Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice

A federal grand jury has charged Manuel Erazo Alvarado, also known as Castigo, 46, and Erick Guillen Pleitez, also known as Kilo, both of Annapolis, Maryland, with murder in aid of racketeering. The indictment was returned on Feb. 13, 2025. Erazo Alvarado made his initial appearance yesterday in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore, and Guillen Pleitez made his initial appearance on March 6, 2025, in the same courthouse.

According to court documents, La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, is an international criminal organization composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, with members operating in the State of Maryland and throughout the United States. It is alleged that in 2017, the defendants were members or associates of MS-13 in Maryland. During that time, the defendants engaged in narcotics distribution, collected extortion payments, or “rent,” and engaged in acts of violence. On or about Aug. 29, 2017, the defendants participated in the murder of an individual to maintain and increase their positions in the gang. If convicted, the defendants face either a mandatory life sentence or death.

Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Chief Amal E. Awad of the Anne Arundel County Police Department; Chief Edward Jackson of the Annapolis Police Department; and Colonel Roland L. Butler Jr. Superintendent of the Maryland State Police made the announcement.

The FBI, HSI, Anne Arundel County Police Department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth S. Clark and James Hammond for the District of Maryland and Trial Attorneys Matthew Hoff and Amanda Kotula of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

Anyone with information about MS-13 is encouraged to provide their tips to law enforcement. The FBI and HSI both have nationwide tiplines that you can call to report what you know. You can reach the FBI at 1-866-STP-MS13 (1-866-787-6713), or call HSI at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE.

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

Four defendants, two companies and its owners, have pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, for their roles in a bid rigging scheme involving budget and procurement consulting services for New York City (NYC) Public Schools.

On March 19 and 20, Transcend BS LLC (Transcend), a procurement and training consultant company, and its owner, Victor A. Garrido of Peekskill, New York; and Clark & Garner LLC (C&G), an educational programming consultant for schools and non-profit organizations, and its owner, Donald Clark Garner II, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty to a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act.

“Defendants targeted the nation’s largest school system with their scheme, undermining the rights of New York City taxpayers to benefit from fair and honest competition,” said Director of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force Daniel Glad of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division and its PCSF partners remain steadfast in our commitment to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in procurement processes at any level of government, as we have since 2019.”

According to court documents, from approximately November 2020 through at least January 2023, Garrido and his co-conspirators, including Garner and C&G, created and submitted artificially high “competitor” bids to make it appear as if Transcend was the lowest bidder for consulting services contracts to circumvent NYC Department of Education’s (DOE) requirement for a competitive bidding process. C&G never provided any of the same services that Transcend provided. Rather, the co-conspirators rigged the bidding process for Transcend to continue to obtain lucrative work orders from New York City public schools without competing fairly. This scheme affected more than $707,000 in work orders to NYC Public Schools and resulted in estimated losses to the NYC DOE of $141,511.

Prior to forming Transcend and C&G, Garrido and Garner were employed by NYC Public Schools. Garrido was a business manager, providing substantially similar consulting services to various schools, and Garner was a former teacher recruitment manager

In addition, both Garrido and Garner agreed to pay restitution to New York State Department of Labor for unemployment benefits they improperly received.

“Victor Garrido and Donald Clark Garner admitted their guilt in scheming to use their companies to artificially control the bidding process for a New York City Department of Education contract,” said Acting Assistant Director in Charge Leslie Backshies of the FBI New York Field Office. “Garrido and Garner will now rightly face justice for attempting to personally benefit at the expense of the New York City taxpayers. The FBI will continue to enforce antitrust laws to ensure a fair and competitive bidding process for government contracts.”

“SCI is grateful for the opportunity to work alongside our partners at the DOJ Anti-trust Division, the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Labor, and the FBI in bringing this important case to justice,” said Special Commissioner of Investigation Anatasia Coleman of the Office of the Special Commissioner of Investigation for the NYC School District. “SCI is also pleased to recover tax dollars for New York City taxpayers. Bid-rigging is a serious crime that deprives the school district of vital funds and deprives students of a stable learning environment — and it is a crime that SCI will continue to tirelessly root out.”

“These guilty pleas underscore the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General’s unwavering commitment to safeguard the American workplace from corruption and illegal influence,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Jonathan Mellone of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General Northeast Region. “We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to pursue those who engage in the exploitation of governmental programs within our jurisdiction.”

The maximum penalty for bid rigging for individuals is 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. The maximum penalty for corporations is a $100 million criminal fine. The fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Antitrust Division’s New York Office is prosecuting the case, which was investigated with the assistance of the FBI New York Field Office, the SCI for the New York City School District, and the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

Anyone with information about this investigation or other procurement fraud schemes should notify the PCSF at www.justice.gov/atr/webform/pcsf-citizen-complaint. The Justice Department created the PCSF in November 2019. It is a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government – federal, state, and local. For more information, visit www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

An India-based chemical manufacturing company and three high-level employees were charged in federal court in Washington, D.C., today related to illegally importing precursor chemicals used to make illicit fentanyl.

According to the indictment, Vasudha Pharma Chem Limited (VPC), VPC Chief Global Business Officer Tanweer Ahmed Mohamed Hussain Parkar, 63, of India and the United Kingdom; VPC Marketing Director Venkata Naga Madhusudhan Raju Manthena,  48, of India; and VPC Marketing Representative Krishna Vericharla, 40, of India, were charged with multiple counts of manufacturing and distributing a List I fentanyl precursor chemical for unlawful importation into the United States, and attempting and conspiring to do the same.

It is alleged VPC advertised fentanyl precursor chemicals for sale worldwide on its website, in marketing materials, and at international trade shows. From March through November 2024, the defendants conspired to distribute a fentanyl precursor chemical knowing it would be unlawfully imported into the United States and used to make fentanyl that would be unlawfully imported into the United States, according to the indictment. On two occasions, in March 2024 and August 2024, the defendants sold an undercover agent 25 kilograms of the fentanyl precursor chemical 1-(tert-Butoxycarbonyl)-4-piperidone, also called N-BOC-4-piperidone, (N-BOC-4P), a List I chemical.

It is further alleged that between August and September 2024, defendants and the undercover agent negotiated a four-metric-ton (4,000 kilogram) purchase of N-BOC-4P – two metric tons of N-BOC-4P to be shipped to Sinaloa, Mexico, and another two metric tons of N-BOC-4P to be shipped to the United States – for a total price of approximately $380,000, knowing that the N-BOC-4P would be unlawfully imported into the United States and used to manufacture fentanyl that would be unlawfully imported into the United States.

The four-count indictment charges all defendants with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute a listed chemical for unlawful importation into the United States and for the manufacture and distribution of a controlled substance for unlawful importation into the United States; manufacture and distribution of a listed chemical for unlawful importation into the United States; and attempted manufacture and distribution of a listed chemical for unlawful importation into the United States and for the manufacture and distribution of a controlled substance for unlawful importation into the United States. Additionally, defendants VPC, Vericharla, and Manthena are charged with a second count of manufacture and distribution of a listed chemical for unlawful importation into the United States. If convicted, the individual defendants face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. VPC faces a fine of $500,000 on each count.

Federal agents arrested Parkar and Manthena in New York City this morning.

Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the DEA Miami Field Division made the announcement.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Division’s Counternarcotic Cyber Investigations Task Force, a DEA-led multi-agency task force with members from Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, and state and local agencies from south Florida, are investigating the case. The Special Operations Unit of the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section provided support.

Acting Deputy Chief Melanie Alsworth and Trial Attorneys Jayce Born and Lernik Begian of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice

Today, Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced charges against three individuals responsible for the violent destruction of Tesla properties. All three defendants will face the full force of the law for using Molotov cocktails to set fire to Tesla cars and charging stations.

“The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars.”

• One defendant, also armed with a suppressed AR-15 rifle, was arrested after throwing approximately eight Molotov cocktails at a Tesla dealership located in Salem, Oregon.
• Another was arrested in Loveland, Colorado after attempting to light Teslas on fire with Molotov cocktails. The defendant was later found in possession of materials used to produce additional incendiary weapons.
• In Charleston, South Carolina, a third defendant wrote profane messages against President Trump around Tesla charging stations before lighting the charging stations on fire with Molotov cocktails.
• Each defendant faces serious charges carrying a minimum penalty of five years and up to 20 years in prison.

The Department of Justice is committed to ending all acts of violence and arson directed at Tesla properties and otherwise.

Source: United States Department of Justice

Today, the Office of Information Policy (OIP) announces new dates for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) training for April through July.  As part of its responsibility to encourage agency compliance with the FOIA, OIP offers numerous training opportunities throughout the year for agency FOIA professionals and individuals with FOIA responsibilities. 

These courses are designed to offer training opportunities for personnel from all stages of the FOIA workforce, from new hires to the experienced FOIA professionals or FOIA managers.  OIP will continue to offer virtual training sessions that will be taught in real-time by OIP instructors.  As we move into the Spring of Fiscal Year 2025, we are pleased to announce these virtual training courses, which are also listed on OIP’s Training page.

The courses and dates scheduled for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2025 are:

Introduction to the Freedom of Information Act
April 8, 2025

Processing a Request from Start to Finish 
April 16, 2025

Procedural Requirements, and Fee and Fee Waivers Training
May 6, 2025

Litigation Training
May 14, 2025

Administrative Appeals, FOIA Compliance, and Customer Service Training
May 21, 2025

Exemption 1 and Exemption 7 Training
June 4, 2025

Exemption 4 and Exemption 5 Training
June 19, 2025

Privacy Considerations Training
July 10, 2025

Continuing FOIA Education Training
July 15, 2025

Training courses are open to all federal government employees.  Descriptions of each course and registration links are available on the Training page of OIP’s site.  OIP manages all training registration through WebEx.  Registration will open one month prior to the date of the training.  Once the registration period begins, you may register by providing your name and email address on WebEx for that course.  Each attendee must register separately using their own government email address.  Please note that these training sessions are open to government personnel and contractors only.  Once you are registered, you will be sent a confirmation email from WebEx.

OIP is also always available to provide individualized training sessions to any interested agency, which can be tailored to fit training needs.

For questions or more information regarding any of OIP’s training opportunities, please contact OIP’s Training Coordinator at DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov.