new mission, vision, and values statements that the Director announced this morning are an important part of our collective work to bring about positive change.

These statements speak to the life-changing work that you do and that you lead across the country.

Your work is challenging—and has been made more so by budget and staffing shortfalls, a once-in-a-century pandemic, and an environment that seems to only pay attention to setbacks.

You have the difficult job of maintaining safe custodial settings under demanding circumstances. In my travels to multiple Bureau facilities, I’ve heard from employees at all levels about staffing shortages, training backlogs, and infrastructure challenges—and how all of it contributes to low morale.

But those challenges cannot—and must not—stand in the way of maintaining a safe and restorative environment both for those in custody and for BOP staff.

Those challenges also must not stand in the way of helping adults in custody develop the necessary skills to lead productive lives when they reenter society.

The new core values outlined by the Director—and developed with critical input from professionals across the Bureau—will be important guideposts.

Simply stated, these values are what we expect of every Bureau employee and what you should expect of each other—from Bureau and Department leadership in Washington, D.C. to every Bureau employee across the country.

• Accountability to the public and your teams
• Integrity in the conduct of our mission
• Respect for all we serve—and serve with
• Compassion for one another
• Excellence

I am committed to working with you and Director Peters to give you the resources and support you need to live these values and to address the issues you encounter every single day.

In Washington, D.C., I will continue to fight for the funding we need to shore up staffing, upgrade infrastructure, and fully resource critical programming.

Addressing staffing shortages and infrastructure deficiencies across BOP is a top priority for me and the Attorney General.

Improvements in staffing, of course, must go hand-in-hand with improvements to employee wellness. Director Peters and those in Department leadership are working on that, as well. 

I want to be clear: Your emotional and mental well-being is just as important to us as your physical well-being. We will continue to prioritize mental health and wellness resources for all of you and your teams.

Before I close, I want to spend a few minutes—during this Sexual Assault Awareness Month—on a topic that is critical to the new course the Director laid out this morning: preventing and rooting out sexual abuse by Bureau personnel.

When sexual abuse is left unanswered, it leaves everyone less safe. We fail the individuals entrusted to our care. And we fail the Bureau’s employees who work every day to make our facilities safe and count on us to do the same. We cannot allow sexual abuse to fester in Bureau facilities.

This is a top priority for me, for the Attorney General, and for Director Peters—just as I know it is a top priority for you.

Last year, I asked officials and experts from across the Department to form an Advisory Group to address this issue.

I thank you for the work going into implementing its initial recommendations.

I believe there’s no substitute for hearing directly from the people doing the hard work, day in and day out, to bring about change, so I’ve asked members of this group to do just that.

So, in the coming weeks, members of the group will be visiting women’s facilities in each of the Bureau’s six regions.

The goal is to engage first hand with you, your staff, and the adults in your custody, to talk about the work you’re doing and consult on the reforms and resources needed to root out sexual misconduct.

These Sexual Abuse Facility Evaluation & Review (SAFER) teams will be focused on ensuring SAFER environments for you, your teams, and those in your custody and care.

This effort builds on recent steps toward accountability for those who have not lived up to the Bureau’s mission and values.

Recent prosecutions and convictions of Bureau personnel for the sexual abuse of women in custody demonstrate that the Department will not tolerate abuse of authority and will ensure accountability for sexual misconduct.

Last week, in a message to U.S. Attorneys and other Department leadership, I urged prosecutors to prioritize cases involving the sexual abuse of individuals in Bureau custody and to investigate these cases with vigor and dispatch.

And earlier this month, at the urging of the Department, the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to strengthen criminal penalties for sexual abuse of those in custody. The Department requested and strongly supported these stiffened sentences, which better reflect the nature and gravity of these crimes.

I am grateful to the Commission for its determination to better hold accountable those who abuse their authority.

But prosecutions only play one part in rooting out and preventing abuse.

As the Director highlighted in her recent letter to all Bureau employees, you play a crucial role before we get to the stage of criminal punishment—you set the tone from the top. You protect the people within your custody, and you create the environment where misconduct is called out and shut down before sexual abuse occurs.

And you also play a critical role after a criminal conviction in supporting the victims of this egregious misconduct.

So, to this end, let me stress a few key points —

• You are the most important messengers when it comes to setting expectations for your staff. We ask that you stress the importance of reporting all forms of misconduct, respecting the rights of those within your custody, and explaining how staff and those in custody alike can make protected reports about sexual abuse.
• You should also connect with the U.S. Attorney in your district to ensure coordination and collaboration on sexual abuse cases. Opening and maintaining that line of communication is something that you can and should be doing. U.S. Attorneys will welcome your collaboration on these efforts.
• I also urge you to ensure that victims have the services they need. Often, that will mean helping them access legal services and mental health services, including from community providers.
• In other cases, the Department recognizes that sentencing reductions may be warranted. The Department has sought—and will continue to seek—reductions for victims of sexual abuse who cooperate in investigations and prosecutions.
• The Department also believes that compassionate release is appropriate in certain circumstances for victims of adjudicated sexual abuse.
• Often, you are the initial gatekeepers for these compassionate release motions, and I urge you to work with the Office of the General Counsel to carefully evaluate these petitions on a case-by-case basis.
• And finally, you can and should promote training and other educational opportunities for instruction on preventing and rooting out sexual abuse.

It is only by empowering Bureau officials, at every level, to report abuse —

By setting a tone of respect and humanity from the top —

By fostering an culture that does not tolerate even one instance of sexual abuse —

Only then can we make true progress in addressing this problem.

Let me be clear: this is a top priority at the highest levels of the Department of Justice, and it must be a top priority for each of you.

I’ve had the chance to meet a number of you and your staffs on my visits around the country.

I’ve heard about the challenges you face, but I’ve also learned about the amazing work being done in your facilities.

Yes, the work is difficult, and the days are long. But the work that you and the 35,000 employees of the Bureau do changes lives. 

From ensuring safe and humane housing for those in your care and custody to helping those who leave your custody become good neighbors, your work makes a difference in keeping the country safe.

That is our sacred responsibility, and the work you do every day helps us meet the moment.

I’ll close by asking that when you return home and to your respective facilities, I hope you’ll take to heart two things:

First, the Department’s leadership understands your challenges, and we have your backs. We’re here to support you.

And second, working together, we have a great opportunity to make the Bureau a better place to work and improve the safety of our communities. 

Thank you for your leadership and dedication in service to that mission.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Deputy Attorney General (Deputy AG) Lisa O. Monaco traveled to San Francisco, California, and Aurora, Colorado this week to highlight the Justice Department’s forward-leaning approach to disrupting cyber threats and the weaponization of technology, and its efforts to root out sexual abuse at the Bureau of Prisons.

Deputy AG Monaco delivered an opening keynote at RSA Conference 2023, where she discussed the Justice Department’s pivot in its cyber strategy to prioritize near-term disruptions and victim protection. In a conversation moderated by Chris Krebs, the first director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Deputy AG emphasized that victim reporting has been integral to the success of disruptive law enforcement actions and stressed that true partnership involves the government and private industry working hand in hand, explaining: “We cannot get after these threats if we’re not working together.”

At the RSA Conference, Deputy AG Monaco also emphasized the Justice Department’s heightened focus on the emerging threat posed by adversaries abusing critical technology and data. Earlier in the day, she led a roundtable discussion, hosted by the Silverado Policy Accelerator, with legal,  technology, and venture capital executives to discuss the Department’s partnership with private industry in these efforts, including through the newly created Disruptive Technology Strike Force, a multi-agency effort targeting illicit proliferation of critical technologies and hardening supply chains.

While in San Francisco, the Deputy AG also spoke at a gathering of cybersecurity officials from law enforcement agencies and governments around the world about the importance of strong cross-border collaboration to tackle the cyber threats of today and prepare for those of tomorrow.

In Colorado, Deputy AG Monaco addressed all wardens of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) during their first in-person training since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. She commended the wardens for their dedication to BOP’s dual responsibility to provide safe and humane custodial conditions, and to ensure that those in custody return to their communities fully prepared to be good neighbors. The Deputy AG also echoed the importance of the BOP’s new mission statement announced today by Director Peters, which emphasizes safety, security, normalcy, and reentry.

Speaking during Sexual Assault Awareness month, the Deputy AG thanked the wardens for their commitment to the Department’s ongoing efforts to address sexual misconduct within the BOP. She stressed: “It is only by empowering Bureau officials, at every level, to report abuse; by setting a tone of respect and humanity from the top; by fostering a culture that does not tolerate even one instance of sexual abuse—only then can we make true progress in addressing this problem. Let me be clear: this is a top priority at the highest levels of the Department of Justice, and it must be a top priority for each of you.”

The Deputy AG also announced the creation of the Sexual Abuse Facility Evaluation & Review (SAFER) teams, which will visit women’s facilities in each of the BOP’s six regions to measure progress in implementing the more than 50 recommendations issued last November by a working group of senior Department officials reviewing the issue of sexual abuse at BOP facilities. The SAFER teams, comprised of members of the Department’s standing Advisory Group dedicated to the issue, will deploy over the coming weeks and engage directly with both BOP personnel and incarcerated individuals to ensure a safe environment for all.