Source: United States Department of Justice

A Florida woman was sentenced today to two years in prison for a scheme to file false tax returns and to two years in prison for an unrelated online romance scam. The two sentences are to run concurrently with each other.

According to court documents and statements made in court related to the tax scheme, Iona Coates owned and operated Bits & Bytes Accounting Services Inc., which provided tax preparation and bookkeeping services. Between 2015 and 2020, Coates claimed $228,788 in tax refunds on her individual federal income tax returns by falsely reporting that taxes had been withheld from her income and had been paid to the IRS. Coates further enriched herself by creating nearly 20 sham entities for the sole purpose of filing false tax returns that claimed fuel tax credits. Between 2017 and 2019, Coates prepared and filed 35 such returns.

According to court documents and statements made in court regarding the online romance scheme, in 2020, Coates met two individuals online through a dating website. She subsequently provided them with her bank account information and began receiving money into her account from victims of the scheme. She sent the money she received to them. In December 2020, U.S. Secret Service agents met with Coates and explained that she was acting as a “money mule” in an online romance scheme. As the agents described, the individuals, acting as fake suitors on dating websites, convinced victims to send money to Coates’s bank account. The Secret Service advised Coates to cease participation in the scheme, as the individuals were using her bank account to facilitate their theft. Coates, however, soon thereafter began acting as a money mule for another online romance scammer. Between December 2020 and September 2021, she received $229,376.26 into her bank accounts from victims of the scheme and sent the money to the scammer.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Brian Davis ordered Coates to serve a total of three years of supervised release for both schemes. Judge Davis also ordered Coates to pay approximately $186,288 in restitution to the United States related to the tax charges and $229,376.26 in restitution to the victims of the romance scheme.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the tax scheme and the U.S. Secret Service investigated the online romance scheme.

Trial Attorneys Kevin Schneider and Wilson Stamm of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin C. Frein for the Middle District of Florida prosecuted the tax case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Frein prosecuted the online romance scheme case.

Source: United States Department of Justice

A former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) attorney pleaded guilty today to conspiring to sexually exploit numerous children.

According to court documents, between January 2018 and October 2021, Mark Black, 50, of Arlington, Virginia, was a member of two online groups dedicated to exploiting children. The goal of the two groups was to locate prepubescent girls online and convince them to livestream themselves engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Black and his co-conspirators would covertly record this conduct and share the videos with each other.

In July 2019, Black induced a prepubescent minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct on a live-streaming application while screen-recording that activity. That same month, Black and a co-conspirator also groomed another prepubescent minor to engage in sexually explicit acts on a photo and video-sharing application. The co-conspirator surreptitiously hacked into that girl’s live-video feed and recorded the sexual acts before sending them to Black.

Black was formerly the Arlington Aquatic Club (AAC) board president.

Black pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to produce child pornography and one count of coercion and enticement. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 30 and faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Director Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Shimon Richmond of the FDIC Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG) made the announcement.

The FBI and FDIC-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys McKenzie Hightower, Kaylynn Foulon, and James E. Burke IV of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Halper for the Eastern District of Virginia 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 Justice Department. 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.

Any individuals who believe they or someone they know may have been victimized by Black are encouraged to contact the FBI at 202-278-2000 and ask to speak to the Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.

Source: United States Department of Justice

Today, the Justice Department participated in a trilateral meeting with enforcers from Mexico’s Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE), Canada’s Competition Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Discussions were held among Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, Chair Lina M. Khan of the FTC, Canadian Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell and President Andrea Marván Saltiel of COFECE.

The meeting, which took place in Mexico City, included discussions on competition in the technology and platform sectors and the impact of competition on labor markets, as well as discussions on new enforcement tools and bringing a whole-of-government approach to competition law.

“The competition law agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States share the common goal to preserve and protect fair and lawful competition,” said Assistant Attorney General Kanter. “I am grateful for the opportunity to meet with our fellow enforcers and discuss opportunities to promote competition and enhance enforcement in North America.”

“This annual trilateral with our enforcement partners lets us share expertise and learning, strengthening our work to promote fair competition and protect the American public from anticompetitive and monopolistic tactics,” said Chair Khan.

The 1995 cooperation agreement between the United States and Canada, the 1999 agreement between the United States and Mexico and the 2001 agreement between Canada and Mexico laid the foundation for these meetings. The agreements commit the agencies to coordinating and cooperating with each other to ensure consistent and effective antitrust enforcement.

Tomorrow, Assistant Attorney General Kanter will deliver a keynote speech at an event hosted by COFECE commemorating the release of a special anniversary book reflecting on the development of competition policy in Mexico. The book includes essays from competition experts around the world and is being released in honor of the 10th anniversary of the agency and 30th anniversary of the passage of Mexico’s first competition law.

Source: United States Department of Justice

A Colorado man was sentenced today to 39 months in prison for a hate crime charge in connection with a fire that he set to a church in Loveland, Colorado, on Jan. 19, 2023. Darion Ray Sexton, 22, pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime charge on May 5, 2023.

“This defendant has now been held accountable for his deliberate attack on the church,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “No one should live in fear because of their religious beliefs. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute those who seek to destroy houses of worship and interfere with the fundamental right to practice religion freely.”

“Places of worship are critical for our communities, and this office stands ready to protect them,” said U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan for the District of Colorado.  “Religious freedom means being free to worship without fear. Our office will take every appropriate action to ensure that every Coloradan enjoys this essential freedom.” 

“This defendant admitted he set out to destroy this church, which was determined to be a federal hate crime,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark D. Michaelk of the FBI Denver Field Office. “FBI Denver worked with the Loveland Police Department to bring this man to justice. Anyone who attacks a house of worship will get the full attention of the FBI. In addition to seeking justice for these crimes, the FBI remains committed to providing resources for potential victims, such as the event with faith leaders held in this county the day before the crime occurred.”

“Arson is not only destructive and deadly, but also undermines the sense of safety within places of worship,” said Special Agent in Charge Brent Beavers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). “We immediately committed all ATF resources to addressing the impact of this arson by deploying our certified fire investigator, an ATF Task Force Officer with their ATF trained accelerant detection canine and ATF Laboratory services to analyze fire debris and evidence. Early and continued collaboration with our local and federal partners ensured justice once again prevailed.”

According to court documents, Sexton pleaded guilty to intentionally setting fire to the church in the evening hours of Jan. 19, 2023. Sexton admitted that he set this fire by throwing two Molotov cocktails at the church — one at the front door and the other at the basement. Sexton further admitted that he was motivated to set this fire due to the religious character of the church and that he intended to destroy the church.  

The FBI, ATF and the Loveland Police and Fire Departments conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan D. Fields for the District of Colorado and Trial Attorney Maura White of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case. 

Source: United States Department of Justice

The Department of Justice, Office of Information Policy (OIP) is pleased to announce that nominations are open for the 2024 Sunshine Week FOIA Awards, recognizing the contributions of FOIA professionals from around the government.  As the Attorney General recognized in his FOIA Guidelines issued in March 2022, “[t]he federal government could not process the hundreds of thousands of FOIA requests that are received every year without its dedicated FOIA professionals.”  Agency FOIA professionals are at the center of ensuring successful FOIA administration and we look forward to celebrating the work of these individuals from around the government.  For this year’s event, OIP is seeking nominations for five categories of awards:

• Exceptional Service by a FOIA Professional or Team of FOIA Professionals
• Outstanding Contributions by a New Employee
• Exceptional Advancements in IT to Improve the Agency’s FOIA Administration
• Exceptional Advancements in Proactive Disclosure of Information
• Lifetime Service Award

Nominations can be submitted by agencies or by a member of the public.  All nominations are due to OIP by Wednesday, February 14.

Awardees will be recognized during the Department’s 2024 Sunshine Week event on March 11th.

Submission Guidelines

All agency personnel are eligible for the awards listed below. These personnel can include Government Information Specialists, supervisors, FOIA attorneys, FOIA administrative specialists, or other staff at the agency that meet the award category criteria.

We invite nominations for these awards from agencies as well as members of the public. Agency submissions should be made by the agency’s principal FOIA contact or Chief FOIA Officer. 

Nominations must include:

• The full name, title, agency (or organization if applicable), and contact information for the person submitting the nomination,
• The name(s) of the individual(s) they are nominating,
• The award category that best reflects the nominee(s)’ accomplishments,
• A summary, not to exceed two single-spaced pages, that describes the nominee’s or group’s accomplishments, why the individual or group should receive the award, what they have done that sets them apart, and how their actions benefited FOIA administration, and
• A short abstract (100 words or less) that briefly outlines the nominee’s accomplishments.

Nominations must be submitted to DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov with the subject line “2024 Sunshine Week FOIA Award Nomination” by February 14, 2024.

Award Categories

Award for Exceptional Service by a FOIA Professional or Team of FOIA Professionals

• Recognizing exemplary performance by a FOIA professional or team of FOIA professionals in carrying out the agency’s administration of the FOIA. This award recognizes those individuals or teams whose exceptional contributions have significantly benefited FOIA administration. These benefits could include increased efficiency, greater use of technology, reduced backlogs, improved timeliness, and increased proactive disclosures.

Award for Outstanding Contributions by a New Employee

• Recognizing exceptional performance and notable contributions in carrying out the agency’s FOIA responsibilities by a new employee with fewer than three years of work in FOIA.

Exceptional Advancements in IT to Improve the Agency’s FOIA Administration

• Recognizing exceptional achievements in making greater use of technology to make information more accessible.  These efforts could include the implementation of new and advanced technologies to increase efficiencies as well as to improve proactive disclosures and the online availability of information. 

Exceptional Advancements in Proactive Disclosure of Information

• Recognizing exceptional achievements by an agency or team of professionals at the agency to proactively make more information available online.  These efforts can include both the posting of more information online and steps taken to make that information more useful to the public.

Lifetime Service Award

• Recognizing an agency FOIA professional with at least 20 years of work in FOIA administration who has demonstrated high standards of excellence and dedication in the administration of the FOIA throughout their career.

Source: United States Department of Justice

An Alabama man was sentenced yesterday to life in prison for his involvement with a website dedicated to the advertisement and distribution of images and videos depicting child sexual abuse.

According to court documents, William Michael Spearman, 58, of Madison, was the lead administrator of the website, which had been operating for many years. The website included a section devoted to the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers, a section devoted to images and videos depicting children being subjected to pain and torture, and a section devoted to avoiding detection by law enforcement, among others. As the lead administrator, Spearman managed numerous other “staff” members, directed them on how to help run the site, recommended other users for promotion, kept records of child sexual abuse material advertised and distributed over the site, presided over staff meetings, praised and scolded users, and counseled users and other managers about the functions and expectations of the website. Spearman also advertised and distributed over the website images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.

On June 12, 2023, Spearman pleaded guilty to engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. The following defendants have also been convicted and sentenced in the Southern District of Florida for their involvement with the same website:

Defendant	Residence	Case Status
Selwyn David Rosenstein	Boynton Beach, Florida	Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to advertise child pornography, five counts of advertisement of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. Sentenced on Dec. 12, 2022, to 28 years in prison and ordered to pay $80,500 in restitution to victims of his offense.
Gregory Malcolm Good	Silver Springs, Nevada	Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to advertise child pornography and conspiracy to distribute child pornography. Sentenced on Aug. 22, 2023, to 25 years and 10 months in prison and ordered to pay $93,500 in restitution to victims of his offense.
Robert Preston Boyles	Clarksville, Tennessee	Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to advertise child pornography and conspiracy to distribute child pornography. Sentenced on Aug. 15, 2023, to 23 years and four months in prison and ordered to pay $7,500 in restitution to victims of his offense.
Matthew Branden Garrell	Raleigh, North Carolina	Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to advertise child pornography and conspiracy to distribute child pornography. Sentenced on Aug. 1, 2023, to 20 years and 10 months in prison and ordered to pay $158,500 in restitution to victims of his offense.
Joseph Addison Martin	Tahuya, Washington	Pleaded guilty to engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. Sentencing is scheduled for April 2 in Ft. Pierce, Florida.
Joseph Robert Stewart	Milton, Washington	Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to advertise child pornography and conspiracy to distribute child pornography. Sentencing is scheduled for April 18 in Ft. Pierce, Florida.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Director Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI’s Child Exploitation Operational Unit and Miami Field Office, West Palm Beach Resident Agency investigated the cases.

Trial Attorneys Kyle P. Reynolds and William G. Clayman of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted this case.

Substantial assistance for these cases was provided by FBI Field Offices and Resident Agencies in Huntsville, Alabama; Reno, Nevada; Clarksville, Tennessee; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Madison, Wisconsin; CEOS’s High Technology Investigative Unit; and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Alabama, District of Nevada, Middle District of Tennessee, Eastern District of North Carolina, and Western District of Wisconsin.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, 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.

We encourage anyone who suspects or has information regarding trafficking of minors, sextortion, child pornography or any other means of child exploitation to immediately contact law enforcement. You can file a report on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)’s website at www.cybertipline.com, call 1-800-843-5678, contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or call 877-4-HSI TIP.