Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Justice Department announced today that Five Point Enterprises LLC (5PE) has agreed to pay the United States $2,049,159 to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for educational assistance benefits under the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (Post-9/11 GI Bill). Until 2021, 5PE was a for-profit company based in Austin, Texas, that operated vocational schools across the country offering non-college degree programs to students, including veteran students, under a franchise agreement with New Horizons Inc.

“The Post-9/11 GI Bill educational assistance benefits are part of our promise to the brave women and men who have served our country,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement demonstrates our commitment to safeguarding the integrity of this important program.”

“My office is committed to protecting the integrity of our federal programs and the education benefits military veterans and their families have earned by serving this country,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “We and our partners stand ready to hold accountable those who take advantage of them through fraudulent practices.”

The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides educational assistance benefits for eligible veterans and members of the armed services who enroll in qualified education or training programs. The VA restricts the number of veterans that schools may enroll in their courses, requiring that no more than 85% of students enrolled in a course have all or part of their tuition, fees, or other charges paid for them by the school or the VA. This is known as the “85/15 Rule.” The 85/15 rule ensures that educational institutions offer quality programs with a substantial number of non-supported students enrolled, which weeds out any institutions that survive only by the influx of federal benefits. For veteran students properly enrolled in a course, the VA pays the actual net cost for tuition and fees charged by the school after it has applied any scholarships, waivers, grants or other assistance designed to defray the cost of tuition and fees, which is known as the “Last Payer Rule.” The government contends that, between 2015 and 2020, 5PE knowingly enrolled Post-9/11 GI Bill funded veterans in courses at 20 New Horizons franchises across the country where 85% or more of the students were already veterans or supported students, in violation of the 85/15 Rule, and failed to report to the VA the tuition reductions it provided to veterans, in violation of the Last Payer Rule. As a result, the government contends that 5PE submitted false claims for educational assistance benefits to the VA and false certifications of compliance with the Post-9/11 GI Bill’s requirements material to those false claims.

“This settlement demonstrates that violations of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits regulations will not be tolerated,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Molly King of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA OIG) Northwest Field Office. “The VA OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of VA’s education benefits program.”

The Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas handled the matter. VA OIG provided substantial assistance in the investigation.

Senior Trial Counsel Christopher Wilson of the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Parnham Jr. for the Western District of Texas handled the matter.

The claims asserted against defendants are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A former Syrian government official was indicted today in Los Angeles on criminal charges for lying to U.S. immigration authorities about his time running a Syrian prison where prisoners, including political dissidents, were physically mistreated.

According to court documents, Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 72, of Lexington, South Carolina, was a Syrian government official who held a variety of positions in the Syrian police and the Syrian state security apparatus, and was associated with the Syrian Ba’ath Party, the totalitarian party that ruled Syria. He allegedly served as the head of Damascus Central Prison (colloquially known as “Adra Prison”) from approximately 2005 to 2010. As described in the indictment, political dissidents and other prisoners were severely physically abused at Adra Prison during Alsheikh’s tenure there. The indictment further alleges that Alsheikh was subsequently appointed governor of the province of Deir Ez-Zour by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Alsheikh allegedly concealed his employment at the prison, persecution of any person because of political opinion, and involvement in harming others when he applied for U.S. citizenship in 2023. He allegedly made similar false statements when applying for a visa that enabled him to enter the United States in 2020, become a lawful permanent resident, and obtain a green card.

Alsheikh is charged with one count of obtaining, using, and possessing a green card that was procured through false statements and one count of attempted naturalization fraud. If convicted, Alsheikh faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count.

HSI and the FBI are investigating the case, with support from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the HSI-led Human Rights Violators and War Criminals Center (HRVWCC).

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California; Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang of HSI Los Angeles; and Executive Assistant Director Michael A. Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch made the announcement.

Trial Attorneys Patrick Jasperse and Alexandra Skinnion of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua O. Mausner for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.

Members of the public who have information about human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact U.S. law enforcement through the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI or the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE, or complete the FBI online tip form or the ICE online tip form.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A former North Dakota State Senator pleaded guilty today to traveling to Prague, Czech Republic, to have commercial sex with minor boys. 

According to court documents and facts established in public proceedings, Ray Holmberg, 80, of Grand Forks, took approximately 14 trips to Prague between 2011 and 2021 to engage in commercial sex acts with minor boys. During some of these trips, Holmberg used the alias “Sean Evans” while staying at a brothel where young boys provided commercial sexual services. Holmberg also went to a public park in front of the main train station in Prague to procure sex from minor boys.   

Holmberg also used the “Sean Evans” alias to communicate with friends about the trips. In those communications, Holmberg discussed “his twink,” and commented that “no one is ever too young . . . remember Prague.”  He emailed another friend a link to a known brothel in Prague named the “Villa Mansland,” and wrote “[l]et’s go, this summer . . . The boys rent at around $60 (sex is extra).” Later in the communications, Holmberg wrote “it will be decadent but oh so much fun bro. What happens in Prague—Stays in Prague.” In other emails, he requested at least one of the employees at the brothel to find him a “kid.” 

Holmberg pleaded guilty to one count of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Puhl for the District of North Dakota; and Special Agent in Charge Jamie Holt of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) St. Paul made the announcement.

HSI and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Charles Schmitz of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Puhl for the District of North Dakota are prosecuting 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 Justice Department. 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.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Two former corrections officers from the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, pleaded guilty today for their respective roles in an assault that resulted in the death of an inmate, identified by the initials Q.B., on March 1, 2022. Ashley Toney and Jacob Boothe each pleaded guilty to violating inmate Q.B.’s civil rights by failing to intervene to protect Q.B. from being physically assaulted by other correctional officers.

According to their plea agreements, Toney and Boothe each acknowledged that they separately responded to a call for officer assistance after Q.B. tried to push past another correctional officer and leave his assigned pod. After Toney and Boothe arrived, officers restrained and handcuffed Q.B. Toney, Boothe and other officers then escorted Q.B. to an interview room, where Toney and Boothe watched as other officers struck and injured Q.B. while he was restrained, handcuffed and posed no threat to anyone. Toney and Boothe each admitted that officers struck and injured Q.B. in the interview room in order to punish him for attempting to leave his assigned pod. Toney and Boothe each further admitted that they each knew that officers could not use unreasonable force to punish inmates, including pretrial detainees, and that officers had a duty to intervene to stop other officers from using such unreasonable force.  

In her plea agreement, Toney further admitted knowing that the interview room to which officers brought Q.B. was a “blind spot” at the jail — meaning, there were no surveillance cameras to record what happened inside the room. Toney was aware that officers would bring inmates, including pretrial detainees, who had engaged in misconduct to “blind spots” in the jail, where the officers could use unreasonable force without video evidence that would result in accountability for the misconduct.

In addition, in plea documents, Toney admitted that to help officers escape liability, she knowingly provided false information during the ensuing investigation of Q.B.’s death. Toney also intentionally failed to report officers’ unreasonable use of force against Q.B. to state investigators inquiring into Q.B.’s injuries and death, and she conspired with officers to instruct fellow officers to give false information to investigators.

Toney and Boothe were among six former correctional officers indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2023. Trial for the remaining four defendants is scheduled for Oct. 8.

Two other defendants had separately pleaded guilty in connection with Q.B.’s death. On Nov. 2, 2023, former Southern Regional Jail officers Steven Nicholas Wimmer and Andrew Fleshman each pleaded guilty to conspiring with other officers to use unreasonable force against Q.B.

Toney and Boothe each pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Joseph R. Goodwin. Sentencing hearings are scheduled for Nov. 4. According to their respective plea agreements, Toney and Boothe each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney William S. Thompson for the Southern District of West Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Kevin P. Rojek of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office is investigating the case.

Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Tenette Smith of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Deputy Criminal Chief Monica Coleman for the Southern District of West Virginia are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

West Coast Dental Administrative Services LLC (formerly West Coast Dental Services Inc.), which operates a network of dental offices in Southern California, and its founders and former owners, Drs. Soleyman Cohen-Sedgh, Farid Pakravan and Farhad Manavi, have paid $6.3 million to resolve allegations that they knowingly violated the False Claims Act in connection with seven improper loans that West Coast Dental Services Inc. (West Coast Dental) and affiliated dental offices received under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Additionally, City Real Estate Holdings Inc., a real estate investment company owned by Dr. Manavi, has paid an additional $35,149.82 to resolve its potential liability under the False Claims Act in connection with a separate PPP loan.

The PPP, an emergency loan program established by Congress in March 2020 under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and administered by the Small Business Administration, was intended to support small businesses struggling to pay employees and other business expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether an applicant qualified for a PPP loan as a small business depended on various factors, including the type of business operated by the borrower and the number of employees of both the borrower and its corporate affiliates.  In 2021, Congress offered a second round of forgivable loans through the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act.  Under PPP rules, second draw loans were strictly limited to businesses with 300 employees or less. When applying for PPP loans and loan forgiveness, borrowers were required to certify the truthfulness and accuracy of all information provided in their loan applications.

The United States alleged that West Coast Dental and six of its affiliated dental practices received seven improper second draw PPP loans and subsequent forgiveness of these loans based on false certifications that the companies qualified for the loans even though they were ineligible because the dental practices collectively employed more than 300 individuals. The United States further alleged that West Coast Dental and its affiliates failed to disclose common ownership of the affiliated dental offices in their separate PPP applications. The United States also alleged that City Real Estate Holdings Inc., which received a PPP loan, was ineligible to receive the loan under PPP rules, because it is a passive business operated for investment purposes.  City Real Estate Holdings Inc. sought and received forgiveness of its total loan amount.

“PPP loans were intended to support small businesses facing difficult economic times due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will continue to hold borrowers who improperly received and sought forgiveness of PPP loans accountable for their actions.”

“Companies such as these that depleted crucial pandemic-assistance funding will be held accountable under the False Claims Act,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “This resolution evidences our office’s earnest commitment to ensure that companies act with the utmost integrity and compunction.”

“This settlement sends a signal to wrongdoers that evidence of improper conduct will be brought to light,” said Special Agent in Charge Weston King for Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG)’s Western Region. “Our office will remain relentless in the pursuit of those who seek to exploit SBA’s vital pandemic response programs. I want to thank the U.S. Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners for their exceptional efforts and collaboration in pursuit of justice.”

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Relator LLC, a limited liability corporation formed by California attorneys Anoush Hakimi and Peter Shahriari. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery.  The qui tam case is captioned U.S. ex rel. Relator LLC v. West Coast Dental Services Inc., et al., CV 22-3812-MCS (MARx) (C.D. Cal.). Relator LLC will receive approximately $507,000 as its share of the total settlement.   

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, with assistance from the Small Business Administration’s Office of General Counsel and Office of the Inspector General.

Trial Attorney Allie Pang of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack D. Ross for the Central District of California handled the matter, with the assistance of Paralegal Heather Beckler, Investigator Maria Marsh, and Auditor John Powers for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Special Agent Samuel Huynh of SBA-OIG also provided investigative assistance. 

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Justice Department in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international actors committing civil and criminal fraud and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud affecting COVID-19 government relief programs can be reported by visiting the webpage of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section, which can be found here. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can also report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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