title: Justice Department Opens Application Period For Program To Enhance Tribal Access To National Crime Information Databases

component: Office of Tribal Justice

body_text: WASHINGTON – The Justice Department is pleased to announce the opening of the application period for federally recognized Tribes and intertribal consortia to participate in the Tribal Access Program (TAP) for National Crime Information, which improves public safety by providing federally recognized Tribes the ability to access and exchange data with national crime information databases for authorized criminal justice and non-criminal justice purposes, such as the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). “To improve public safety in Indian country, we must break down the barriers to criminal justice information that Tribal communities have faced for years,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “That is why the Justice Department is expanding Tribal communities’ access to national crime databases that enhance law enforcement efforts and coordination through the Tribal Access Program.” “The Tribal Access Program has strengthened Tribal criminal justice agencies,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “By using TAP, participating Tribes have shared information about missing persons, apprehended fugitives, registered sex offenders, enforced protection orders, and have made hundreds of entries into the FBI’s NICS Indices database to prevent prohibited persons from illegally obtaining access to firearms. The efficient and effective sharing of criminal justice information has improved public safety in Indian country and beyond.” “The Justice Department is committed to supporting Tribal law enforcement and protecting Tribal communities,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “TAP empowers participating Tribes to take advantage of information from across the country to better investigate and prosecute crime, carry out background checks for potential foster parents, and keep their communities safe and secure from domestic violence and child abuse.” The program provides training as well as a web-based application and biometric/biographic kiosk workstations to process fingerprints, take mugshots, and submit information to FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) systems. There are currently 123 federally recognized Tribes participating in TAP. The Department will accept TAP applications from July 3 to Sept. 1. Tribes selected to participate will be notified later in September. “The TAP program has allowed the Poarch Creek Tribal Police Department to have cost-effective access to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system,” said Chief Chris Rutherford of the Poarch Creek Tribal Police. “Now our officers have full NCIC access from their patrol vehicles, desk, or through our Emergency Tribal Dispatch Center. The value of this program to our reservation far exceeds the minimal effort required to be a participating partner in the TAP program.” For Tribes that are considering applying, TAP staff will be conducting informational webinars describing the program and its capabilities. Webinars will be offered throughout July and August. For more information about TAP, including webinar dates, times, and access information, visit www.justice.gov/tribal/tribal-access-program-tap . Using TAP, Tribes have shared information about missing persons; entered domestic violence orders of protection for nationwide enforcement; registered convicted sex offenders; run criminal histories; located fugitives; entered bookings and convictions; and completed fingerprint-based record checks for non-criminal justice purposes such as screening employees or volunteers who work with children. “We cannot say enough about the efforts that have been made to get the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas (KTTT) ready for this program,” said Director Cristina Collett-Jensen of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas Legal Department. “Through these efforts, KTTT will have access to information that will substantially improve the KTTT Police Department’s operations, and thereby allow us to better protect and serve the KTTT community.” The Department offers TAP services through one of the following two methods: TAP-LIGHT: Provides application that enables full access (both query and entry capabilities) to national crime information databases including the NCIC, the Interstate Identification Index, and the International Justice and Public Safety Network for criminal justice purposes. TAP-FULL: In addition to the basic access capabilities of TAP-LIGHT, provides a kiosk workstation that enables the ability to submit and query fingerprint-based transactions via FBI’s Next Generation Identification system for both criminal justice and non-criminal justice purposes. Because of the program’s funding sources, eligible Tribes must have — and agree to use TAP for — at least one of the following: A Tribal sex offender registry authorized by the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, A Tribal law enforcement agency that has arrest powers, A Tribal court that issues orders of protection, or A Tribal government agency that screens individuals for foster care placement or that investigates allegations of child abuse/neglect. TAP is funded by the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking; the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services; the Office for Victims of Crime; and the Office on Violence Against Women. TAP is co-managed by the Department’s Office of the Chief Information Officer and Office of Tribal Justice.


title: Baton Rouge Man Pleads  Guilty to Assaulting and  Threatening Federal Officers

component: USAO - Louisiana, Eastern

body_text: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – KESHAWN KELLY , age 20, a resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pled guilty on June 27, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Greg G. Guidry to an indictment charging him with influencing federal officials by threat, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 115(a)(1)(B), and assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a)(1), announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. According to court documents, on February 15, 2022, KELLY initiated a 21-minute standoff with police in the emergency department parking lot at the New Orleans VA Medical Center. During the standoff, KELLY possessed an AR-15 rifle that was fully loaded with a round in the chamber and the selector switch in the semi-automatic firing position. KELLY , who continuously refused to get out of the car he occupied with his hands up, made various threats to shoot and otherwise assault the officers for the duration of the standoff. KELLY’s sentencing is scheduled for October 3, 2023. The maximum punishment KELLY faces for influencing federal officials by threat is six years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, up to three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. The maximum punishment for assaulting federal officers is one year imprisonment, up to a $100,000 fine, up to one year of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and a $25 mandatory special assessment fee. This case was investigated by the United States Department of Veteran’s Affairs Police. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney J. Benjamin Myers of the Narcotics Unit.


title: Man Pleads Guilty to Multiple Child Exploitation Offenses

component: Criminal Division

body_text: A Maine man pleaded guilty today to sexual exploitation of children and distribution of a video depicting the sexual abuse of children. According to court documents, Joseph Zoll, 63, of Sanford, used an online chat and webcam application from his home in Maine to direct an individual in the Philippines to live-stream a video of herself sexually abusing a prepubescent child. Zoll instructed this individual to, among other things, expose the child’s genitals to the camera for him to see and discussed with her his desire to sexually abuse the child. In another instance, Zoll sent this same individual a video depicting an adult woman sexually abusing a child who appeared to be approximately six to eight years old. Zoll communicated with this woman for over two years, during which time he repeatedly instructed her to live-stream video depictions of child sexual abuse. Video files found on electronic devices in Zoll’s home confirm that he had similar online relationships with multiple other individuals who, at Zoll’s direction would live-stream video depictions of themselves sexually abusing children for Zoll. Zoll pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of children and one count of distribution of child pornography. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 50 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. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee for the District of Maine, and Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New England made the announcement. HSI New England is investigating the case. Trial Attorney William G. Clayman of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig M. Wolff for the District of Maine 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 Department of Justice. 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 .


title: Justice Department Launches Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Regional Outreach Program

component: Office of the Attorney General

body_text: The Justice Department today announced the creation of the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program, which permanently places 10 attorneys and coordinators in five designated regions across the United States to aid in the prevention and response to missing or murdered Indigenous people. “This new program mobilizes the Justice Department’s resources to combat the crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons, which has shattered the lives of victims, their families, and entire Tribal communities,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will continue to accelerate our efforts, in partnership with Tribes, to keep their communities safe and pursue justice for American Indian and Alaska Native families.” “These new positions represent the Justice Department’s continuing commitment to addressing the MMIP crisis with urgency and all of the tools at our disposal,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “MMIP prosecutors and coordinators will work with partners across jurisdictions and alongside the Tribal communities who have been most devastated by this epidemic.” The MMIP regional program prioritizes MMIP cases consistent with the Deputy Attorney General’s July 2022 directive to U.S. Attorneys’ offices promoting public safety in Indian country. The program fulfills the Justice Department’s promise to dedicate new personnel to MMIP consistent with Executive Order 14053, Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People , and the Department’s Federal Law Enforcement Strategy to Prevent and respond to Violence Against American Indians and Alaska Natives, Including to Address Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons issued in July 2022. The program will dedicate five MMIP Assistant U.S. Attorneys and five MMIP coordinators to provide specialized support to United States Attorneys’ offices to address and combat the issues of MMIP. This support includes assisting in the investigation of unresolved MMIP cases and related crimes, and promoting communication, coordination, and collaboration among federal, Tribal, local, and state law enforcement and non-governmental partners on MMIP issues. The five regions include the Northwest, Southwest, Great Plains, Great Lakes, and Southeast Regions, and MMIP personnel will be located within host United States Attorneys’ offices in the Districts of Alaska, Arizona, Eastern Washington, Minnesota, New Mexico, Northern Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, and Western Michigan. Programmatic support will be provided by the MMIP Regional Outreach Program Coordinator at the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA). “The Executive Office for United States Attorneys and the United States Attorney community are committed to preventing and responding to cases of missing or murdered Indigenous people. To that end, we will work together with all relevant federal, Tribal, state, and local law enforcement partners to locate missing persons and solve crimes where they have occurred,” said EOUSA Director Monty Wilkinson. “This new program will allow the Department to build upon the work done by individual United States Attorneys’ offices and ensure continued support to those offices by coordinating outreach regionally on MMIP matters.” More broadly, this MMIP Program will complement the work of the Justice Department’s National Native American Outreach Services Liaison, who is helping amplify the voice of crime victims in Indian country and their families as they navigate the federal criminal justice system. Further, the MMIP Program will liaise with and enhance the work of the Department’s Tribal Liaisons and Indian Country Assistant United States Attorneys throughout Indian Country, the Native American Issues Coordinator, and the National Indian Country Training Initiative Coordinator to ensure a comprehensive response to MMIP.


title: State Inmate Sentenced To 15 Additional Months In Prison For Threatening Federal Judge

component: USAO - Florida, Middle

body_text: Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Curtis Brown (35, Indian River) to one year and three months in federal prison, to follow the completion of his 30-year state sentence, for threatening to kill a federal judge and his family, and mailing a threatening communication. Brown had pleaded guilty on December 27, 2022. According to court documents, Brown sent a letter to a United States district judge threatening to kill him or his family. At the time, Brown was in the Florida State Prison in Raiford serving a state sentence. The envelope containing the letter was stamped with the phrase “Mailed From A State Correctional Institution.” The return address included Brown’s name, inmate number, and the address of the prison. The letter was addressed to the judge’s chambers and stated that it was sent in retaliation for the judge’s refusal to grant Brown’s requested relief. The letter stated that Brown would use his “federally funded stimulus” to hire someone to shoot the judge. Brown also said that if he could not get to the judge in time, he would settle for his “child, loved one, etc.” In a postscript in the letter, Brown further threatened the judge that if the judge told anyone about the letter, it would get worse for the judge. Brown’s name and inmate number were also included in the letter. On December 3, 2021, upon receiving the letter, employees in the clerk’s office at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee notified the United States Marshals Service (USMS). The USMS notified a Florida State Prison’s Security Threat Intelligence Officer about the letter. Upon further investigation, the handwriting on the letter was a presumptive match for Brown. The Federal Bureau of Investigation then began investigating Brown and the letter. Agents discovered that Brown had been engaged in civil litigation in the Northern District of Florida. In July and August 2021, Brown filed an emergency motion for a preliminary injunction and an emergency civil rights complaint about his confinement that were referred to a magistrate judge. Following the referral, several proceedings occurred in which the magistrate judge sought to verify that Brown was the same individual that had previously filed a complaint or lawsuit about his confinement as Brown had not indicated in his filings that he had done so. Throughout the proceedings, Brown maintained that he had not filed a previous federal complaint or lawsuit. However, the magistrate judge concluded that Brown was being dishonest with the court. On November 4, 2021, the magistrate judge issued a report and recommended the dismissal of Brown’s case with prejudice considering “Brown’s pattern of perjury and willful abuse of the judicial process.” On November 19, 2021, the district court judge ordered the case dismissed with prejudice based on Brown’s “pattern of abuse of the judicial process” as an “appropriate sanction for [Brown’s] bad faith.” The judgment was entered on the same day. On November 30, 2021, Brown sent his letter in retaliation for the judge dismissing his case. This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kirwinn Mike and Ashley Washington.


title: Federal Jury Convicts Terrance Hines Of Conspiracy To Distribute Fentanyl Resulting In An Overdose Death

component: USAO - Tennessee, Eastern

body_text: Greeneville, Tenn. - On June 26, 2023, following a four-day trial in the United States District Court at Greeneville, a jury convicted Terrance Lamont Hines, Jr., 41, of Kingsport, Tenn., of conspiring to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl resulting in death in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A) and 851; possession of 40 grams or more of fentanyl with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B), three counts of distribution of a quantity of fentanyl, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C); possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A) and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18. U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Sentencing is set for October 30, 2023, at 3:00 p.m. before the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. Hines faces a minimum mandatory sentence of twenty years imprisonment as a result of the conviction for conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl resulting in death and mandatory life in prison if the Court finds that Hines has the prior qualifying felony drug trafficking conviction filed as a notice of enhancement in the indictment. The evidence presented at trial demonstrated that Hines supplied the fentanyl that caused the death of a 52-year-old Kingsport woman in December 2020. Three co-defendants were also part of the chain of distribution. Hines sold the fentanyl to co-defendant Robin Hutchins, who sold it to co-defendant Adam Presnell, who sold it to co-defendant Shaina Lanford, who supplied it directly to the victim. The evidence showed that on July 20, 2021, law enforcement executed search warrants at Hines’ apartment and at a Kingsport music recording studio which operated as a hub for his drug trafficking. Officers located two firearms and over 100 grams of fentanyl. Hines, who had previously been convicted of multiple felony offenses, was prohibited from possessing firearms. Co-defendants Hutchins, Presnell, and Lanford previously pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and will be sentenced at a later time. U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee made the announcement. The criminal indictment was the result of an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, and Sullivan County Drug Related Death Task Force, with assistance from the Kingsport Police Department and 2 nd Judicial Drug Task Force. The Sullivan County Drug Related Death Task Force receives federally funding through the Appalachian High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (AHIDTA) initiative, which uses a multi-disciplinary approach to address public health and safety issues that center around the opioid epidemic as well as other dangerous drug trends. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Swecker and Mac Heavener represented the United States. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communicates, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring results. ###


title: Three Plead Guilty To Conspiracy To Commit Wire Fraud

body_text: Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Fabio Lanzieri (61, Fort Lauderdale) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Lanzieri faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. A sentencing date has not yet been set. Two others, James Council (55, Valrico, Florida) and Robert Ronzio (49, North Providence, Rhode Island) pleaded guilty earlier this year for their respective roles in the same conspiracy. According to Lanzieri’s plea agreement and other court documents, Lanzieri and Council worked as sales and marketing consultants for Company 1, a wholly-owned Largo-based subsidiary of a larger pharmaceutical business that manufactured injectable medications. Lanzieri acted as Company 1’s president and was senior to Council. As a manufacturer and vendor of injectable medications, Company 1 had entered into an agreement with a group purchasing organization (“GPO-1”) to facilitate product sales. A GPO is an entity that helps health care providers realize savings and efficiencies by aggregating purchasing volume and using that purchasing volume as leverage to negotiate pricing discounts with vendors that have entered into purchasing agreements with the GPO. The primary way a GPO makes its profit is via a percentage administrative fee charged against any sales made by the contracted vendors to GPO provider participants, which have correspondingly entered into participant agreements with the GPO. Thus, once a GPO has negotiated pricing discounts with a vendor, that vendor will forward the pricing discount information to health care product wholesalers that will pass the discounted rate on to the GPO’s participants. The Company 1’s purchasing agreement with GPO-1 was materially altered by GPO-1 in the fall of 2019, resulting in GPO-1 provider participants no longer being eligible to receive pricing discounts on the purchase of certain Company 1 products from wholesalers. As a stopgap to maintain its provider customer base, Company 1 temporarily established competitive pricing discounts for the affected GPO-1 provider participants, thereby eliminating any immediate impact upon Company 1 customers. Later, in January 2021, Lanzieri conspired with Council and Ronzio to create a non-operating shell GPO named Honoris Purchasing, LLC (“Honoris”) in Wyoming as a purported functioning GPO. Ronzio opened a bank account for the company. The conspirators then caused a purchasing agreement to be created and executed between Company 1 and Honoris—notwithstanding that Honoris, as a non-operating shell, had no knowing participants—that was backdated to in or around May 2020. Lanzieri and Council then fraudulently recategorized the Company 1 customers that had been GPO-1 participants as Honoris participants in internal and external wholesaler records, allowing the customers to continue purchasing via competitive pricing discount schedules as if the customers were actually participants of the non-operating shell Honoris. Thereafter, Council, in his role as a sales and marketing consultant for Company 1, prepared monthly an administrative fee report for GPOs contracted with Company 1, including for purported GPO Honoris, which contained information related to the total dollar amount of Company 1 product sales made during the month to each GPO’s participants, including the participants that the conspirators had fraudulently categorized as Honoris participants. Council then forwarded the monthly administrative fee reports to the Company 1 accounting department, which, per normal operations, calculated and paid to the identified GPOs an approximate 3% administrative fee based upon the total dollar amount of Company 1 product sales to the participants of each GPO, including Honoris. In all, the conspirators received at least $960,000 in fraud proceeds from the scheme. Pursuant to their respective plea agreements, each has agreed to pay restitution and to forfeit $320,000, the proceeds of the wire fraud conspiracy. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay G. Trezevant. Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne Nebesky is handling the asset forfeiture aspect of this case.


title: Tampa Woman Sentenced To Prison For Distribution Of Heroin And Fentanyl Resulting In Death

body_text: Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Jackylin Bonifacio (38, Tampa) to four years and nine months in federal prison for distribution of heroin and fentanyl resulting in death. Bonifacio had pleaded guilty on February 12, 2021. The court previously sentenced her codefendant, Leslie Pagan, to 20 years in prison for her role in the offense. According to testimony and court documents, Pagan obtained heroin and fentanyl from a supplier and provided it to Bonifacio and other coconspirators, who in turn distributed the substances to individuals in Hillsborough County. On December 19, 2019, Bonifacio provided fentanyl to a Tampa woman who, believing it was heroin, ingested the fentanyl. The next morning, the woman was found dead in her home. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office investigated the overdose death and identified Bonifacio as the person who had distributed the fentanyl to the victim. On December 20, 2019, Bonifacio was arrested and found in possession of 25 baggies of fentanyl, packaged for distribution. The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy and determined that the victim died from ingestion of substances, including heroin and fentanyl. A toxicologist analyzed the baggies recovered from Bonifacio and residue from a syringe found near the victim at the time of the overdose and determined that they contained similar mixtures of fentanyl and Xylazine. Based on the circumstances of the death and the toxicology from the autopsy, the Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the use of the fentanyl caused the victim’s death. A joint investigation led by the FBI identified Pagan as Bonifacio’s supplier. Pagan was arrested on September 1, 2020, and investigators recovered 97 grams of a mixture containing fentanyl, heroin, and Xylazine, and more than $105,000 from her residence. This investigation is the result of a partnership between the United States Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Tampa Police Department, the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Sinacore. This investigation is the result of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.


title: Jacksonville Man Charged With Federal Drug Offenses

body_text: Jacksonville, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Diandre Murel (29, Jacksonville) with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it. If convicted, Murel faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 5 years, and up to 40 years, in federal prison for the conspiracy offense and up to 20 years in federal prison for the possession offense. Murel’s case is set for trial in August 2023. He had a detention hearing on June 27, 2023, and was ordered detained pending trial. According to the indictment and court records, Murel and another individual were stopped in Baker County for speeding. Deputies from the Baker County Sheriff’s Office walked a K-9 around their car and the dog alerted to the presence of narcotics. The deputies then searched and located a kilogram of cocaine inside a backpack. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration responded to the scene and determined that Murel had purchased the cocaine in Atlanta and was returning to Jacksonville Beach, where he, and others, intended to sell the drugs. DEA agents and officers from the Jacksonville Beach Police Department then executed a search warrant on the condo where Murel was renting a room. Law enforcement siezed additional amounts of cocaine and three firearms from inside Murel’s room. An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty. This case was investigated by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, the Baker County Sheriff’s Office, the Jacksonville Beach Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The State Attorney’s Office for the Eighth Judicial Circuit also provided assistance with the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Talbot.


title: California Truck Driver Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison After Transporting 72 Kilograms of Methamphetamine Into Indiana

component: USAO - Indiana, Southern

body_text: INDIANAPOLIS- Dejohntae Zeche Keith Williams, 30, of California, has been sentenced to 8 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. According to court documents, on May 7, 2021, an Indiana State Police Trooper stopped Williams after he was clocked driving a semi-truck over the speed limit on I-65. The troopers conducted a lawful search of the truck and found two large, black duffel bags on the top bunk of the sleeper berth. Inside the bags were individually wrapped plastic packages containing a total of 162 approximately one-pound packages of methamphetamine. In total, there was approximately 72 kilograms of methamphetamine between the two bags. During an interview with Homeland Security Investigations Agents, Williams admitted that he was delivering drugs to Louisville, Kentucky, in exchange for $30,000. “The Crossroads of America remains an attractive target for the drug traffickers who seek illegal profits with utter disregard for the individuals and families harmed by abuse of dangerous substances,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “I commend the ISP Troopers who successfully intercepted this large quantity of methamphetamine involved and ISP’s partnership with Homeland Security Investigations to ensure that this criminal was held accountable. The serious federal prison sentence imposed today should serve as a warning to drug traffickers everywhere: Indiana’s highways are not a safe space to push your poisons into our communities.” “HSI and our law enforcement partners will continue to investigate and remove from our streets those involved in the illicit drug trade,” said Special Agent in Charge Sean Fitzgerald, who oversees the HSI Chicago area of operations. “We are committed to combating the dangerous threat methamphetamine poses to our citizens and the safety of our communities.” “The Indiana State Police will continue to work with its federal, county and local law enforcement partners in an effort to not only keep these dangerous and potentially deadly drugs out of our communities, but to also hold those responsible for transporting and trafficking them into those communities,” said Indiana State Police Superintendent, Doug Carter. Homeland Security Investigations investigated this case, with valuable assistance provided by Indiana State Police. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge, Jane Magnus Stinson. Judge Stinson also ordered that Williams be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 3 years following his release from federal prison. U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorneys William L. McCoskey and Corbin Houston, who prosecuted this case.


component: USAO - Oklahoma, Northern

body_text: WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice today announced the creation of the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program, which permanently places 10 attorneys and coordinators in five designated regions across the United States to aid in the prevention and response to missing or murdered Indigenous people. “This new program mobilizes the Justice Department’s resources to combat the crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons, which has shattered the lives of victims, their families, and entire Tribal communities.” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will continue to accelerate our efforts, in partnership with Tribes, to keep their communities safe and pursue justice for American Indian and Alaska Native families.” “These new positions represent the Justice Department’s continuing commitment to addressing the MMIP crisis with urgency and all of the tools at our disposal,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “MMIP prosecutors and coordinators will work with partners across jurisdictions and alongside the Tribal communities who have been most devastated by this epidemic.” “I am excited about the support this program will provide in the prevention and response to missing or murdered indigenous people,” said U.S. Attorney Clinton Johnson. “The support will include assisting in the investigation of unresolved cases and related crimes. It will also promote enhanced communication, collaboration, and coordination among our federal, Tribal, state, and local law enforcement partners on this important issue.” The MMIP regional program prioritizes MMIP cases consistent with the Deputy Attorney General’s July 2022 directive to United States Attorneys’ offices promoting public safety in Indian country. The program fulfills the Justice Department’s promise to dedicate new personnel to MMIP consistent with Executive Order 14053, Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People , and the Department’s Federal Law Enforcement Strategy to Prevent and respond to Violence Against American Indians and Alaska Natives, Including to Address Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons issued in July 2022. The program will dedicate five MMIP Assistant U.S. Attorneys and five MMIP coordinators to provide specialized support to United States Attorneys’ offices to address and combat the issues of MMIP. This support includes assisting in the investigation of unresolved MMIP cases and related crimes, and promoting communication, coordination, and collaboration among federal, Tribal, local, and state law enforcement and non-governmental partners on MMIP issues. The five regions include the Northwest, Southwest, Great Plains, Great Lakes, and Southeast Regions, and MMIP personnel will be located within host United States Attorneys’ offices in the Districts of Alaska, Arizona, Eastern Washington, Minnesota, New Mexico, Northern Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, and Western Michigan. Programmatic support will be provided by the MMIP Regional Outreach Program Coordinator at the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. “The Executive Office for United States Attorneys and the United States Attorney community are committed to preventing and responding to cases of missing or murdered Indigenous people. To that end, we will work together with all relevant federal, Tribal, state and local law enforcement partners to locate missing persons and solve crimes where they have occurred," said Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) Director Monty Wilkinson. “This new program will allow the Department to build upon the work done by individual United States Attorneys’ offices and ensure continued support to those offices by coordinating outreach regionally on MMIP matters. More broadly, this MMIP Program will complement the work of the Justice Department’s National Native American Outreach Services Liaison, who is helping amplify the voice of crime victims in Indian country and their families as they navigate the federal criminal justice system. Further, the MMIP Program will liaise with and enhance the work of the Department’s Tribal Liaisons and Indian Country Assistant United States Attorneys throughout Indian Country, the Native American Issues Coordinator, and the National Indian Country Training Initiative Coordinator to ensure a comprehensive response to MMIP.


component: USAO - Oregon

body_text: WASHINGTON—The Department of Justice announced Wednesday the creation of the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program, which permanently places 10 attorneys and coordinators in five designated regions across the United States to aid in the prevention and response to missing or murdered Indigenous people. “This new program mobilizes the Justice Department’s resources to combat the crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons, which has shattered the lives of victims, their families, and entire Tribal communities.” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will continue to accelerate our efforts, in partnership with Tribes, to keep their communities safe and pursue justice for American Indian and Alaska Native families.” “These new positions represent the Justice Department’s continuing commitment to addressing the MMIP crisis with urgency and all of the tools at our disposal,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “MMIP prosecutors and coordinators will work with partners across jurisdictions and alongside the Tribal communities who have been most devastated by this epidemic.” “We are pleased to join Attorney General Garland and other department leaders in making this important announcement. For years, supporting and enhancing public safety in Tribal communities has been a top priority for our office,” said Natalie Wight, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. “We are eager to be among the districts leading the department’s efforts to prevent and respond to missing and murdered Indigenous people.” The MMIP regional program prioritizes MMIP cases consistent with the Deputy Attorney General’s July 2022 directive to United States Attorneys’ offices promoting public safety in Indian country. The program fulfills the Justice Department’s promise to dedicate new personnel to MMIP consistent with Executive Order 14053, Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People , and the Department’s Federal Law Enforcement Strategy to Prevent and respond to Violence Against American Indians and Alaska Natives, Including to Address Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons issued in July 2022. The program will dedicate five MMIP Assistant U.S. Attorneys and five MMIP coordinators to provide specialized support to United States Attorneys’ offices to address and combat the issues of MMIP. This support includes assisting in the investigation of unresolved MMIP cases and related crimes, and promoting communication, coordination, and collaboration among federal, Tribal, local, and state law enforcement and non-governmental partners on MMIP issues. The five regions include the Northwest, Southwest, Great Plains, Great Lakes, and Southeast Regions, and MMIP personnel will be located within host United States Attorneys’ offices in the Districts of Alaska, Arizona, Eastern Washington, Minnesota, New Mexico, Northern Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, and Western Michigan. Programmatic support will be provided by the MMIP Regional Outreach Program Coordinator at the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. “The Executive Office for United States Attorneys and the United States Attorney community are committed to preventing and responding to cases of missing or murdered Indigenous people. To that end, we will work together with all relevant federal, Tribal, state and local law enforcement partners to locate missing persons and solve crimes where they have occurred,” said Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) Director Monty Wilkinson. “This new program will allow the Department to build upon the work done by individual United States Attorneys’ offices and ensure continued support to those offices by coordinating outreach regionally on MMIP matters.” More broadly, this MMIP Program will complement the work of the Justice Department’s National Native American Outreach Services Liaison, who is helping amplify the voice of crime victims in Indian country and their families as they navigate the federal criminal justice system. Further, the MMIP Program will liaise with and enhance the work of the Department’s Tribal Liaisons and Indian Country Assistant United States Attorneys throughout Indian Country, the Native American Issues Coordinator, and the National Indian Country Training Initiative Coordinator to ensure a comprehensive response to MMIP. In early 2022, the District of Oregon established an MMIP Working Group to increase multi-agency communication and collaboration in support of and response to Oregon-connected MMIP cases. The Working Group includes at least one representative from each of the nine federally recognized Tribes in Oregon, the FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of Interior Regional Solicitor’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, Oregon Department of Justice, Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office, and Oregon State Police. To learn more about the District of Oregon’s MMIP program, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/indian-country/mmip.html .


component: USAO - Arizona

number: 2023-098_MMIP Regional Outreach Program

body_text: PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Department of Justice today announced the creation of the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program, which permanently places 10 attorneys and coordinators in five designated regions across the United States to aid in the prevention and response to missing or murdered Indigenous people. “This new program mobilizes the Justice Department’s resources to combat the crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons, which has shattered the lives of victims, their families, and entire Tribal communities,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will continue to accelerate our efforts, in partnership with Tribes, to keep their communities safe and pursue justice for American Indian and Alaska Native families.” “These new positions represent the Justice Department’s continuing commitment to addressing the MMIP crisis with urgency and all of the tools at our disposal,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “MMIP prosecutors and coordinators will work with partners across jurisdictions and alongside the Tribal communities who have been most devastated by this epidemic.” “Vindicating the rights of missing and murdered indigenous persons and their families is a top priority for our office,” said United States Attorney Gary Restaino. “As home to 22 federally-recognized tribes, this District has been thinking about — and working on — this issue for several years. It is a complex issue, with no easy solution. Hosting an MMIP coordinator for the Region will allow us to dedicate even more resources to this important issue.” The MMIP regional outreach program prioritizes MMIP cases consistent with the Deputy Attorney General’s July 2022 directive to United States Attorneys’ offices promoting public safety in Indian country. The program fulfills the Justice Department’s promise to dedicate new personnel to MMIP consistent with Executive Order 14053, Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People , and the Department’s Federal Law Enforcement Strategy to Prevent and respond to Violence Against American Indians and Alaska Natives, Including to Address Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons also issued in July 2022. The program will dedicate five MMIP Assistant U.S. Attorneys and five MMIP coordinators to provide specialized support to United States Attorneys’ offices to address and combat the issues of MMIP. This support includes assisting in the investigation of unresolved MMIP cases and related crimes, and promoting communication, coordination, and collaboration among federal, Tribal, local, and state law enforcement and non-governmental partners on MMIP issues. The five regions include the Northwest, Southwest, Great Plains, Great Lakes, and Southeast Regions, and MMIP personnel will be located within host United States Attorneys’ offices in the Districts of Alaska, Arizona, Eastern Washington, Minnesota, New Mexico, Northern Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, and Western Michigan. Programmatic support will be provided by the MMIP Regional Outreach Program Coordinator at the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. “The Executive Office for United States Attorneys and the United States Attorney community are committed to preventing and responding to cases of missing or murdered Indigenous people. "To that end, we will work together with all relevant federal, Tribal, state, and local law enforcement partners to locate missing persons and solve crimes where they have occurred," said Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) Director Monty Wilkinson. “This new program will allow the Department to build upon the work done by individual United States Attorneys’ offices and ensure continued support to those offices by coordinating outreach regionally on MMIP matters.” More broadly, this MMIP program will complement the work of the Justice Department’s National Native American Outreach Services Liaison, who is helping amplify the voices of crime victims in Indian country and their families as they navigate the federal criminal justice system. Further, the MMIP program will liaise with and enhance the work of the Department’s Tribal Liaisons and Indian Country Assistant United States Attorneys throughout Indian Country, the Native American Issues Coordinator, and the National Indian Country Training Initiative Coordinator to ensure a comprehensive response to MMIP. RELEASE NUMBER: 2023-098_MMIP Regional Outreach Program # # # For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/ Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.


title: Former Active-Duty Army Staff Sergeant Sentenced To 10 Years In Federal Prison For Attempting To Entice A Minor To Engage In Sexual Activity

body_text: Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Nicholas Christopher Carwise (31, Fort Mitchell) to 10 years in federal prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, for attempted enticement and coercion of a minor to engage in sexual activity. Carwise had pleaded guilty on March 20, 2023. According to court documents, on May 12, 2022, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Task Force Officer (TFO)/St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office detective posted a photo to an online social media application. On the same date, the TFO received a response from an individual with the screenname “Vistor,” who had a location of 8 miles away. During the TFO’s conversation with “Vistor,” who was later identified as Carwise, “Vistor” quickly expressed a sexual interest in the TFO’s fictitious persona, whom he believed to be a 13-year-old child. From May 14 through May 21, 2022, the TFO and Carwise communicated through two social medial applications. Carwise discussed meeting the “minor child” to engage in sexual activity with her, including Carwise paying her $200 to engage in sexual activity with him. Law enforcement identified Carwise based on photos and information he had provided for his profiles for the two social media accounts. Further investigation revealed that Carwise had a residence in Tennessee and that vehicles registered to him were located in and around St. Johns County from May 11 to May 15, 2022. Law enforcement also learned that Carwise was likely in the military and contacted the Criminal Investigations Division for assistance. Law enforcement learned that Carwise was on Active Duty for the Army, enlisted, and had a rank of Staff Sergeant, working in Kentucky at the time. Carwise was arrested on June 29, 2022, at Fort Benning, Georgia and has been in custody since his arrest. “Social media has made it easy for sexual predators to feed their illicit fantasies by targeting the innocence of children,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Jacksonville Assistant Special Agent in Charge K. Jim Phillips. “The Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Task Force, including the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, and with assistance from the Ft. Benning Criminal Investigation Division, made sure this soldier will no longer be able to entice and victimize our most vulnerable.” This case was investigated by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Task Force. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington. It is another case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc .


title: Permanent Injunction Imposed on Online Education Platform Company Edmodo, LLC for Alleged Violations of Children’s Privacy Law

component: Civil Division

body_text: The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today announced that Edmodo, LLC (Edmodo) has agreed to a permanent injunction and a $6 million civil penalty in connection with its online educational platform, as part of a settlement to resolve alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA Rule), and the Federal Trade Commission Act. The civil penalty is suspended due to Edmodo’s inability to pay. The Edmodo educational platform, sold to schools throughout the United States, enabled teachers to interface with students, including children under 13 years old, to host virtual class spaces, conduct discussions, share materials, make assignments, and provide quizzes and grades, among other things. In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the government alleges that, until approximately September 2022, Edmodo collected the personal information of children under 13, including their names, email addresses, phone numbers, device information, and IP addresses. Edmodo allegedly collected such information without providing notice to the children’s parents or obtaining parental authorization to collect such personal information, as required by the COPPA Rule, and used this personal information to enable third-parties to display targeted advertising to student users between 2018 and September 2022. The complaint further asserts that Edmodo was retaining this personal information indefinitely. As of March 2020, Edmodo retained the personal information associated with approximately 36 million student accounts, of which only one million were actively using the platform. This indefinite retention violated COPPA’s requirement that an operator not retain personal information of children for longer than “reasonably necessary to fulfill the purpose for which [the information] was collected.” The stipulated order, entered by the federal district court yesterday, enjoins Edmodo from collecting personal information from children in a manner that violates the COPPA Rule and prohibits Edmodo from retaining children’s personal information for longer than reasonably necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected. The order also enjoins Edmodo from collecting more personal information than reasonably necessary for a child to participate in any activity offered on its service. It also requires Edmodo to destroy personal information improperly collected from children under age 13 and to comply with reporting, monitoring, and recordkeeping requirements. Edmodo is also subject to a civil penalty judgment of $6 million dollars, which is suspended due to Edmodo’s inability to pay. “The Justice Department takes seriously its mission to protect the online privacy rights of children and their parents. This order spells out clearly to all online providers that it is unacceptable to collect children’s personal information without their parents’ consent,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to protecting against unauthorized online collection and retention of information, especially from children.” “This order makes clear that ed tech providers cannot outsource compliance responsibilities to schools, or force students to choose between their privacy and education,” said Director Samuel Levine of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Other ed tech providers should carefully examine their practices to ensure they’re not compromising students’ privacy.” “Children do not lose their privacy protections when they use the internet,” said U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey for the Northern District of California. “Congress and the FTC have established rules to govern websites and apps collecting and storing the personal information of children. The settlement being announced today demonstrates the Department of Justice’s resolve to enforce those rules. We will continue to work with our partners at the FTC to safeguard children’s online privacy.” This matter was handled by Senior Trial Attorney James T. Nelson and Assistant Director Lisa Hsiao of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, Assistant U.S. Attorney Vivian Wang for the Northern District of California, and Gorana Neskovic and Peder Magee of the FTC. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch . For more information about the FTC, visit its website at www.FTC.gov .


title: Queens Man Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Snakes

component: USAO - New York, Northern

body_text: ALBANY, NEW YORK – Calvin Bautista, age 37, of Richmond Hill, New York, pled guilty today to smuggling three Burmese pythons into the United States at the Champlain Port of Entry. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Ryan Noel, Regional Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, made the announcement. Bautista admitted that on July 15, 2018, he smuggled the three snakes in his pants as he rode on a bus that crossed the U.S.-Canadian border at the Champlain Port of Entry. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers discovered the snakes while reviewing Bautista’s passport and conducting a border search. The young adult snakes were in bags attached to Bautista’s pants near his inner thigh. Bautista did not obtain the permits required to import these snakes. As their name suggests, Burmese pythons are not native to North America, and are an invasive species. Sentencing is scheduled for October 26, 2023, before Senior United States District Judge Lawrence E. Kahn. Bautista faces a maximum term of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and CBP investigated this case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander P. Wentworth-Ping is prosecuting this case.


title: Chattanooga Man Convicted Of Being A Felon In Possession Of A Firearm

component: Criminal Investigative Division (FBI)

body_text: CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – On June 27, 2023, following a one-day trial in United States District Court, in Chattanooga, Tenn., a jury convicted Andre Blocker, Jr., 22 of Chattanooga of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(1). Sentencing is set for October 26, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. before the Honorable Charles E. Atchley, Jr. in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Blocker faces up to ten years imprisonment. The evidence presented at trial showed that on February 9, 2022, a Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant observed Blocker driving recklessly on Glenwood Drive in Chattanooga and initiated a traffic stop. During the stop, Blocker brandished a pistol and then fled, leading law enforcement on a high-speed pursuit. Block eventually crashed, striking an innocent motorist’s vehicle and a building, and then fled on foot. He was taken into custody a short distance from the crash. Officers located a Taurus 9-millimeter pistol in Blocker’s vehicle. Blocker is a multi-convicted felon. U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee made the announcement. Law enforcement agencies participating in the arrest and investigation which led to indictment and subsequent conviction of Blocker included the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Chattanooga Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Chattanooga Safe Streets Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Kevin T. Brown represented the United States at trial. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. ###


title: Cheyenne Man Sentenced for Being a Felon and Unlawful Drug User in Possession of a Firearm

component: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

body_text: Devon Jonathan Souza, a/k/a/ Devon Jonathan Swan, age 29, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was sentenced on June 26, 2023, to 105 months in prison for being a felon and a drug user in unlawful possession of a firearm. U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence, which also includes three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment. Souza was convicted by a jury on May 10, 2023. According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on September 1, 2021, Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers attempted to pull Souza over based on known arrest warrants. Souza led troopers, police officers and sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed chase through Cheyenne and then attempted to flee on foot. He was apprehended and taken into custody. Law enforcement returned to the vehicle and found a loaded Ruger pistol in a bag. While in custody, Souza tested positive for methamphetamine and admitted to using fentanyl. This crime was investigated by the Wyoming Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Cheyenne Police Department, Laramie County Sheriff’s Office, and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys T.J. Forwood and Seth Griswold.


title: National Enforcement Action Results in 78 Individuals Charged for $2.5B in Health Care Fraud

body_text: The Justice Department, together with federal and state law enforcement partners, announced today a strategically coordinated, two-week nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in criminal charges against 78 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes that included over $2.5 billion in alleged fraud. The defendants allegedly defrauded programs entrusted for the care of the elderly and disabled, and, in some cases, used the proceeds of the schemes to purchase luxury items, including exotic automobiles, jewelry, and yachts. In connection with the enforcement action, the Department seized or restrained millions of dollars in cash, automobiles, and real estate. “These enforcement actions, including against one of the largest health care fraud schemes ever prosecuted by the Justice Department, represent our intensified efforts to combat fraud and prosecute the individuals who profit from it,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will find and bring to justice criminals who seek to defraud Americans and steal from taxpayer-funded programs.” “This nationwide enforcement action demonstrates that the Criminal Division is committed to fighting health care fraud and opioid abuse by prosecuting those who allegedly exploit patients and health care benefit programs for personal gain,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s announcement includes some of the largest and most complex cases that the Department has prosecuted, and demonstrates the Department’s commitment to seeking justice for those at all levels of the healthcare industry who put profits above patient care, from professionals in doctors’ offices to executives in corporate boardrooms.” “Health care fraud is a complex and ever-evolving threat that negatively impacts the American people,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Today’s nationwide coordinated law enforcement action is a testament to the tenacity of the FBI and our partners, as well as our combined efforts to pursue anyone who conspires to exploit our health care system for financial gain.” “Patients trust federal health care programs to provide high quality care. When bad actors steal from these programs, they hurt patients,” said Inspector General Christi A. Grimm of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG is dedicated to protecting federal health care programs and putting patients first. Thank you to our law enforcement partners, especially the Medicaid Fraud Control Units, that participated in this effort.” “At the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), we are committed to protecting the safety and health of all Americans,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “When individuals divert addictive opioid medications for personal gain, they are knowingly putting Americans at risk, all too often causing harm and even death. DEA is committed to taking decisive action to hold accountable anyone who participates in these dangerous schemes.” “The Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) provides community health care to family members of our nation’s disabled or deceased veterans, and the defendants’ alleged criminal actions resulted in a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme that puts those benefits at risk and pilfers significant taxpayer funds,” said Inspector General Michael J. Missal of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG). “The VA-OIG’s continued oversight of VA’s multiple healthcare programs, including CHAMPVA, is one of the agency’s highest priorities. We thank our outstanding law enforcement partners for their efforts in this investigation.” Telemedicine Fraud The enforcement action included charges against 11 defendants in connection with the submission of over $2 billion in fraudulent claims resulting from telemedicine schemes. In a case involving the alleged organizers of one of the largest health care fraud schemes ever prosecuted, an indictment in the Southern District of Florida alleges that the chief executive officer (CEO), former CEO, and Vice President of Business Development of purported software and services companies conspired to generate and sell templated doctors’ orders for orthotic braces and pain creams in exchange for kickbacks and bribes. The conspiracy allegedly resulted in the submission of $1.9 billion in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and other government insurers for orthotic braces, prescription skin creams, and other items that were medically unnecessary and ineligible for Medicare reimbursement. As part of the alleged conspiracy, individuals in a massive telemarketing operation, located in the United States and abroad, targeted the elderly and disabled with direct mail, television advertisements, and other forms of advertising to induce them to contact offshore boiler-rooms staffed by individuals who “up-sold” the elderly and disabled on unnecessary medical equipment and prescriptions. According to the indictment, the software platform that the defendants allegedly operated was actually a conduit for these telemarketers to coordinate the payment of illegal kickbacks and bribes to telemedicine companies to obtain doctors’ orders for Medicare beneficiaries. The defendants allegedly programmed the software platform to generate false and fraudulent orders for telemedicine practitioners to sign and obstruct Medicare investigations by concealing that the interactions with beneficiaries had occurred remotely using telemedicine. The program-generated orders falsified certifications that the telemedicine doctors had examined the beneficiaries in person, and falsified diagnostic testing that Medicare required for brace orders. After the original CEO sold the company in a corporate acquisition, the new corporate leadership allegedly chose to continue the pre-existing fraud scheme. In another telemedicine fraud case, in the Eastern District of Washington, a licensed physician was charged for signing more than 2800 fraudulent orders for orthotic braces, including for patients whose limbs had already been amputated. As alleged, the physician took less than 40 seconds to review and sign each order. The cases announced today build on earlier telemedicine enforcement actions involving over $10.1 billion in fraud. The April 2019 Operation Brace Yourself Telemedicine and Durable Medical Equipment Takedown alone resulted in an estimated cost avoidance of more than $1.9 billion in the amount Medicare paid for orthotic braces in the 20 months following that enforcement action, preserving the Medicare trust fund for necessary medical care. Pharmaceutical Fraud The enforcement action also included charges against 10 defendants in connection with the submission of over $370 million in fraudulent claims submitted in connection with prescription drugs. In one case announced today, the owner and corporate officer of a pharmaceutical wholesale distribution company was charged for an alleged $150 million fraud scheme in which the company purchased illegally diverted prescription HIV medication, and then marketed and resold the medication by falsely representing that the company acquired it through legitimate channels. The defendant allegedly purchased the diverted medication at a substantial discount from individuals who obtained the drugs primarily through illegal “buyback” schemes in which they paid HIV patients cash for their expensive HIV medication and repackaged those pills for resale. To cover up their scheme, the defendant and others falsified labeling and product tracing documentation to make it appear legitimate. Pharmacies purchased the misbranded medications, dispensed them to patients, and billed them to health care benefit programs, all while the defendants reaped substantial illegal profits. In a related case, on June 15, an individual in the Southern District of Florida was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in this nationwide scheme. According to court documents, the defendant illegally acquired large quantities of prescription drugs from patients for whom the drugs had been prescribed but not yet consumed. The defendant and others then repackaged the drugs and sold them to wholesale companies. In some instances, the medication that the defendant sold contained the wrong medication, broken pills, and even pebbles, leading to complaints by pharmacies. The defendant used his share of the proceeds to purchase luxury goods, including a $280,000 Lamborghini, a $220,000 Mercedes, and three boats. Opioid Distribution and Other Types of Health Care Fraud The charges also targeted over $150 million in false billings submitted in connection with other types of health care fraud, including the illegal distribution of opioids and clinical laboratory testing fraud. Today’s enforcement action includes charges against 24 physicians and other licensed medical professionals who lined their own pockets, including doctors who allegedly put their patients at risk by illegally providing them with opioids they did not need. The charges also include cases where healthcare companies, physicians, and other providers paid cash kickbacks to patient recruiters and beneficiaries in return for patient information, so that the providers could submit fraudulent bills for Medicare reimbursement. The Center for Program Integrity of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CPI/CMS) separately announced today that it took adverse administrative actions in the last six months against 90 medical providers for their alleged involvement in health care fraud. Principal Assistant Deputy Chief Jacob Foster and Acting Assistant Chief Rebecca Yuan of the National Rapid Response Strike Force of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section led and coordinated today’s enforcement action. The Health Care Fraud Unit’s Strike Forces in Brooklyn, Dallas, Detroit, the Gulf Coast, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, and Tampa; the Health Care Fraud Unit’s National Rapid Response Strike Force; the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Florida, Southern District of Georgia, District of Idaho, Western District of Kentucky, Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, District of New Jersey, Eastern District of New York, Southern District of Ohio, District of South Carolina, Southern District of Texas, Eastern District of Washington, and Eastern District of Wisconsin; and the State Attorney Generals’ Offices for Indiana, New York, and Pennsylvania are prosecuting these cases, with assistance from the Health Care Fraud Unit’s Data Analytics Team. Descriptions of cases involved in today’s enforcement action are available on the Department’s website at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit/2023-national-hcf-case-summaries . In addition to the FBI, HHS-OIG, DEA, and CMS/CPI, State Medicaid Fraud Control Units, HSI, FDA, IRS-CI, VA-OIG, USPS-OIG, FDIC-OIG, OPM-OIG, Amtrak-OIG, and other federal and state law enforcement agencies participated in the operation. The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 25 federal districts, has charged more than 5,000 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $24 billion. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit . The Fraud Section uses the Victim Notification System to provide victims with case information and updates related to this case. Victims with questions may contact the Fraud Section’s Victim Assistance Unit by calling the Victim Assistance phone line at 1-888-549-3945 or by emailing victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov . To learn more about victims’ rights, please visit www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/victim-rights-derechos-de-las-v-ctimas , and for further information for victims about new federal charges in connection with the HIV scheme, please visit www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/case/united-states-v-steven-diamantstein . A complaint, information, or indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


component: USAO - New Mexico

body_text: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Today, during the Not Invisible Act Commission’s public hearing hosted in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and the Department of Justice announced the creation of the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons ( MMIP) Regional Outreach Program , which permanently places 10 attorneys and coordinators in five designated regions across the United States to aid in the prevention and response to missing or murdered Indigenous people. The District of New Mexico will receive one of five dedicated MMIP Assistant U.S. Attorneys which will provide specialized support to the New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Arizona. “This new program mobilizes the Justice Department’s resources to combat the crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons, which has shattered the lives of victims, their families, and entire Tribal communities,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will continue to accelerate our efforts, in partnership with Tribes, to keep their communities safe and pursue justice for American Indian and Alaska Native families.” “These new positions represent the Justice Department’s continuing commitment to addressing the MMIP crisis with urgency and all of the tools at our disposal,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “MMIP prosecutors and coordinators will work with partners across jurisdictions and alongside the Tribal communities who have been most devastated by this epidemic.” “Together, we will meet the case of each missing and murdered indigenous person with urgency, transparency, and coordination,” said U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez. “Everyone deserves to feel safe in their community and confident that law enforcement will be vigilant in the investigation of missing community members.” The MMIP regional program prioritizes MMIP cases consistent with the Deputy Attorney General’s July 2022 directive to United States Attorneys’ offices promoting public safety in Indian country. The program fulfills the Justice Department’s promise to dedicate new personnel to MMIP consistent with Executive Order 14053, Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People , and the Department’s Federal Law Enforcement Strategy to Prevent and respond to Violence Against American Indians and Alaska Natives, Including to Address Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons issued in July 2022. The program will dedicate five MMIP Assistant U.S. Attorneys and five MMIP coordinators to provide specialized support to United States Attorneys’ offices to address and combat the issues of MMIP. This support includes assisting in the investigation of unresolved MMIP cases and related crimes, and promoting communication, coordination, and collaboration among federal, Tribal, local, and state law enforcement and non-governmental partners on MMIP issues. The five regions include the Northwest, Southwest, Great Plains, Great Lakes, and Southeast Regions, and MMIP personnel will be located within host United States Attorneys’ offices in the Districts of Alaska, Arizona, Eastern Washington, Minnesota, New Mexico, Northern Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, and Western Michigan. Programmatic support will be provided by the MMIP Regional Outreach Program Coordinator at the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. “The Executive Office for United States Attorneys and the United States Attorney community are committed to preventing and responding to cases of missing or murdered Indigenous people. To that end, we will work together with all relevant federal, Tribal, state and local law enforcement partners to locate missing persons and solve crimes where they have occurred ,” said Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) Director Monty Wilkinson. “This new program will allow the Department to build upon the work done by individual United States Attorneys’ offices and ensure continued support to those offices by coordinating outreach regionally on MMIP matters. More broadly, this MMIP Program will complement the work of the Justice Department’s National Native American Outreach Services Liaison, who is helping amplify the voice of crime victims in Indian country and their families as they navigate the federal criminal justice system. Further, the MMIP Program will liaise with and enhance the work of the Department’s Tribal Liaisons and Indian Country Assistant United States Attorneys throughout Indian Country, the Native American Issues Coordinator, and the National Indian Country Training Initiative Coordinator to ensure a comprehensive response to MMIP. Tessa M. DuBerry U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez announcing the MMIP Regional Outreach Program during opening remarks at the Not Invisible Act Commission hearing on June 28, 2023. U.S. Attorney Uballez is joined by Heidi Todacheene, Senior Advisor to the Secretary (left) and Elizabeth Hidalgo Reese, White House Senior Policy Advisor for Native Affairs (right). ### 23-138


title: New London Man Sentenced to 40 Months in Federal Prison for Gun Offense

component: USAO - Connecticut

body_text: Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that SHAQUAN SAUNDERS, also known as “Sosa Da Billy,” 28, of Uncasville, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 40 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for unlawful possession of a firearm. According to court documents and statements made in court, on August 7, 2020, New London Police officers investigating a string of shootings conducted a court-authorized search of a car that Saunders had occupied and recovered a loaded .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol, a spent .45 caliber shell casing, and a live .380 caliber round. Subsequent forensic analysis of the handgun revealed the presence of Saunders’ DNA, and additional analysis of the firearm and recovered shell casing via the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) connected them to a shooting incident that occurred on Blydenburg Avenue in New London on August 5, 2020. Saunders’ criminal history includes multiple felony convictions. Saunders has been detained since September 21, 2020. On April 4, 2023, he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon. This investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the New London Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha M. Freismuth through the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.


title: Cleveland Man Sentenced to Prison for Drug Distribution

component: USAO - Ohio, Northern

body_text: AKRON – Darrin Harsley, 33, of Cleveland, Ohio, was sentenced to 262 months of imprisonment on Tuesday, June 27, 2023 by U.S. District Judge John R. Adams after he pleaded guilty to three counts of distribution of a controlled substance. According to court documents, in August 2022, Ashtabula Police learned that a drug dealer from Cleveland nicknamed “D” was selling methamphetamine and fentanyl in the Ashtabula area. Based on a review of CashApp and phone information, Ashtabula Police were able to identify “D” as Darrin Harsley, who had prior felony convictions for felonious assault and drug trafficking. Then between August 30 and September 15, 2022 Ashtabula Police used a confidential source to make three purchases of methamphetamine and fentanyl from Harsley. During each of those three drug sales, Harsley traveled from Cleveland to Ashtabula, where he met the source at a park and sold them methamphetamine and fentanyl. Ashtabula Police arrested Harsley following the third drug sale and found the cash from the sale in the center console of his vehicle. According to court records, Harsley had been released from prison in 2021 after serving approximately a decade for two felonious assault convictions, each of which involved a firearm. At Harsley’s sentencing hearing, the court determined that he qualified as a career offender based on his two prior felonious assault convictions, and was therefore subject to an increased sentencing guidelines range. The investigation was conducted by the Ashtabula Police Department and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James P. Lewis.


title: Media Advisory – Press Conference:        U.S. Attorney to Announce Multiple Indictments and Seizures as Part of Fayetteville Violent Crime and Drug Strategy

component: USAO - North Carolina, Eastern

body_text: FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – United States Attorney Michael Easley, along with representatives from the Fayetteville Police Department, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), will hold a press conference on Thursday, June 29 th at 11:00 a.m. to announce multiple recent indictments and seizures as part of an ongoing violent crime and drug strategy in the Fayetteville area. WHERE: Council Chambers in City Hall - 433 Hay Street, Fayetteville WHEN: TOMORROW (THURSDAY) 11:00 a.m. Media, please arrive by 10:30 a.m. for set up . Credentialed members of the media are invited to attend. For additional information, please e-mail usance.PublicInfoOfficer@usdoj.gov . Please RSVP your intentions to attend the event. ###


title: U.S. Attorney Announces Participation in Coordinated National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action

component: Criminal - Criminal Fraud Section

body_text: SAVANNAH, Ga. – Criminal charges have been filed in the Southern District of Georgia against a Florida man as part of the Department of Justice’s 2023 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action. “These enforcement actions, including against one of the largest health care fraud schemes ever prosecuted by the Justice Department, represent our intensified efforts to combat fraud and prosecute the individuals who profit from it,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will find and bring to justice criminals who seek to defraud Americans and steal from taxpayer-funded programs.” “This nationwide enforcement action demonstrates that the Criminal Division is committed to fighting health care fraud and opioid abuse by prosecuting those who allegedly exploit patients and health care benefit programs for personal gain,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s announcement includes some of the largest and most complex cases that the Department has prosecuted, and demonstrates the Department’s commitment to seeking justice for those at all levels of the healthcare industry who put profits above patient care, from professionals in doctors’ offices to executives in corporate boardrooms.” “In collaboration with our law enforcement partners, we are committed to protecting the integrity of our nation’s health care system and medical safety net programs from those who would exploit them for profit,” said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The charges announced during the 2023 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action are part of a strategically coordinated, two-week nationwide law enforcement sweep that resulted in criminal charges against 78 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes that resulted in the submission of more than $2.5 billion in alleged false billings. The defendants allegedly defrauded programs entrusted for the care of the elderly and disabled, and, in some cases, used the proceeds of the schemes to purchase luxury items, including exotic automobiles and yachts. In the Southern District of Georgia , Christopher Ciani , 40, of Land O’ Lakes, Fla., is charged via Information with one criminal count of Conspiracy. The information alleges that Ciani, in 2019, operated a company called Ciani Medical Solutions and conspired with others in a scheme targeted at the Medicare program. As alleged in the information, Ciani brokered relationships between laboratories and various marketing groups that recruited Medicare beneficiaries and sent doctors’ orders and specimens for genetic testing to the laboratories in exchange for approximately $1.4 million in illegal kickbacks and bribes. The case is being prosecuted by Acting Assistant Chief Brynn Schiess of the Dallas Strike Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Grover of the Southern District of Georgia. Criminal Informations contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Descriptions of other cases involved in today’s enforcement action are available on the Department’s website at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit/2023-national-hcf-court-documents . The Health Care Fraud Unit’s Strike Forces in Brooklyn, Dallas, Detroit, the Gulf Coast, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, and Tampa; the Health Care Fraud Unit’s National Rapid Response Strike Force; the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of Georgia, Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Florida, District of Idaho, Western District of Kentucky, Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, District of New Jersey, Eastern District of New York, Southern District of Ohio, District of South Carolina, Southern District of Texas, Eastern District of Washington, and Eastern District of Wisconsin; and the State Attorney Generals’ Offices for Indiana, New York, and Pennsylvania are prosecuting the cases in the National Enforcement Action, with assistance from the Health Care Fraud Unit’s Data Analytics Team. The Fraud Section uses the Victim Notification System to provide victims with case information and updates related to cases charged by the Fraud Section in the National Enforcement Action. Victims with questions may contact the Fraud Section’s Victim Assistance Unit by calling the Victim Assistance phone line at 1-888-549-3945 or by emailing victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov.


title: Permanent Injunction Imposed On Online Education Platform Company Edmodo, LLC For Alleged Violations Of Children’s Privacy Law

component: USAO - California, Northern

body_text: SAN FRANCISCO – The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today announced that Edmodo, LLC (Edmodo) has agreed to a permanent injunction and a $6 million civil penalty in connection with its online educational platform, as part of a settlement to resolve alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA Rule), and the Federal Trade Commission Act. The civil penalty is suspended due to Edmodo’s inability to pay. The Edmodo educational platform, sold to schools throughout the United States, enabled teachers to interface with students, including children under 13 years old, to host virtual class spaces, conduct discussions, share materials, make assignments, and provide quizzes and grades, among other things. In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the government alleges that, until approximately September 2022, Edmodo collected the personal information of children under 13, including their names, email addresses, phone numbers, device information, and IP addresses. Edmodo allegedly collected such information without providing notice to the children’s parents or obtaining parental authorization to collect such personal information, as required by the COPPA Rule, and used this personal information to enable third-parties to display targeted advertising to student users between 2018 and September 2022. The complaint further asserts that Edmodo was retaining this personal information indefinitely. As of March 2020, Edmodo retained the personal information associated with approximately 36 million student accounts, of which only one million were actively using the platform. This indefinite retention violated COPPA’s requirement that an operator not retain personal information of children for longer than “reasonably necessary to fulfill the purpose for which [the information] was collected.” The stipulated order, entered by the federal district court yesterday, enjoins Edmodo from collecting personal information from children in a manner that violates the COPPA Rule and prohibits Edmodo from retaining children’s personal information for longer than reasonably necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected. The order also enjoins Edmodo from collecting more personal information than reasonably necessary for a child to participate in any activity offered on its service. It also requires Edmodo to destroy personal information improperly collected from children under age 13 and to comply with reporting, monitoring, and recordkeeping requirements. Edmodo is also subject to a civil penalty judgment of $6 million dollars, which is suspended due to Edmodo’s inability to pay. “Children do not lose their privacy protections when they use the internet,” said U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey for the Northern District of California. “Congress and the FTC have established rules to govern websites and apps collecting and storing the personal information of children. The settlement being announced today demonstrates the Department of Justice’s resolve to enforce those rules. We will continue to work with our partners at the FTC to safeguard children’s online privacy.” “The Justice Department takes seriously its mission to protect the online privacy rights of children and their parents. This order spells out clearly to all online providers that it is unacceptable to collect children’s personal information without their parents’ consent,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to protecting against unauthorized online collection and retention of information, especially from children.” “This order makes clear that ed tech providers cannot outsource compliance responsibilities to schools, or force students to choose between their privacy and education,” said Director Samuel Levine of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Other ed tech providers should carefully examine their practices to ensure they’re not compromising students’ privacy.” This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vivian Wang for the Northern District of California, Senior Trial Attorney James T. Nelson and Assistant Director Lisa Hsiao of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, and Gorana Neskovic and Peder Magee of the FTC. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch . For more information about the FTC, visit its website at www.FTC.gov .


title: Missouri Man Sentenced to 12 ½ Years in Prison for National Forest Arsons, Assault of Forest Service Employee

component: USAO - Missouri, Eastern

body_text: CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Wednesday sentenced a man who committed arsons in the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri and assaulted a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer to 12 and one-half years in prison. Judge Limbaugh also ordered Lucas G. Henson, 37, of Iron County, Missouri, to pay the U.S. Forest Service about $7,200 for the cost of fighting the fires he set. Henson was out on bond after being charged with stealing and drug offenses when he stole a Ford van on Oct. 22, 2022 near Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Henson abandoned the van when it ran out of gas. Later that day, he broke into a camper and stole items from it. The next day, he stole a Dodge pickup truck, then burglarized someone’s home and stole a Ruger LC9 9mm handgun. He stole a crossbow from a workshop near the home. When the truck’s owner found Henson, Henson pointed the pistol at the truck’s owner and drove away. Law enforcement officers then joined the chase. Henson crashed the truck in Mark Twain National Forest, then started a fire and burned the handgun and the items that he’d stolen from the camper before fleeing into the forest. Officers began tracking Henson with dogs. When they got close, he started a fire to prevent being captured. He started a second fire when they approached him again. Later, he pointed the crossbow at a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer, as well as other officers, before fleeing again. Henson was eventually caught near the Black River. The fires burned a total of 7.61 acres of land. Due to the dry and windy conditions at the time, Henson’s fires kept leaping over fire lines established by fire fighters. Crews eventually had to construct “dozer lines” to contain the fire. Henson pleaded guilty in March to assaulting a law enforcement officer, arson and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The case was investigated by the U.S. Forest Service, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Shelton prosecuted the case.