2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Justice Department Co-Hosts Second Meeting of the Counterterrorism Law Enforcement Forum in Norway
The Justice Department’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism (State CT) co-hosted the second annual meeting of the Counterterrorism Law Enforcement Forum (CTLEF) with the Government of Norway in Oslo from June 6 to 7. The CTLEF, which focuses on countering the global threat of racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism (REMVE), brought together law enforcement, prosecutors, and other criminal justice practitioners from Europe and North and South America, as well as specialists from INTERPOL, Europol, the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law and other multilateral organizations to discuss how to effectively address and counter REMVE threats.

Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Depar..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Statement from Director Rachel Rossi of the Office for Access to Justice on the Adoption of the Equal Access to Justice Resolution at the United Nations Crime Commission
The Office for Access to Justice today issued the following statement from Director Rachel Rossi following the adoption of the “Equal Access to Justice for All” resolution at the 32nd Session of United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) in Vienna, Austria:

“The Office for Access to Justice is pleased to have played a role in the recent adoption by consensus of the first UN-CCPCJ resolution on access to justice. This resolution recognizes that when access to justice is limited or restricted in criminal justice systems, the rule of law is undermined. The resolution emphasizes the importance of United Nations Member States taking ‘all necessary steps to provide fair, transparent, effective, non-discriminatory and accountable services that ..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Former Texas Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Sentenced for Using Unlawful Force on an Inmate
A former Van Zandt County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office jail sergeant was sentenced today to 42 months in prison for violating a jail detainee’s civil rights by using unlawful force against him.

According to court documents, David Yager, 30, previously pleaded guilty and admitted that on or about Feb. 28, 2021, while he was serving in his official capacity, he repeatedly punched detainee M.H. in the chest with a taser with the trigger held down, even though M.H. did not pose a threat to anyone. Yager admitted that the detainee was confined to a restraint chair at the time Yager used unlawful force against him. Yager also admitted that his acts caused bodily injury to the detainee, and that he used force on the detainee despite knowing that there was no legitimate, law enforcement need to use force.

“This defendant abused his authority as a jail sergeant..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Two Federal Bureau of Prisons Employees Charged with Violating the Civil Rights of an Inmate Resulting in His Death
A federal grand jury indicted a Bureau of Prisons (BOP) lieutenant and a BOP registered nurse yesterday with violating the civil rights of an inmate by showing deliberate indifference to the inmate’s serious medical needs, resulting in his death.

The indictment alleges that on Jan. 9, 2021, Lieutenant Shronda Covington, 47, of Chesterfield, Virginia, and Registered Nurse Tonya Farley, 52, of Chesterfield, Virginia, were on duty and working in their official capacities at the Federal Correctional Institution at Petersburg, Virginia. On that day, they allegedly each willfully failed to ensure that the inmate, a 47-year-old man identified as W.W., was provided with necessary medical care, resulting in W.W.’s death, even though each knew that W.W. had serious medical needs. Farley is also charged with writing a false report ..

Thank you for the kind introduction. I appreciate the opportunity to share some thoughts with all of you today on the Antitrust Division’s global approach to criminal enforcement.

One of our values at the Antitrust Division, and the department as a whole, is to be clear with the public about our enforcement priorities, policies and the standards we apply in making charging decisions. And when we have issues and topics appropriate for reasoned discussion, we want to hear from a diverse set of views. For this reason, my colleagues and I appreciate the opportunity to participate in today’s conversations and describe the outstanding work by division prosecutors day in and day out to seek economic justice on behalf of our country.

Economic liberty is something cherished around the world. Looking at the enforcers, private practitioners, competition law experts, in-house counsel and former colleagues assembled in this room, there is at least one thing we share: We all want dynamic, vibrant ..

Good morning. Thank you all for joining us for the second meeting on the Counterterrorism Law Enforcement Forum. It is great to be here with so many distinguished colleagues to discuss these important issues.

I’ll add that I am especially pleased to be here in Oslo, as an Olsen, and someone who takes a lot of pride in my Norwegian heritage. For me, Oslo is a special place. It is also a place that has been touched by the violence and destruction of domestic violent extremism. So, it is poignant to be here working on this important challenge, with all of you.

Last May, we gathered in Berlin, for our inaugural meeting. I departed the forum daunted by the scale of the problem, but heartened to see the partnership of so many likeminded countries.

I returned to D.C. from Berlin on a Thursday. Two days later, on Saturday afternoon, I received the first alerts from the FBI that there was an active shooter in Buffalo, New York. What we would come to learn over the next hours and days was tha..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
CEO of Dozens of Companies Pleads Guilty to Massive Scheme to Traffic in Fraudulent and Counterfeit Cisco Networking Equipment
A Florida resident and dual citizen of the United States and Turkey pleaded guilty yesterday in the District of New Jersey to running an extensive operation over many years to traffic in fraudulent and counterfeit Cisco networking equipment.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Onur Aksoy, 39, of Miami, ran at least 19 companies formed in New Jersey and Florida, as well as approximately 15 Amazon storefronts and at least 10 eBay storefronts (collectively, the “Pro Network Entities”), that imported from suppliers in China and Hong Kong tens of thousands of low-quality, modified computer networking devices with counterfeit Cisco labels, stickers, boxes, documentation, and packaging, all bearing counterfeit trademarks registered and owned by Cisco, that made the goods falsely appea..