Source: United States Department of Justice

Under our Constitution, no government may distribute different burdens or benefits on the basis of race without facing strict judicial scrutiny. This is especially true in the criminal justice system. Any attempt to subject Americans to different punishments or penalties based on race violates the Constitution and a number of federal civil rights laws.

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced an investigation into the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, led by County Attorney Mary Moriarty, to determine whether the Office is depriving its residents of their federal rights to be free from race-based prosecutorial decision making. According to public reporting, the Hennepin County Attorney recently adopted a policy requiring her prosecutors to consider “racial identity” during prosecutorial decision making, including when negotiating plea agreements that influence the burdens that criminal defendants face, and the benefits that they receive, in criminal prosecutions. The investigation announced today will involve a comprehensive review of all relevant Hennepin County Attorney’s Offices policies and practices that may involve illegal consideration of race.

“As a longtime prosecutor, I firmly believe in the paramount importance of a colorblind criminal justice system,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This Department of Justice will avail itself of every tool at its disposal to protect all Americans from illegal DEI discrimination.”

“It is unconstitutional and morally abhorrent to make different prosecutorial decisions based on a person’s race,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will not tolerate any attempt to do so.”

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Justice Department today announced it has opened a civil rights investigation into the development and passage of Washington State Senate Bill 5375, signed into law on May 2, 2025, by Governor Bob Ferguson, which appears on its face to violate the First Amendment.

Washington State’s new law adds “members of the clergy” to a list of other professionals who are required to report information received in a confessional setting relating to child abuse or neglect to law enforcement or other state authorities, with no exception for the absolute seal of confidentiality that applies to Catholic Priests.

Furthermore, the State of Washington’s new law singles out “members of the clergy” as the only “supervisors” who may not rely on applicable legal privileges, including religious confessions, as a defense to mandatory reporting.

The Civil Rights Division will investigate the apparent conflict between Washington State’s new law with the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment, a cornerstone of the United States Constitution.

“SB 5375 demands that Catholic Priests violate their deeply held faith in order to obey the law, a violation of the Constitution and a breach of the free exercise of religion cannot stand under our Constitutional system of government,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Worse, the law appears to single out clergy as not entitled to assert applicable privileges, as compared to other reporting professionals. We take this matter very seriously and look forward to Washington State’s cooperation with our investigation.”

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Credit Suisse Services AG pleaded guilty and was sentenced today to conspiring to hide more than $4 billion from the IRS in at least 475 offshore accounts. The guilty plea by the Swiss corporation is the result of a years-long investigation by U.S. law enforcement to uncover financial fraud and abuse.

In addition to the plea, Credit Suisse Services AG entered into a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia in connection with U.S. Accounts booked at Credit Suisse AG Singapore. Under the NPA, Credit Suisse Services AG agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department in ongoing investigations and to pay significant monetary penalties for maintaining accounts in Singapore on behalf of U.S. taxpayers who were using offshore accounts to evade U.S. taxes and reporting requirements.

According to the Plea Agreement, NPA, and documents filed in court today: from Jan. 1, 2010, and continuing until about July 2021, Credit Suisse AG, which had ultra-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individual clients around the globe, conspired with employees, U.S. customers, and others to willfully aid U.S. customers in concealing their ownership and control of assets and funds held at the bank. This enabled those U.S. customers to evade their U.S. tax obligations in several ways, including by opening and maintaining undeclared offshore accounts for U.S. taxpayers at Credit Suisse AG, and providing a variety of offshore private banking services that assisted U.S. taxpayers in the concealment of their assets and income from the IRS and allowed for their continued failure to file FBARs. Among other fraudulent acts, bankers at Credit Suisse falsified records, processed fictitious donation paperwork, and serviced more than $1 billion in accounts without documentation of tax compliance. In doing so, Credit Suisse AG committed new crimes and breached its May 2014 plea agreement with the United States.

Between 2014 and June 2023, Credit Suisse AG Singapore held undeclared accounts for U.S. persons, which Credit Suisse AG Singapore knew or should have known were U.S., with total assets valued at over $2 billion. Credit Suisse AG Singapore failed to adequately identify the true beneficial owners of accounts and failed to conduct adequate inquiry about U.S. indicia in the accounts. In 2023, during the post-merger of UBS AG Singapore and Credit Suisse AG Singapore, UBS became aware of accounts held at Credit Suisse AG Singapore that appeared to be undeclared U.S. accounts. UBS froze some of the accounts, voluntarily disclosed information about those identified accounts to the Justice Department and cooperated by undertaking an investigation into the identified accounts.

Under today’s resolutions, Credit Suisse Services AG and, by extension, UBS AG, is required to cooperate fully with ongoing investigations and affirmatively disclose any information it may later uncover regarding U.S.-related accounts. The agreements provide no protections for any individuals. Pursuant to the guilty plea and the NPA, Credit Suisse Services AG will pay a total of $510,608,909 in penalties, restitution, forfeiture, and fines.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Chief Guy Ficco of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.

Special Agents from IRS-CI’s International Tax & Financial Crimes specialty group, a team based out of Washington, D.C. that is dedicated to uncovering international tax crimes, is investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided critical assistance in obtaining important evidence.

Senior Litigation Counsels Nanette L. Davis and Mark F. Daly as well as Trial Attorney Marissa R. Brodney of the Tax Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly M. Shartar for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.