TE RELEASE

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Second Government Contracting Executive Pleads Guilty to Bribery Conspiracy Involving PBGC Contracts

A second executive from a federal contracting firm pleaded guilty to a bribery conspiracy involving his business partner and a senior contracting official with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia, Acting Inspector General Nicholas J. Novak of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), and Assistant Director in Charge Timothy R. Slater of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.

James N. Girardi, 39, of Reston, Virginia, the chief operating officer of a government contracting firm, pleaded guilty to one-count of conspiracy to bribe a public official before U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga of the Eastern District of Virginia. Previously, on May 4, 2020, Jeffrey B. Donahue, the PBGC’s former Director of Procurement, and Nadeem Ansari, the president and chief executive officer of Girardi’s firm, pleaded guilty to similar offenses. Sentencing for Donahue and Ansari is scheduled for Sept. 11, 2020; sentencing for Girardi is scheduled for Jan. 6, 2021.

According to court documents, Donahue served as a supervisory contract administrator with PBGC and then as director of the Procurement Department from March 2014 to February 2020. From at least 2015 through August 2017, Donahue solicited and received cash payments and other things of value, including the promise of a job valued at $1 million, from Ansari and with Girardi’s knowledge and agreement. In exchange, Donahue agreed to steer PBGC contracts to Ansari and Girardi’s company.

In 2015, Donahue approached Ansari and offered to help Ansari and Girardi’s new company win a PBGC contract, worth approximately $55 million, in exchange for a future job with the company. Among other things, Donahue provided Ansari with sample bid proposals; helped draft, review, and edit the company’s bid proposal; and disclosed labor pricing estimates. When the company did not win the contract, Donahue helped Ansari draft the company’s bid protest. Girardi admitted he was aware of Ansari’s arrangement with Donahue.

In 2016, Donahue proposed a second arrangement with Ansari in which Donahue would receive up to $125,000 from Ansari and his company in exchange for steering a contract to Ansari and Girardi’s company. Girardi was also aware of this arrangement with Donahue. The PBGC awarded the contract to Ansari and Girardi’s company, which resulted in payments to the company totaling approximately $3.29 million. Donahue steered the contract by, among other things, providing sensitive, non-public information and work product to Ansari; providing guidance for contract pricing; and adjusting the terms of the contract to align with the qualifications of the company’s personnel. Donahue received at least $48,000 in cash, plus additional gifts. Donahue and Ansari also took steps to conceal the scheme and their communications with each other, including using separate, dedicated cellular telephones and e-mail accounts and communicating through encrypted software.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/second-government-contracting-executive-pleads-guilty-bribery-conspiracy-involving-pbgc

y, August 26, 2020

Department of Justice Announces Rules Furthering Lawfulness and Transparency in the Regulatory Process

The Department of Justice has taken another significant step today to ensure that its regulatory activity is performed lawfully and transparently, announcing a pair of interim final rules imposing procedural requirements on the Department’s issuance and modification of guidance documents. The rules also codify preexisting Department guidance practices and implement the interagency reforms of Executive Order 13891, Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents (EO 13891). More than just carrying out the Department’s obligations under EO 13891, these rules implement innovative new internal accountability mechanisms, such as requiring Department entities to comply with the rule’s procedural requirements in order to claim judicial deference to interpretations contained in guidance documents.

The first rule, “Prohibition on the Issuance of Improper Guidance Documents Within the Justice Department,” codifies the general prohibition on the use of guidance documents to create rights or impose obligations on persons outside of the executive branch, originally set forth in the Department’s 2017 “Sessions Memo.”The Department’s issuance of the Sessions Memo was one of the administration’s first actions to curb the use of guidance documents as a backdoor tool to reading new expansive, substantive regulatory obligations into policy documents outside of the established procedural requirements set forth in the Administrative Procedure Act(APA). Similar, and expanded, limitations were subsequently imposed administration-wide in 2019 through EO 13891.

The second rule, “Processes and Procedures for Issuance and Use of Guidance Documents,” codifies Department limitations, first generally set forth in the 2018 “Brand Memo,” on the use of guidance documents in criminal and civil enforcement actions and implements robust Department-wide procedures governing the review, clearance, and issuance of guidance documents. The rule also creates a process for the public to petition the Department to withdraw or modify existing guidance documents. In addition, under the rule, Department components must post every currently effective guidance document on the Department’s public Guidance Portal.

“Some guidance can be helpful to regulated parties, but backdoor regulation by guidance document is improper,” Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen said. “With these new rules, the Department of Justice has formalized its procedures for ensuring that guidance documents will not be used to impose novel legal requirements as a shortcut around the rulemaking process.”

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-announces-rules-furthering-lawfulness-and-transparency-regulatory-process

FBI El Paso Warns of Increase in Phone Calls That Spoof FBI Phone Number

The FBI El Paso, Midland, and Alpine offices have seen a recent increase in phone calls that spoof the Bureau’s phone number as part of a Social Security scam.The callers will often “spoof,” or fake, the local FBI’s phone number, so the call appears to be coming from the FBI on the recipient’s caller ID. The scammer provides a fake name and badge number to trick the victim into believing they are an FBI agent. The scammer tells the victim that their social security has been suspended or they have warrants for their arrest. The victim is told in order to get their Social Security number reinstated, or avoid arrest, they must purchase gift card(s), put money on the card(s), and call the scammer back and provide the gift card number(s).

These calls are fraudulent; any legitimate law enforcement officer will not demand cash or gift cards from a member of the public. The FBI defines this type of scam as government impersonation fraud, in which criminals impersonate government officials in an attempt to collect money. The criminals often threaten to extort victims with physical or financial harm to obtain personally identifiable information. Scammers are becoming more sophisticated and organized in their approach, are technologically savvy, and often target young persons and the elderly.

To protect yourself from falling victim to this scam, be wary of answering phone calls from numbers you do not recognize. Do not send money or gift cards to anybody that you do not personally know and trust. Never give out your personal information, including banking information, Social Security number, or other personally identifiable information, over the phone or to individuals you do not know.

According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), 13,873 people reported being victims of government impersonation scams in 2019, with losses totaling more than $124 million.

Anyone who feels they were the victim of this or any other online scam should report the incident immediately using the IC3 website at www.ic3.gov. More information about government impersonation schemes and other online fraud schemes can be found at https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-fraud-schemes.

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/elpaso/news/press-releases/fbi-el-paso-warns-of-increase-in-phone-calls-that-spoof-fbi-phone-number

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

33 Inmates and Accomplices Charged with Illegally Obtaining Coronavirus Unemployment Benefits

Hmm 33 inmates?

PITTSBURGH – United States Attorney Scott W. Brady and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced that 33 individuals, including inmates at eight state and county jails and prisons in western Pennsylvania and their accomplices, have been charged in federal and state criminal complaints for illegally obtaining Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act unemployment benefits that contained false or fraudulent statements, and to which they were not entitled.

U.S. Attorney Brady stated, "The unprecedented scope and audacity of this inmate unemployment compensation fraud is appalling. These benefits were intended to help Pennsylvania workers make it through a difficult time. These inmates and their accomplices took advantage of this national emergency to line their pockets through fraud. Their conduct is despicable at any time, but particularly in a time of a national emergency. As these charges make clear, this conduct will not go unpunished, and my office will continue to work with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to bring these criminals and their co-conspirators to justice. The message to those who engaged in this fraud is clear: if you submitted a fraudulent application for unemployment benefits, withdraw it. If you got a check or debit card through fraud, return it. If you don’t, expect to hear a knock on your door very soon."

"These defendants took advantage of a public health emergency to cash in on the backs of working people across our Commonwealth. They rip-offed off a program meant for everyday people whose lives were uprooted by COVID-19, some doing so from jail cells in local Pennsylvania prisons," said PA Attorney General Shapiro. "Our work here is not done. We will continue to root out scammers taking advantage of a system put in place to help during a trying time."

"An important mission of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations of fraud that threaten the integrity of the Unemployment Insurance program. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate this alleged criminal activity," said Derek Pickle, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Philadelphia Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/pr/33-inmates-and-accomplices-charged-illegally-obtaining-coronavirus-unemployment

FBI busy on child exploitation, trafficking etc

https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel