News from March 2023
Federal Jury Finds Kentucky Woman Guilty of Mailing Threatening Communications to Neighbors Because of Their Race
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
A federal jury convicted a local woman on Friday of mailing communications containing threats to injure others in November and December 2020.
Former Kentucky Federal Prison Lieutenant Convicted of Covering Up the Assaults of Two Federal Inmates by Corrections Officers
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
After a six-day trial, a federal jury convicted former Bureau of Prisons Lieutenant Kevin Pearce, 38, on two counts of obstruction for writing false reports about the assaults of two federal inmates by corrections officers under Pearce’s command.
Justice Department Files Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Michigan Rental Property Owner
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit under the Fair Housing Act against the owner and manager of rental properties in Dearborn Heights, Michigan.
Readout of Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta and Access to Justice Director Rachel Rossi’s Trip to Iowa
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta joined Director Rachel Rossi of the Office for Access to Justice (ATJ) in Des Moines, Iowa, today as part of the Department’s National Public Defense Day Tour to recognize the 60th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, which held that criminal defendants are entitled to counsel when facing felony charges and celebrate the role of public defenders in the American legal system.
Justice Department Investigation Leads to Takedown of Darknet Cryptocurrency Mixer that Processed Over $3 Billion of Unlawful Transactions
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
Vietnamese Operator of ChipMixer Charged with Laundering Money for Ransomware Perpetrators, Darknet Markets, Fraudsters, and State-Sponsored
Southern California Return Preparer Charged with Filing False Tax Returns
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
A federal grand jury in Riverside, California, returned an indictment, unsealed Tuesday, charging a California man with 47 counts of preparing false tax returns.
Sterling Bancorp, Inc. to Plead Guilty to $69M Securities Fraud
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
A Southfield, Michigan-headquartered bank holding company has agreed to plead guilty to securities fraud for filing false securities statements relating to its 2017 initial public offering (IPO) and its 2018 and 2019 annual filings.
Detroit-area Software Developer Sentenced to Prison for Employment Tax Crimes
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
Did Not Pay the IRS more than $1.1 Million in Employment Taxes
Florida Man Charged with Federal Hate Crimes for Racially Motivated Attack Against Group of Black Men
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
A federal grand jury in Gainesville, Florida, returned a six-count indictment charging David Emanuel, 61, with committing hate crimes for his racially motivated attack on a group of Black men who were surveying land along a public road in Cedar Key, Florida.
Health Care Staffing Executive Indicted for Fixing Wages of Nurses
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
A federal grand jury in Las Vegas returned an indictment yesterday charging a health care staffing executive with conspiring to fix the wages of Las Vegas nurses, in violation of the Sherman Act.
Readout of Joint Task Force Alpha Summit on Anti-Human Smuggling and Trafficking Efforts
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division yesterday convened a meeting of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) in El Paso, Texas, to bring together law enforcement leaders to discuss dismantling human smuggling and trafficking networks operating along the Southwest Border.
Justice Department Announces Historic Guatemalan Human Smuggling Extraditions at Joint Task Force Alpha Summit
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
The U.S. Department of Justice yesterday announced the first ever extraditions from Guatemala to the United States on charges of human smuggling resulting in death, and the first Guatemalan human smuggling extraditions to the United States of any kind in nearly five years.
Man Pleads Guilty to $1.9M Baby Formula Fraud Scheme
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
A New York man pleaded guilty today to defrauding insurance plans and medical suppliers by fraudulently procuring specialty baby formula.
Justice Department Secures Settlement to Remedy Race and Sex-Based Harassment of Students in Vermont School District
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement with the Twin Valley School District in Vermont to resolve its investigation into complaints of student-on-student harassment based on race and sex.
Georgia White Supremacist Sentenced for Federal Hate Crime for Racially-Motivated Shootings
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
A federal judge in Atlanta today sentenced Larry Edward Foxworth, 48, of Jonesboro, Georgia, to 240 months in prison for shooting into two convenience stores attempting to kill those inside because he believed they were Black or Arab.
Waco Return Preparers Sentenced to Prison in Tax Scheme
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
A group of Texas tax return preparers were sentenced to prison yesterday for conspiring to file false tax returns.
New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty in Mass-Mailing Elder Fraud Scheme
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
A New Jersey man pleaded guilty yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, for operating a mass-mailing scheme that victimized older Americans.
Superseding Indictment Charges Wisconsin Man with Sex and Labor Trafficking, Production of Child Pornography and Money Laundering
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin returned a superseding indictment charging a Wisconsin man with labor and sex trafficking, production of child pornography and money laundering.
Former Department of State Employee Sentenced for Engaging in Illicit Sexual Conduct with Minors in the Philippines
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
A former U.S. Department of State employee was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.
Justice Department Commemorates the 60th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright
By DOJ Newswire Reports | Mar 23, 2023
The Justice Department today commemorates the 60th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, the landmark Supreme Court decision which held that the assistance of counsel is a fundamental right essential to a fair trial, and that the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments require states to appoint attorneys for defendants who cannot afford to retain counsel on their own.