Law Enforcement – Page 24 – Law Enforcement, Military, and Terrorism News

Government Contractor Sentenced to 57 Months in Prison for $3.7 Million Procurement Fraud Scheme

A former government contractor was sentenced to 57 months in prison for his role in carrying out a $3.7 million scheme to defraud at least 35 subcontractors located across the United States.

Chester L. Neal Jr., 45, of Bourbon Oak, Missouri, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd of the Eastern District of California. Judge Drozd also ordered Neal to pay restitution in the amount of $3,734,927.50.

Neal pleaded guilty on Aug. 19, 2019, to one count of mail fraud. According to admissions made in connection with his plea, Neal established and controlled several companies through which he bid on and won at least 105 government contracts to provide goods and services to federal agencies including the Department of Interior, U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force.

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The contracts required Neal to purchase and transport rock, gravel, and other raw materials to military bases and national parks. After winning these contracts, Neal fraudulently induced subcontractors to perform the required work.

But when Neal was paid by the government for his subcontractors’ work, he did not pay his subcontractors. Instead, Neal kept the money and spent it at places like casinos, nightclubs, restaurants and hotels.

In total, between July 2008 and December 2017, Neal defrauded his subcontractors out of approximately $3.7 million.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott of the Eastern District of California, Special Agent in Charge David A. House of the Department of Interior Office of Inspector General’s (DOI-OIG) Western Region Office of Investigations, Special Agent in Charge Ray Park of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s (Army CID) Major Procurement Fraud Unit, Pacific Fraud Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI’s Sacramento Division, Special Agent in Charge Jason Hein of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations’ (Air Force OSI) Office of Procurement Fraud Unit, and Special Agent in Charge Brian Denny of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Western Field Office made the announcement.

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DOI-OIG, Army CID, the FBI, Air Force OSI and DCIS investigated this matter.

Trial Attorney Kyle W. Maurer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant B. Rabenn of the Eastern District of California prosecuted the case.

DODIG.mil; Justice.gov (February, 2020) Government Contractor Sentenced to 57 Months in Prison for $3.7 Million Procurement Fraud Scheme

SchoolSafety.gov Launches to Help Educators, Administrators, Parents, and Law Enforcement Prepare for Threats

The Trump Administration on Monday launched the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse website: SchoolSafety.gov.

DHS, ED, DOJ, HHS team up to provide government-wide resources for local schools and educators

The Trump Administration on Monday launched the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse website: SchoolSafety.gov.

This website is a one-stop-shop of resources for Kindergarten through Grade 12 (K-12) administrators, educators, parents and law enforcement to use to prepare for and address various threats related to safety, security, and support in schools.

President Trump established the Federal Commission on School Safety to review safety practices and make meaningful and actionable recommendations of best practices to keep students safe.

“School safety is the number one priority of parents across the country, which is why the President directed DHS and other federal agencies to form a taskforce and provide schools, teachers, parents, and law enforcement with resources to identify, prepare for, respond to, and mitigate threats, “said Chad Wolf, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. “The Department provided expertise and resources on a range of school safety issues including threat assessments, physical security, emergency planning, and trainings and exercises designed to help schools and local law enforcement prepare for incidents. With these resources, schools and law enforcement will be better equipped to handle a crisis.”

“All students deserve a safe learning environment, and the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse is an essential resource for information and best practices,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, chair of the Federal Commission on School Safety. “Because every school community has its own unique needs, SchoolSafety.gov equips decision makers with resources for developing, customizing, and implementing actionable school safety plans.”

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“Every child should feel safe at school, and every parent should feel their child is safe each day, too,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “SchoolSafety.gov will help equip schools with the tools they need to create safe, healthy environments, including resources for how to provide mental health services in schools. This new one-stop shop complements the evidence-based technical assistance HHS provides to local communities around mental health treatment, and we hope to see more and more schools explore these opportunities.”

“The Department of Justice has no higher priority than making sure our schools are safe and secure for our nation’s students, teachers and administrators,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “I am grateful for President Trump’s leadership in this cause and am honored to stand with the rest of the leadership of his Administration as we continue our efforts to promote school safety through schoolsafety.gov. The Department of Justice is deeply grateful for the sacrifice and commitment of our nation’s school resource officers and police officers who are on the front lines of keeping our schools and country safe every day.”

SchoolSafety.gov is a resource for the American public, primarily K-12 school administrators, to access free information, guidance, best practices, and tools that make school safety initiatives more actionable in schools. Today’s launch represents the first phase of SchoolSafety.gov and we look forward to continually expanding and refining resource materials in coordination with our partners and stakeholders.

The Federal School Safety Clearinghouse and SchoolSafety.gov were developed to fulfill one of the key recommendations from the Federal Commission on School Safety.

SchoolSafety.gov includes:

The School Safety Readiness Tool, an assessment that assists users in evaluating their respective school’s safety posture across ten foundational elements of school safety. After completing the assessment, users are provided an action plan with task prioritization, options for consideration, aligned resources, and grant opportunities specific to individual needs;
A Secure Information Sharing Platform for designated school personnel to share school safety ideas, practices, plans, and tactics in a protected environment; and
A wide array of resources and best practices on key school safety topics to assist with building awareness within the school community to promote vigilance and build capacity to respond to incidents.

SchoolSafety.gov empowers districts and schools to improve safety and security. Following the school shooting in Parkland, Florida in March 2018, President Trump established the Federal Commission on School Safety by Executive Order to make meaningful advancements in keeping students safe.

The Trump Administration and DHS also released the 2019 strategy for targeted violence that defines ways that the Department will enhance security with increased preparedness, promoting community readiness, and enhancing defensive measures. The Department will continue to develop new techniques in protective practices.

DHS.gov (February, 2020) SchoolSafety.gov Launches t o Help Educators, Administrators, Parents, and Law Enforcement Prepare for Threats

Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Georgia Tax Return Preparer

The United States government filed a civil injunction suit seeking to bar Wesley Adam Kroll from owning or operating a tax return preparation business and preparing tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The complaint also seeks an order that Kroll disgorge ill-gotten return preparation fees that he obtained through his alleged misconduct.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, alleges that Kroll has operated three tax return preparation stores in Albany and Moultrie, Georgia, under the names United Tax Service, American Tax Service, American Tax, and Tax South.

The government alleges that Kroll prepared tax returns claiming fabricated businesses and business-related profits or losses, and various false tax deductions and credits, including education, childcare, and earned income tax credits. The complaint estimates the lost tax revenue from federal tax returns prepared by Kroll and his employees exceeds $1.9 million.

According to the complaint, the IRS took multiple steps to correct Kroll’s unlawful behavior, including conducting in-person educational visits with Kroll in 2012, 2014, and 2015; issuing him warning letters in 2013 and 2016; and assessing him with $182,500 in tax return preparer penalties. But, the government alleges, these efforts have failed to curb Kroll’s unlawful behavior.

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“The Justice Department is committed to working with the IRS to bring enforcement actions against unscrupulous return preparers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard Zuckerman. “This civil action is further evidence that the IRS and the Tax Division will use all available tools to hold dishonest return preparers accountable and protect the U.S. Treasury from damage.”

Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’ Dirty Dozen Tax Scams and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers.

In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page.

If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.

Justice.gov (February, 2020) Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Georgia Tax Return Preparer

14 ARRESTS IN SPAIN AFTER COCAINE FOUND IN BOXES OF A4 PAPER

Europol supported the Central Narcotics Unit and the Central Money Laundering Unit of regional Catalan police (Mossos D’esquadra) in arresting 14 members of an international criminal organization trafficking cocaine and laundering money.

Ten members of the criminal organization have been sent to prison.

The investigation began in December 2018 when 1 413kg of cocaine was found at a company near Barcelona. The drugs were hidden inside 800 boxes of A4 paper that came from Brazil. The true content of the boxes was only discovered when a company employee took one of the boxes and dropped it by accident. Two people were arrested in Spain and the investigation revealed that ten people had been smuggling drugs from Brazil as part of a criminal organization.

To launder the money they gained from drug trafficking, the suspects created a whole business structure with different companies, such as real estate investments or fashion stores in Barcelona. Another way to launder money was to use people (‘mulas’) that periodically made small cash deposits at several bank branches.

On 4 February the regional Catalan police carried out 13 simultaneous house and company searches to dismantle the structure of this smuggling organization, and, together with the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional), carried out one house search on the Balearic Island of Mahon. Money in several currencies, mobile phones, four simulated weapons, three cars, two motorcycles and several properties were all seized and two marijuana plantations were dismantled.

Two Europol experts were deployed for on-the-spot support to extract data from the mobile phones of two of the detainees. A member of Spain’s Europol National Unit also assisted during the action day.

Europol.europa.eu (February, 2020) 14 ARRESTS IN SPAIN AFTER COCAINE FOUND IN BOXES OF A4 PAPER

Child Predators Arrested as a Result of “Operation Broken Arrow” Online Undercover Investigation

As a result of a proactive online undercover investigation coordinated by the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit (CEACC), the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, and the Southern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, fourteen (14) people were arrested over a four-day period beginning Thursday, February 6, 2020.

“Operation Broken Arrow” was a four-day proactive effort centered in Valdosta, GA.

Those arrested were charged with O.C.G.A. 16-12-100.2, Computer or Electronic Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 2007 and/or O.C.G.A 16-5-46, Trafficking of Persons for Labor or Sexual Servitude.

Additional charges and arrests may be forthcoming.

“Operation Broken Arrow” was a four-day proactive effort centered in Valdosta, GA.

The operation took several months of planning. The arrestees, ranging in age from 24 to 57, traveled from areas around South Georgia with the intent to meet a child for sex. Every individual arrested during the operation believed they were going to a location to meet with a child and engage in prearranged sex acts.

The Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force had previously received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on at least one person who was arrested during Operation Broken Arrow. That same person had been previously arrested on peeping tom charges.

Two persons were arrested in possession of a firearm and two persons were arrested in possession of illegal narcotics. At least two other arrestees were investigated for sex related crimes in the past. Nineteen (19) mobile devices and several additional electronic devices were seized as evidence during the operation.

The goal of “Operation Broken Arrow” was to arrest persons who communicate with children on-line and then travel to meet them for the purpose of having sex. Additionally, the operation targeted those that are willing to exploit children by purchasing sex with a minor. On-line child predators visit chat rooms and websites on the internet, find children, begin conversations with them, introduce sexual content and arrange a meeting with the children for the purpose of having sex. The children these predators target are both boys and girls.

Since 2014, the Georgia ICAC Task Force has arrested over 150 people in similar operations.

Over the course of the operation, investigators had more than 120 exchanges with persons on various social media or internet platforms. During many of these exchanges, the subjects directed conversations towards sex with persons they believed to be minors. Over 40 cases were established that met the threshold for arrest.

Fourteen (14) of those cases were concluded with arrests. In some of these cases, the subject introduced obscene or lude content, often exposing the minor (UC) to pornography or requesting the child take nude or pornographic images for them. About half of the exchanges involved websites used for dating, socializing, or even websites used for classified advertisements.

Although some websites promote themselves as being for “adults-only” it is not uncommon for law enforcement to work cases in which children access these sites, establish profiles claiming to be older, and then find themselves vulnerable to victimization, harassment, blackmail, or assault.

Several subjects were identified as communicating simultaneously with multiple investigators posing as minors. Such activity confirms what investigators uncover conducting these types of investigations: that many predators specifically seek out minors on such websites to groom them as potential victims for sexual contact.

Along with those agencies who participated in the planning and coordinating of the operation, sixteen (16) additional law enforcement agencies participated in “Operation Broken Arrow” as members of the Georgia ICAC Task Force.

These agencies were:

Alpharetta Police Department
Atlanta Police Department
Floyd County Police Department
Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office
GBI-Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center (GISAC)
Glynn County Police Department
Gwinnett County Police Department
Hall County Sheriff’s Office
Homeland Security Investigations
Johns Creek Police Department
Lilburn Police Department
Marietta Police Department
Polk County Police Department
Savannah Police Department
United States Air Force – Office of Special Investigations
Woodstock Police Department

The proactive on-line investigation was a coordinated effort among the participating law enforcement agencies to combat this activity. Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk stated, “The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office is proud to partner with the GBI and other federal, state, and local area law enforcement agencies in these continuing efforts to identify and apprehend those who prey on our most vulnerable victims. Thanks to this coordinated four-day effort, multiple predators have been removed from our streets and are no longer free to victimize our children.”

GBI Special Agent in Charge, and Commander of the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, Debbie Garner remarked “The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office is one of our most active member agencies. We appreciate their daily efforts to combat child exploitation. This type of cooperation and collaboration is invaluable in the effort to keep our children safe from predators who seek to harm them. This successful operation was a true partnership between all the agencies involved. We will continue to aggressively work together to protect our children.”

The following were arrested and charged in Lowndes County as part of “Operation Broken Arrow”:

Dave Vincent Almon, W/M, 43, retail manager
Billy Stephen Carter, W/M, 57, truck driver
Eric Bernard Copeland, B/M, press operator
Walter Lee Curry, B/M, 33, laborer
Jamian Hogan, B/M, 34, retail associate
John Henry Hursey, W/M, 45, carpenter
Eugene Andega Mainah, B/M, 35, unemployed
Keith Morrison, B/M, 43, truck driver
Wyman Rene Phillips, W/M, 36, electrician
Wilford Sermons, B/M, 28, customer service representative
Josue Trejo, H/M, 31, forklift driver
Bronson Jamari D. Tripp, B/M, 24, retail associate
Keith Walters, W/M, 44, university Dean
Justin Na’eem Warren, B/M, 24, student

The Georgia ICAC Task Force is comprised of 240+ local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, other related criminal justice agencies and prosecutor’s offices. The mission of the ICAC Task Force, created by the U. S. Department of Justice and managed and operated by the GBI in Georgia, is to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in developing an effective response to cyber enticement and child pornography cases. This support encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim services, prevention and community education. The ICAC Program was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the internet, the proliferation of child pornography, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims. By helping state and local law enforcement agencies develop effective and sustainable responses to online child victimization and child pornography, the ICAC program delivers national resources at the local level. Arrests made by the Georgia ICAC Task Force have been steadily increasing over the last 3 years. In 2017, The Georgia ICAC Task Force made 350 arrests. In 2018, The Georgia ICAC Task Force made 307 arrests. In 2019, the Georgia ICAC Task Force made 474 arrests. The Georgia ICAC Task Force has made over 2,000 arrests since its inception in 2002.

GBI.Georgia.gov (February, 2020) “Operation Broken Arrow” Targets On-line Child Predators