Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

OKLAHOMA CITY – Yesterday, a criminal complaint was unsealed that charges OSCAR REYNALDO GOMEZ, 54, of Oklahoma City, with arson of the God of No Limits Church located at 7200 South Walker Avenue, in Oklahoma City, announced United States Attorney Robert J. Troester.

Public records reflect that on April 23, 2023, Gomez was charged by criminal complaint with one count of arson.  An affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint alleges that the Oklahoma City Fire Department was dispatched to the God of No Limits (GONL) Church in the early morning hours of April 17, 2023.  Fire crews arrived and observed fire emanating from the GONL, which caused significant damage to its roof.

According to the affidavit, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) identified Gomez as the person responsible for setting the fire and thereafter arrested him.

Yesterday, Gomez had his initial appearance on the complaint in federal court.  The court ordered Gomez detained pending further proceedings in the case.  If found guilty of arson, Gomez faces not less than five years and up to twenty years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.

This case is the result of an investigation by the National Response Team for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Oklahoma City Fire Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Stanley J. West is prosecuting the case.

The public is reminded that these charges are merely allegations, and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  

Reference is made to public records for more information.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Thank you, Dianna, for that introduction. And thank you to our EPA partners for hosting us and to the Justice Department and EPA teams that organized this event. I want to acknowledge the leadership of our Environment and Natural Resources Division, including Todd Kim, Kate Konschnik and Seth Barsky, who are all here with us today, for everything that ENRD does to advance these important issues. And I want to thank all of you for taking the time to join this event.

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is an opportunity for all of us in the justice system to reflect on the importance of making the system work for survivors of crime. And today’s event gives us an opportunity to take stock of our progress and discuss how we can continue to improve. The theme of this year’s Crime Victims Week is “Survivor Voices: Elevate. Engage. Effect Change.” And I’m thankful that we have with us today survivors of environmental crimes, who are willing to elevate their voices.

I had the privilege of meeting with Joe, Tom and Anthony, along with some of their loved ones, just before this event, and I am inspired by their courage, perseverance, and dedication to raising awareness of environmental crimes. Anthony, Joe and Tom, we are all so grateful that you will be telling your stories shortly.

Without getting ahead of that panel, I want to reflect on just one common theme of their stories. Each of the environmental laws that should have protected these individuals are sometimes belittled as creating needless red tape that raises the cost of doing business. Yet if those laws had been followed in Joe’s case, two men would not have died, and Joe would not have been injured, cleaning a railway car. If they had been followed in Tom’s case, a dozen Americans would not have faced exposure to asbestos, with all the fear that brings. And if they had been followed in Anthony’s case, more than one hundred people would not have been forced from their homes and had their property destroyed during an asbestos clean-up.

These are powerful examples of the work that the environmental laws do to keep Americans safe. When those or any other laws are violated, treating victims with dignity and respect is critical to the Justice Department’s mission and its ability to pursue and achieve justice. That is why the Attorney General issued updated Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance committing the Department to taking a victim-centered, trauma-informed and culturally sensitive approach to advancing criminal justice.

That approach applies with full force to environmental crimes. As everyone in this room knows, environmental crimes harm more than the planet — they harm communities, families and individuals. A worker who is not given the protective gear she needs, a family whose home is exposed to illegal pesticides, a community that lives near a factory spewing unlawful emissions — all of these people may face serious physical, emotional and financial injuries.

Yet for too long, victims of environmental crimes did not receive the resources they need to recover from their harms. For example, victims of environmental crimes may not be eligible for victim compensation programs reserved only for victims of violent crime — notwithstanding that environmental crime victims may have suffered serious harm and losses. That lack of support is unacceptable.

At the beginning of this Administration, EPA and the Department of Justice redoubled our joint efforts to elevate survivors’ voices, engage and effect change by launching the nation’s first-of-its-kind Environmental Crime Victim Assistance Program.  The program was built based on the experiences of survivors, from victims’ rights professionals and from those working on environmental crimes investigations and prosecutions.

As part of that program, EPA and Department of Justice staff have partnered with victims’ advocates to raise awareness of environmental crimes. They have engaged communities with environmental justice concerns to ensure those communities’ perspectives are heard. And they have ensured that there are personnel at both agencies who focus on victims’ rights. Thanks to funds provided by DOJ’s Office for Victims of Crime, the Program now has a full-time Victim Witness Coordinator, has established a process for victim identification and notification and is training investigative and prosecutorial staff.

Another major priority for today’s event is deepening partnerships with states and localities. Federal prosecution of environmental crime is only part of the solution. So we need to work with governments at all levels, as well as with non-profits engaged on these issues, to develop strategies that support survivors. We need to identify ways to assist environmental crime victims, provide them needed services and ensure they receive restitution, regardless of what jurisdiction is prosecuting the crime.

We also need to go about that work with full awareness that environmental crimes are especially likely to happen in communities that are underserved and where community members may have limited English proficiency. We know that environmental crimes often raise environmental justice issues as well as criminal justice issues. That’s why both the Justice Department and EPA coordinate with our Offices of Environmental Justice to ensure that investigations, prosecutions and victim outreach incorporate environmental justice principles.

Every American deserves clean water to drink, clean air to breathe and healthy, thriving communities where they can live, work and raise their families. And when companies or individuals break our environmental laws, the survivors of those crimes need our support. Today’s conversation will advance that fundamental commitment. I look forward to continuing to work with you to make this program a success. Thank you.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – British American Tobacco (BAT) and its subsidiary, BAT Marketing Singapore (BATMS), one of the world’s largest manufacturer of tobacco products, has agreed to pay penalties totaling more than $629 million to resolve bank fraud and sanctions violations charges with U.S. authorities, arising out of the companies’ scheme to do business in North Korea through a third-party company in Singapore, in violation of the bank fraud statute and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). In addition, charges were unsealed in the District of Columbia against a North Korean banker and Chinese facilitators for their roles in facilitating the illicit sale of tobacco products in North Korea.

            According to court documents, BATMS pleaded guilty to, and BAT entered into a deferred prosecution agreement in connection with, a criminal information charging BAT and BATMS with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to violate IEEPA. Specifically, in 2007, BAT spun off its North Korea sales to a third-party company, issuing a press statement that it was no longer involved in North Korea tobacco sales. In reality, BAT continued to do business in North Korea through the third-party company and maintained control over all relevant aspects of the North Korean business. BAT ran the payments for the tobacco sold to North Korean entities through the third-party company, resulting in approximately $415 million of U.S. dollar banking transactions from North Korea to the third-party company in Singapore – money that was then passed on to BATMS and BAT. To make these payments, North Korean purchasers used front companies so that U.S. banks, which processed the transactions, would not know about the connection to North Korea.

            “The United States is steadfast in its commitment to enforcing sanctions and withholding revenue for dictator Kim Jong-un,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves.  “The charges unsealed today illustrate that the Department of Justice will hold North Korean facilitators accountable for their illegal efforts to prop up the North Korean regime, and assist it in obtaining funds to develop nuclear weapons.”

            “British American Tobacco and its subsidiary engaged in an elaborate scheme to circumvent U.S. sanctions and sell tobacco products to North Korea in violation of U.S. law,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “With today’s action, which involves the largest settlement payment in the Department’s history, these entities have been held to account.”

            “The FBI remains steadfast in its commitment to investigate North Korea’s evasion of sanctions placed on its government,” said Assistant Director Suzanne Turner of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “This illegal conduct and the levied penalties show how serious of an offense it is to assist the North Korean regime to the detriment of the international community. To those contemplating similar actions, be forewarned: the full force of the FBI and its federal law enforcement partners will find you.”      

            Separately, on April 25, 2023, a federal judge in the District of Columbia unsealed charges against a North Korean banker, Sim Hyon-Sop, 50, and Chinese facilitators Qin Guoming, 60, and Han Linlin, 41, both of Liaoning Province, in connection with a multi-year scheme to facilitate the sale of tobacco to North Korea.

            Between 2009 and 2019, the defendants engaged in a scheme to purchase leaf tobacco for North Korean-owned entities, and used front companies and false documentation to cause U.S. financial institutions to process at least 310 transactions worth approximately $74 million that they otherwise would have frozen, blocked, investigated, or declined, had they known that the transactions connected to trade with North Korea. The transactions resulted in an estimated nearly $700 million in revenue for North Korean entities, and ultimately, for the government of North Korea.

            In conjunction with today’s announcement, the U.S. Department of State is announcing a reward of $5 million for defendant Sim, and a reward of $500,000 for defendants Qin and Han, for information leading to the capture of these three charged defendants.

            Additionally, today, the Department of the Treasury also announced a civil enforcement action against BAT and BATMS.

            This case is part of a larger Department of Justice response to the ongoing efforts of North Korea to evade sanctions and use the U.S. financial system to engage in illicit trafficking. As alleged in the indictment, trafficking in tobacco products generates revenue for advancing North Korea’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) programs. North Korea has been developing nuclear weapons since at least 2006 and financed these activities through illicit trade, including trafficking of tobacco and counterfeit cigarettes, which North Korea has engaged in since at least 1992. North Korea counterfeit cigarette production capacity is estimated to exceed two billion packs a year. Counterfeit cigarettes are a major source of income to the North Korean regime and may be the single most lucrative item in the North Korean portfolio, as smuggled tobacco is estimated to garner revenue as much as $20 on every $1 spent in cost. North Korean tobacco sales are alleged to flow back to the North Korean government, including to slush funds designed to sustain the loyalty of a core of party elite and to underwrite weapons development programs.

            If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years’ imprisonment for the lead charge, bank fraud. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            The cases are being investigated by the FBI Phoenix Field Office.  HSI Colorado partnered in the investigation on the individuals, with valuable assistance provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

            Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen P. Seifert, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Wasserman, Paralegal Specialists Brian Rickers, and Paralegal Specialist Jorge Casillas for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case. Trial Attorneys Beau Barnes and Emma Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section partnered on these matters. Trial Attorney David Recker, former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zia Faruqui and Michael Grady.

            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

An indictment was unsealed today in Miami charging two U.S. citizens and a South African national with conspiring to manipulate the market for HYDRO, a virtual asset created by the Hydrogen Technology Corporation. Two other individuals were also charged in separate charging documents for their roles in the scheme filed in the Southern District of Florida.   

According to court documents, from around June 2018 through April 2019, Michael Kane, 38, of Miami; Shane Hampton, 31, of Philadelphia; and George Wolvaardt, 38, of Johannesburg, South Africa, allegedly conspired to manipulate the market for HYDRO, a token on the Ethereum blockchain platform, and defraud market participants by creating the false appearance of supply and demand for HYDRO to induce other market participants to trade at prices, quantities, and times that they otherwise would not have traded. The defendants allegedly used a trading bot to place thousands of orders that they did not intend to execute, or “spoof orders,” and thousands of orders where the bot bought and sold tokens to itself through the same account, or “wash trades.” The co-conspirators allegedly reaped $2 million in profit through their sales of HYDRO at artificially inflated prices.  

As alleged in the indictment, Kane was the co-founder and CEO of Hydrogen Technology and Hampton was the Chief of Financial Engineering for the company. Wolvaardt was the Chief Technology Officer for Moonwalkers Trading Limited, a self-described “market-making” firm that purportedly designed the trading bot and was hired by Kane and Hampton to manipulate the market for HYDRO.

Relatedly, Tyler Ostern, 29, of Coos Bay, Oregon, the former CEO of Moonwalkers, and Andrew Chorlian, 29, of New York, New York, a blockchain engineer at Hydrogen Technology, were also charged for their participation in the scheme.

Kane, Hampton, and Wolvaardt are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities price manipulation, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and two counts of wire fraud. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy to commit securities price manipulation count and 20 years in prison on each of the other charged counts. Ostern and Chorlian are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities price manipulation and wire fraud. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Andrew Jaco and Assistant Chief Scott Armstrong of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Morales for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

If you believe you are a victim in this case, please contact the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness Unit toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or by email at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov. To learn more about victims’ rights, please visit www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/victim-rights-derechos-de-las-v-ctimas.

An indictment and information are merely allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A publicly traded Brazilian reinsurance company, IRB Brasil Resseguros SA, aka IRB Brasil RE (IRB), has entered into a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with the Justice Department and agreed to pay $5 million in victim compensation to resolve the government’s investigation into a securities fraud scheme to fraudulently prop up IRB’s stock price by spreading false information that U.S. investment firm Berkshire Hathaway Inc. had invested in the company. IRB trades on Brazil’s B3 exchange and has shareholders around the world, including in the United States.

As it admitted in the NPA, IRB, through its former CFO, Fernando Passos, executed the fraud scheme beginning in February 2020 after an investment company published a report questioning the accuracy of IRB’s financial statements and announcing that the investment company had taken a short position against IRB’s stock. IRB’s stock price dropped in the wake of the report. In response, Passos developed and executed a scheme to mislead shareholders and the investing public by disseminating and causing to be disseminated materially false information that Berkshire Hathaway had invested in IRB, despite knowing that Berkshire Hathaway had not made any such investment. Passos circulated, and caused subordinate IRB investor relations employees to circulate, false materials to members of the press, analysts, and members of IRB’s board of directors to spread the false information regarding Berkshire Hathaway’s purported investment.  

News outlets in both Brazil and the United States began incorrectly reporting that Berkshire Hathaway had invested in IRB. Following the news coverage, on the evening of March 3, 2020, Berkshire Hathaway issued a press release stating that it was not currently, had never been, and had no intention of becoming a shareholder in IRB. On March 4, 2020, after Berkshire Hathaway’s press release, IRB’s stock price dropped precipitously, causing significant shareholder losses.  

As part of the NPA, IRB admitted that the facts described in the NPA constitute securities fraud. Under the terms of the NPA, IRB has agreed to continue cooperating with the Justice Department in other related investigations, to continue to implement a compliance and ethics program as set forth in the NPA, and to report to the department regarding the company’s remediation and implementation of the compliance measures as described in the NPA. Further, IRB has agreed to pay victim compensation of $5 million to shareholders who sold IRB stock on March 4, 2020. 

The department reached this resolution with IRB based on a number of factors, including, among others, the nature and seriousness of the offense conduct involving IRB’s former CFO, as well IRB’s cooperation and implementation of remedial measures. In addition, IRB and the department agreed that the total amount of losses to all shareholders who sold IRB stock on March 4, 2020, was significantly more than $5 million. However, despite agreeing that a larger amount otherwise would be appropriate based on the law and the facts, IRB made representations to the department that the company had an inability to pay a criminal monetary penalty and to cover the full loss to shareholders. Based on those representations, the department, with the assistance of a forensic accounting expert, conducted an independent inability-to-pay analysis, which determined that the payment of more than $5 million was reasonably likely to threaten the continued viability of IRB, which in turn may expose the company’s shareholders to a further risk of loss.

Passos has been indicted and is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Criminal Investigations Group made the announcement.

The USPIS is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Kate McCarthy of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is handling the case. 

If you believe you are a victim in this case, please contact the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness Unit toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or by email at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov. To learn more about victims’ rights, please visit: www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/victim-rights-derechos-de-las-v-ctimas. Victims can find case updates and additional information at www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/united-states-v-fernando-passos.