Category: Corruption
Justice Department Files Statement of Interest in Fair Housing Act Case Alleging Unlawful Algorithm-Based Tenant Screening Practices
The Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that they filed a Statement of Interest to explain the Fair Housing Act’s (FHA) application to algorithm-based tenant screening systems. The Statement of Interest was filed in Louis et al. v. SafeRent et al., a lawsuit currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the…
Hakan Agro DMCC, Hakan Organics DMCC, and Several Individuals Charged with Multimillion-Dollar Organic Grain Fraud Scheme
Two Dubai entities and several individuals were charged in an indictment unsealed in the District of Maryland recently for their roles in a multimillion-dollar scheme to export non-organic grain into the United States to be sold as certified organic. Hakan Agro DMCC and Hakan Organics DMCC, both based in Dubai, and Goksal Beyaz, Nuray Beyaz and Mustafa Cakiroglu, all of…
Biden toughens border rules; U.S. will immediately begin turning away Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who cross Mexico border illegally
President Joe Biden said Thursday the U.S. would immediately begin turning away Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who cross the border from Mexico illegally, his boldest move yet to confront the arrivals of migrants that have spiraled since he took office two years ago. The new rules expand on an existing effort to stop Venezuelans attempting to enter the U.S., which…
Medical Components Inc, Martech Medical Products, Jet Medical: Allevio SPG Nerve Block Catheter – deferred prosecution agreement and criminal penalties totaling $200,000
Pennsylvania-based medical device distributor Jet Medical Inc. (Jet) agreed to pay $200,000 to resolve criminal allegations relating to a migraine headache treatment, and Jet and two related companies agreed to pay another $545,000 in a civil settlement involving the same device. In a criminal information filed today in the Southern District of Illinois, the government alleged that between April 2014…
Former Bolivian Minister of Government Sentenced for Bribery Conspiracy
The former Bolivian Minister of Government was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for conspiracy to launder bribes he received in exchange for corruptly helping a U.S. company win a lucrative contract from the Bolivian government. Arturo Carlos Murillo Prijic, 58, of Bolivia, pleaded guilty on Oct. 20, 2022, to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to court…
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty to fraud
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court Tuesday to charges that he cheated investors and looted customer deposits on his cryptocurrency trading platform as a judge set a tentative trial date for October. Bankman-Fried, 30, denied charges accusing him of illegally diverting massive sums of customer money from FTX to make lavish real estate purchases, donate…
Jan 6 panel shutting down after referring Trump for crimes
The House Jan 6 committee is shutting down, having completed a whirlwind 18-month investigation of the 2021 Capitol insurrection and sent its work to the Justice Department along with a recommendation for prosecuting former President Donald Trump. The committee’s time officially ends Tuesday when the new Republican-led House is sworn in. With many of the committee’s staff already departed, remaining…
Two Biotech CEOs Charged in Securities Fraud Schemes
U.S. Department of Justice FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, December 20, 2022 A federal grand jury in the District of Maryland returned an indictment that was unsealed today charging two men for their roles in schemes to defraud investors in CytoDyn Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company (OTCQB: CYDY) based in Vancouver, Washington. According to court documents, Nader Pourhassan, 59,…
Bladimir Moreno, Owner of Los Villatoros Harvesting LLC, Sentenced to 118 Months for Forced Labor, Multi-State Conspiracy (Mexican Workers)
Bladimir Moreno, 55, was sentenced for leading a federal racketeering and forced labor conspiracy that victimized Mexican H-2A agricultural workers in the United States between 2015 and 2017. U.S. District Court Judge Charlene Edward Honeywell of the Middle District of Florida sentenced Moreno to 118 months in prison with three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay over…
Nationwide Lawsuit Against AmerisourceBergen Corp. and Subsidiaries: Controlled Substances Act Violations
In a civil complaint filed today, the Department of Justice alleges that AmerisourceBergen Corporation and two of its subsidiaries, AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation and Integrated Commercialization Solutions, LLC (together “AmerisourceBergen”), collectively one of the country’s largest wholesale pharmaceutical distributors, violated federal law in connection with the distribution of controlled substances to pharmacies and other customers across the country, contributing to…
Ukrainian oligarch accused of money laundering, embezzlement arrested at French ski resort
Ukrainian oligarch Konstantin Zhevago, accused of embezzlement and money laundering, was arrested at an elite French ski resort. Zhevago was arrested by French law enforcement at the request of the Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigation, the agency said Wednesday in a statement. French and Ukrainian law enforcement had been cooperating on the case for months before the oligarch’s arrest. The…
No-nonsense judge takes over FTX-Bankman-Fried criminal case
A Manhattan federal judge known for swift decisions and a no-nonsense demeanor during three decades of overseeing numerous high-profile cases was assigned Tuesday to Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency case. The case was relegated to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan after the judge originally assigned recused herself because her husband worked for a law firm that had done work related to Bankman-Fried’s collapsed…
Peru arrests six generals amid graft investigation of ex-President Castillo
The anti-corruption unit of Peru’s attorney general’s office on Monday detained six generals amid an investigation into allegations the government of ousted former President Pedro Castillo illegally promoted police and military officers. Police also seized “documents and devices” during a raid of the home of Castillo’s former Defense Minister Walter Ayala, the anti-corruption unit said. Castillo, who was arrested earlier…
Ex-Tokyo Olympics official Takahashi granted ¥80 million bail in bribery case
A former Tokyo Olympics official arrested on bribery charges was granted bail on Monday. The Tokyo District court set bail for Haruyuki Takahashi at 80 million yen, NHK reported. Prosecutors have raided multiple companies in recent months in a widening corruption scandal related to the Tokyo Games. Takahashi, a former member of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics board and before that…
KPMG India in a Million Dollar Settlement with a US Regulator and Not Even a Ripple in India
KPMG India settled a proceeding before the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) on 6 December 2022; but there is barely any coverage by the Indian media. PCAOB, which audits public companies, censured KPMG Assurance and Consulting Services LLP (KPMG India) and the engagement partner (EP) Sagar P Lakhani for quality control failures, supervisory failures and documentation failures while…