Source: United States Department of Justice 2

The Justice Department announced today that it secured an agreement with Burford’s Construction LLC (Burford’s), an Alabama-based contractor that provides vegetation clearing and maintenance for electrical utility companies and municipalities. The agreement resolves the department’s determination that Burford’s routinely discriminated against lawful permanent residents when verifying their permission to work by demanding specific, and sometimes unnecessary, documents.

“Employers cannot demand specific or unnecessary documents from workers because of their citizenship status when checking their permission to work,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “All workers, regardless of citizenship status, deserve a hiring process that is free from discrimination.”

After conducting an investigation, the Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) determined that, from at least Jan. 1, 2021, through May 30, 2023, Burford’s routinely required lawful permanent residents to present specific immigration documents to establish their permission to work, even when they had already provided sufficient proof.

Under the terms of the settlement, Burford’s will pay $308,689 in civil penalties to the United States, train its personnel on anti-discrimination requirements, revise its employment policies that relate to hiring and be subject to departmental monitoring.

Lawful permanent residents are sometimes referred to as “green card holders,” but they can show their permission to work using different types of documentation. As explained in the department’s newly-released fact sheet for lawful permanent residents, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) protects lawful permanent residents from discrimination when an employer is verifying their permission to work. Employers cannot limit the valid documentation that a lawful permanent resident may show when verifying their ability to work. The fact sheet also explains how lawful permanent residents can get help if they are being discriminated against.

IER is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; and retaliation and intimidation.   

IER’s website has more information on lawful permanent residents’ rights under the INA and how employers can avoid unlawful discrimination when verifying someone’s permission to work. Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify); or subjected to retaliation, may file a charge. The public can also call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation; email IER@usdoj.gov; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Sign up for email updates from IER.

Source: United States Department of Justice

A former Richmond County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office deputy has pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges involving an assault on a jail detainee.

Dantavion Jones, 33, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to an information charging the officer with one felony count of deprivation of civil rights under color of law.

According to court documents, Jones was a deputy with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office. On May 7, 2022, Jones was working with other deputies at Richmond County’s Charles D. Webster Detention Center to secure inmates who had caused flooding in a section of the jail. Jones deliberately removed the handcuffs of a compliant inmate, after which another officer proceeded to punch him. Jones pleaded guilty to failing to intervene or stop the assault on the inmate, who was not posing a threat to anyone at the time of the assault. Former deputies Daniel D’Aversa and Melissa Morello previously pleaded guilty for their involvement in the same incident.

A sentencing date will be set at a later time. Jones faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, along with substantial fines and restitution, followed by up to three years of supervised release upon completion of any prison term. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Jill E. Steinberg for the Southern District of Georgia and Acting Special Agent in Charge Sean Burke of the FBI Atlanta Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Atlanta Field Office is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney George J.C. Jacobs III for the Southern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Anita T. Channapati of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice

A criminal complaint was unsealed today charging Luigi Nicholas Mangione, 26, of Towson, Maryland, in connection with the Dec. 4 murder of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan. Mangione was taken into federal custody today and will be presented this afternoon in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker for the Southern District of New York.

“Today, the Justice Department has brought federal murder charges against Luigi Mangione,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “As alleged, Mangione planned his attack for months and stalked his victim for days before murdering him — methodically planning when, where, and how to carry out his crime. I am grateful to our state and local law enforcement partners for their tireless efforts to locate and apprehend the defendant and to ensure that he answers for his alleged crime.”

“Brian Thompson was gunned down in cold blood as he walked down a street in midtown Manhattan,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim for the Southern District of New York. “Thompson was allegedly killed just because he held the position of chief executive officer of a health insurance company. As alleged, Luigi Mangione traveled to New York to stalk and shoot Thompson in broad daylight in front of a Manhattan hotel, all in a grossly misguided attempt to broadcast Mangione’s views across the country. But this wasn’t a debate, it was murder, and Mangione now faces federal charges. This office and its law enforcement partners remain steadfast in our commitment to fight violence in whatever form it takes.”

“Luigi Mangione allegedly conducted the carefully premeditated and targeted execution of Brian Thompson to incite national debates,” said Assistant Director James E. Dennehy of the FBI New York Field Office. “This alleged plot demonstrates a cavalier attitude towards humanity — deeming murder an appropriate recourse to satiate personal grievances. Through continued close partnership with the NYPD, the FBI maintains our steadfast commitment to fervently pursue any individual who promotes a personal agenda through violence.”

“NYPD detectives worked relentlessly to identify and widely distribute images of the suspect who allegedly carried out this premeditated, preplanned, targeted murder, and they are committed to assisting prosecutors in seeing this important case through to its rightful conclusion,” said Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). “This senseless incident highlights the critical role of the public in the NYPD’s public safety mission, and I thank everyone who saw something, said something, and did something.  It is because of the public’s actions that we now have an alleged killer in custody back in New York City.”

As alleged in the complaint, over the course of the last several months, Mangione meticulously planned the execution of Brian Thompson in an effort to initiate a public discussion about the healthcare industry. Mangione targeted the victim, tracked his whereabouts, and traveled from out of state to New York City, where the victim was scheduled to attend the company’s investor conference. After arriving in the city on Nov. 24, more than one week before the murder, Mangione performed reconnaissance in the area around the victim’s hotel and the conference venue where the victim was scheduled to speak. Using a false identification, Mangione checked into an Upper West Side hostel.

In the early morning hours of Dec. 4, Mangione traveled by bicycle from the Upper West Side to the area around West 54th Street and Sixth Avenue. At approximately 6:45 a.m., Mangione strategically placed himself in between two cars on West 54th Street, and as the victim passed by, Mangione walked up behind the victim and fired several gunshots from a 9mm pistol causing the victim’s death. The pistol was equipped with what appeared to be a firearm sound suppressor or silencer. After the murder, Mangione fled on his bicycle northbound through Central Park and ultimately back to the Upper West Side.

On Dec. 9, Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, while he sat in a fast-food restaurant after being recognized by one of the restaurant’s workers. Members of the Altoona Police Department confronted Mangione, who provided the same false identification that he used when checking into the Upper West Side hostel. Mangione was also found in possession of, among other things, a 9mm pistol and a sound suppressor consistent with the weapon used to kill the victim.

Mangione is charged with one count of using a firearm to commit murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death or life in prison; one count of interstate stalking resulting in death, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison; one count of stalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison; and one count of discharging a firearm that was equipped with a silencer in furtherance of a crime of violence, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of 30 years. A federal district court judge will determine any sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force and NYPD are investigating the case. The Justice Department also thanks the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which has brought a separate prosecution against Mangione, which is currently expected to proceed to trial before the federal case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dominic A. Gentile, Jun Xiang, and Alexandra Messiter for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint 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

Note: A copy of the non-prosecution agreement and attachments can be found here.

AAR CORP. (AAR), a publicly traded aviation services company headquartered in Wood Dale, Illinois, will pay over $55 million to resolve investigations by the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) arising from AAR’s participation in corrupt schemes to pay bribes to government officials in Nepal and South Africa. A former AAR subsidiary executive previously pleaded guilty for his role in the Nepal scheme, and a third-party agent of AAR previously pleaded guilty for his role in the South Africa scheme.

AAR entered into an 18-month non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with the Justice Department. According to the company’s admissions in connection with the resolution, between 2015 and 2020, AAR conspired to pay bribes to government officials to obtain and retain business with state-owned airlines in Nepal and South Africa. AAR obtained profits of nearly $24 million as a result of the scheme.

“AAR bribed high-level government officials to obtain business with state-owned airlines in Nepal and South Africa and reaped nearly $24 million in illicit profits as a result,” said Chief Counselor Brent Wible of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Justice Department continues to hold companies and individuals accountable for engaging in international corruption. Today’s resolution also demonstrates how companies that proactively report misconduct, extensively cooperate, and timely and appropriately remediate will receive credit under the Criminal Division’s Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy, including in the form of the agreement, the amount of cooperation and remediation credit, and the length of the term.”

“Companies competing on a fair and level playing field is a core value that we expect any U.S. company or anyone doing business in the United States to embrace,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “Bribery schemes, whether based inside or outside the United States, harm consumers and companies that are trying to lawfully run their businesses. That is why this office, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to diligently pursue any individual or company that seeks to profit through corrupt or illegal means.”

“AAR, through its bribery of government officials in Nepal and South Africa, violated U.S. law enacted to ensure that U.S. businesses do not engage in foreign corruption,” said Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Field Office. “Today’s outcome reflects HSI’s steadfast commitment to enforcing accountability within global commerce. HSI New York will continue to pursue all necessary measures to ensure that those who engage in corrupt practices, regardless of their location or position, are held fully accountable under the law.”

In Nepal, AAR corruptly obtained business with Nepal Airlines Corporation, the state-owned airline of Nepal, related to the sale of two Airbus A330-200 aircraft by offering and paying bribes to Nepali officials through various intermediary companies. In South Africa, AAR corruptly obtained the award of an aircraft component support contract with South African Airways Technical, a wholly owned subsidiary of South African Airways, the state-owned airline of South Africa, by corruptly offering and paying bribes to South African officials through a third-party agent.

As part of the NPA, AAR agreed to pay a $26,363,029 penalty and $18,568,713 in administrative forfeiture. In addition, AAR will pay $29,236,624 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest as part of the resolution of the SEC’s parallel investigation. The Justice Department has agreed to credit the forfeiture to be paid to the department against disgorgement AAR has agreed to pay to the SEC.

Pursuant to the NPA, AAR has agreed, among other things, to continue to cooperate with the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia in any ongoing or future criminal investigations arising during the term of the NPA. In addition, AAR agreed to continue to enhance its compliance program and report to the Justice Department regarding remediation and the implementation of compliance measures during the eighteen-month term of the NPA.

The Justice Department reached this resolution with AAR based on a number of factors, including, among others, the nature and seriousness of the offense. AAR self-reported to the department conduct that forms, in part, the basis for the resolution; however, the self-report was not a “voluntary self-disclosure” as defined in the Criminal Division Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (CEP). Prior to the self-report, several English-language articles had been published in media outlets in Nepal and South Africa that described potential irregularities in the relevant contracts in both countries, including that an AAR subsidiary had been summoned by a Nepalese agency investigating irregularities and corruption in connection with the procurement of aircraft. In addition, 12 days before AAR’s self-report, an independent source reported the allegations regarding the Nepal conduct to the department. AAR received credit under the CEP for its cooperation with the department’s investigation, which included (i) self-reporting the conduct that forms, at least in part, the basis for the resolution before AAR was aware the conduct had come to the attention of the department; (ii) promptly providing information obtained through its internal investigation, which allowed the government to preserve and obtain evidence as part of its own independent investigation; (iii) proactively preserving, imaging, and conducting extensive forensic analysis of key electronic evidence, which included imaging mobile devices, recovering deleted documents, forensically recreating attachments from log files, and decrypting recovered chat messages; (iv) making regular and detailed presentations to the department; (v) promptly collecting, analyzing, and organizing voluminous information, including complex financial information; (vi) meeting the department’s requests promptly; (vii) voluntarily making employees, including foreign-based employees, available for interviews; (viii) collecting and producing voluminous relevant documents and translations to the department, including documents located outside the United States; and (ix) producing documents to the department from foreign countries in ways that did not implicate foreign data privacy laws.

AAR also engaged in extensive and timely remedial measures including, among other things (i) conducting an enterprise-wide review of all existing high-risk third-party representatives and reducing its use of international sales agents; (ii) enhancing protocols regarding onboarding and vetting of third-party engagements, including heightened diligence and senior-level approvals; (iii) taking employment actions, including promptly separating one employee involved in the relevant conduct and disciplining other employees with oversight responsibilities; (iv) strengthening its anti-corruption compliance program by investing in compliance resources and expanding its compliance function with experienced and qualified personnel, including appointing a Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer and hiring a compliance monitoring manager; (v) implementing a compliance risk assessment program that has enabled AAR to proactively identify new areas of risk; (vi) enhancing public bidding policies and monitoring implementation of those enhancements; (vii) beginning to roll out a messaging application retention tool; (viii) implementing compliance auditing and periodic anti-corruption site reviews; and (ix) engaging in continuous testing, monitoring, and improvement of its compliance program.

In light of these considerations, the criminal penalty calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines reflects a 45% reduction off the applicable guidelines sentence. The Justice Department gave significant weight in evaluating the appropriate disposition of this matter — including the form of the resolution, the reduction in the penalty amount based on cooperation and remediation credit, and the length of the term — to the company’s self-report of the misconduct before the company was aware the conduct had already come to the department’s attention.

The Justice Department previously charged two individuals in related matters. Deepak Sharma, a former AAR subsidiary executive, pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia on Aug. 1 to a conspiracy to violate the FCPA for his role in the Nepal scheme. Julian Aires, a third-party agent of AAR, pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia on July 15 to a conspiracy to violate the FCPA for his role in the South Africa scheme.

HSI New York is investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance. 

Acting Assistant Chief Katherine Raut and Trial Attorney Paul Ream of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Madhu Chugh for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/foreign-corrupt-practices-act.

Source: United States Department of Justice

Chemonics International Inc. (Chemonics), a private international development firm based in Washington, D.C. has agreed to pay $3,119,582 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting fraudulent claims for payment to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Chemonics disclosed the fraudulent billing to the United States in 2020.

The settlement resolves allegations that Chemonics acted recklessly in failing to detect fraudulent charges by its subcontractor, Zenith Carex (Zenith), for certain delivery services in Nigeria, and passed the charges on to USAID under the Global Health Supply Chain-Procurement and Supply Chain Management contract. Under this contract, Chemonics provided health care supply chain management services and related technical assistance in Nigeria and other countries. Chemonics subcontracted with Zenith, an in-country logistics provider, to perform last-mile delivery and long-haul delivery of cold-chain commodities throughout Nigeria. Between June 2017 and March 2020, Zenith fraudulently charged Chemonics for its long-haul delivery services based on truck tonnage as opposed to the weight per kilogram of the commodity transported, as the subcontract between Chemonics and Zenith required. During the same time period, Zenith charged Chemonics more for last-mile delivery services than the subcontract allowed. Chemonics failed to detect Zenith’s fraudulent overcharging for more than two years due to systematic process and personnel failures, including inadequate financial controls, monitoring and oversight and inadequate employee training, direction and support.

“Government contractors must exercise responsible oversight and management of their subcontractors to ensure contract compliance and appropriate billing,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement demonstrates the department’s commitment to hold accountable those who knowingly or recklessly submit false claims for payment to the United States no matter where in the world the underlying conduct occurs.”

In connection with the settlement, the United States acknowledged that Chemonics took a number of significant steps entitling them to credit for cooperating with the government in connection with the resolution of this matter. Chemonics disclosed the fraudulent billing to the government in connection with an investigation by another entity for which it provided delivery services in Nigeria and took remedial actions, including terminating an employee for conduct related to the submission of fraudulent invoices, conducting a comprehensive review of subcontractor billing and enhancing internal oversight in Nigeria. Chemonics also assisted the government during its investigation.

“USAID’s Global Health Supply Chain program is designed to provide uninterrupted supplies of health products and services to the vulnerable populations worldwide,” said Special Agent in Charge Sean Bottary of the USAID Office of Inspector General (OIG). “This settlement underscores that justice has no borders, and that USAID’s contractors and grantees must have systems in place to detect and prevent false invoices submitted by subawardees. The USAID OIG will vigorously investigate those who seek to defraud U.S.-funded foreign assistance programs, and we are relentless in our pursuit of holding awardees and subawardees accountable. We appreciate our partnership with the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri and commend them on their hard work in bringing this case to a resolution.”

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated investigation conducted by the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri and USAID OIG.

Trial Attorneys Robin Overby and Samuel Lehman of the Justice Department’s Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Sparks and Cari Walsh for the Western District of Missouri handled the matter.

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