Remembering Vincent Chin

The following post appears courtesy of Tom Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.  It originally appeared on WhiteHouse.gov.

Thirty years ago this week, a 27 year-old Chinese-American named Vincent Chin was brutally murdered.  Two assailants beat him with a baseball bat, matching their physical violence with a stream of racial epithets.  He died four days later, shortly before what would have been his wedding day.  Despite the heinous nature of the crime, the state court imposed lenient sentences, so the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice charged the assailants under the federal hate crimes law on the books at the time.  One of the two was convicted, and although his conviction was overturned, the story of Vincent Chin serves as an important moment in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and civil rights history.

Hate crimes enforcement is among the earliest of our responsibilities in the Civil Rights Division.  Regrettably, hate crimes remain all too prevalent in communities across the country today.  I have seen firsthand the devastating impact of hate crimes – and not only on victims and their families.  Acts of bigotry can tear entire communities apart.  Hate crimes are an unconscionable reminder that we have not yet achieved the ideal of equal justice for all.

In 2009, President Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.  This landmark law was named in the memory of two men who, like Vincent Chin, were brutally murdered by assailants filled with hate.  James Byrd, Jr. was a 49-year-old African-American man living in Jasper, Texas, who accepted a ride home from three men on June 7, 1998.  They did not take him home. Instead, they drove him to the remote edge of town where they beat him severely, urinated on him, chained him by the ankles to the back of a pickup truck, and then drove the pickup truck for three miles, dragging him to his death.  Matthew Shepard was a 21-year-old gay man studying at the University of Wyoming, when he went to a local bar and met two men who offered him a ride home on October 6, 1998.  Instead of taking him home, they drove him to a remote area outside of town, where he was tortured, tied to a fence, and left to die.

While the men responsible for the Byrd and Shepard murders were convicted of murder, none of them were prosecuted for committing a hate crime.  Neither state had a hate crimes law at the time the murders occurred, and  federal law did not apply.  A now two-year-old federal law, 18 U.S.C. Section 249 enables the Justice Department to prosecute cases involving hate crimes motivated by the actual or perceived race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, or disability of the victim. Crucially, for particular cases the law removes the requirement that the Department show that the defendant was engaged in a “federally protected activity,” which was required under the previous hate crimes statute, 18 U.S.C. Section 245, passed shortly after the assassination of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

In a diverse, democratic nation like ours, we all must be able to live and work in our communities without fear of being attacked because of how we look, what we believe, where we are from, or who we love.  Despite our nation’s great progress in advancing civil rights, brutal assaults made more vicious by racial epithets still occur in big cities and small towns.  Crosses are still burned on the lawns of people minding their own business.  Mosques, synagogues and churches still are desecrated and sometimes destroyed.  Incidents that belong only in our history books still appear in the pages of our newspapers.

The prosecution of hate crimes must be one element in a broader effort of community engagement and empowerment.  We need prevention, intervention and reporting strategies to move communities forward in a meaningful way.  We have had to battle these acts of bigotry for too long, and in the 21st century, we must focus on eradicating hate from our communities altogether, stopping these acts before they occur.

Prosecuting hate crimes therefore is a top priority for the Attorney General and the Civil Rights Division, and we have expanded our efforts to prosecute hate crimes.  So far, the Division has indicted 10 cases and charged 35 defendants under the Shepard-Byrd law.

Vincent Chin, James Byrd, Jr., and Matthew Shepard remain powerful reminders of why, in 2012, we continue to stand beside those in our nation who cannot make their voices heard alone.  We will continue to enforce these essential laws to ensure that all individuals can realize the promise of equal justice under the law.

A Champion of Civil Rights: John Doar Awarded the Medal of Freedom

The following post appears courtesy of Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Tom Perez.

Today, former Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division John Doar was awarded the 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor bestowed by the President of the United States.  Mr. Doar was one of 13 men and women selected by President Barack Obama to receive the Medal of Freedom, and I, along with Attorney General Eric Holder and Congressman John Lewis, had the privilege of honoring him at the White House ceremony this afternoon.

Mr. Doar served as Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division from 1960 through 1967, and was a legendary public servant and leader of federal efforts to protect and enforce civil rights.  Risking his life to confront the injustices around him, he was instrumental during many major civil rights crises, including singlehandedly preventing a riot in Jackson, Mississippi, following the funeral of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evars in 1963, as well as escorting James Meredith in repeated attempts to register as the first African-American student at the University of Mississippi.

As President Obama described during the ceremony this afternoon:

It was a scorching hot day in 1963, and Mississippi was on the verge of a massacre.  The funeral procession for Medgar Evers had just disbanded, and a group of marchers was throwing rocks at a line of equally defiant and heavily-armed policemen.  And suddenly, a white man in shirtsleeves, hands raised, walked towards the protestors and talked them into going home peacefully.  And that man was John Doar.  He was the face of the Justice Department in the South.  He was proof that the federal government was listening.  And over the years, John escorted James Meredith to the University of Mississippi.  He walked alongside the Selma-to-Montgomery March.  He laid the groundwork for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  In the words of John Lewis, “He gave [civil rights workers] a reason not to give up on those in power.”  And he did it by never giving up on them.  And I think it’s fair to say that I might not be here had it not been for his work.

Mr. Doar brought notable civil rights cases, including obtaining convictions for the 1964 murders of three civil rights workers in Neshoba County, Mississippi, against difficult odds.  He also led the effort to enforce the right to vote and implement the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  Congressman John Lewis, who was beaten violently as a Freedom Rider and a Selma marcher more than 40 years ago, has said, “[John Doar] was our link to the federal government….He gave us a reason not to give up on those in power….People would always say, ‘Call John Doar.  John Doar could reach Bobby Kennedy.’”  Mr. Doar was indeed considered a critical lifeline by civil rights workers in the Deep South.

We were very fortunate to have Mr. Doar as our keynote speaker during the Civil Rights Division’s commemorative event last year as well as at the 50th anniversary event of Robert F. Kennedy’s swearing-in as our nation’s 64th Attorney General.  At age 90, Mr. Doar continues to practice law at Doar Rieck Kaley & Mack in New York.  Mr. Doar remains one of the greatest heroes of the Civil Rights Division and of the struggle to ensure equal rights for all people.  His commitment to protect the core values of liberty and democracy, institutional knowledge, and contributions to the Civil Rights Movement remind us of how truly important our work here is.

ICE arrests more than 2,900 convicted criminal aliens, fugitives in enforcement operation throughout all 50 states

Drugs, gangs, terrorism... all in a day's work as these homeland security books (written by agents) will tell you.

WASHINGTON - As part of the Obama administration's ongoing commitment to prioritizing the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today announced the results of a seven-day national "Cross Check" enforcement operation - which led to the arrest of more than 2,900 convicted criminal aliens.

"The results of this targeted enforcement operation underscore ICE's ongoing commitment and focus on the arrest and removal of convicted criminal aliens and those that game our nation's immigration system," said ICE Director John Morton. "Because of the tireless efforts and teamwork of ICE officers and agents in tracking down at large criminal aliens and fugitives, there are 2,901 fewer criminal aliens in our neighborhoods across the country."

This seven-day operation, the largest of its kind, involved the collaboration of more than 1,900 ICE officers and agents from all of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations' (ERO) 24 field offices, as well as coordination with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners throughout the United States. Arrests occurred in all 50 states and four U.S. territories.

All of the 2,901 individuals taken into custody had prior criminal convictions including at least 1,282 aliens who had multiple criminal convictions. More than 1,600 of those arrested had felony convictions including manslaughter, attempted murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, drug trafficking, child abuse, sexual crimes against minors, and aggravated assault. Of the total 2,901 criminal aliens arrested, 42 were gang members and 151 were convicted sex offenders.

In addition to being convicted criminals, 681 of those arrested were also immigration fugitives who had previously been ordered to leave the country but failed to depart. Additionally, 386 were illegal re-entrants who had been previously removed from the country multiple times. Because of their serious criminal histories and prior immigration arrest records, at least 146 of those arrested during the enforcement action were presented to U.S attorneys for prosecution on a variety of charges including illegal re-entry after deportation, a felony which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

Combating Transnational Organized Crime

Today, the Obama Administration announced the release of the President’s Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime. In the words of the message from President Obama that accompanies the Strategy: “This strategy is organized around a single, unifying principle:  To build, balance, and integrate the tools of American power to combat transnational organized crime and related threats to our national security—and to urge our partners to do the same.

As the Cabinet agency charged with securing our nation, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plays an integral role in the Obama Administration’s efforts to combat transnational organized crime (TOC) both at home and with our partners abroad.

Reading and studying organized crime books often helps law enforcement officials combat organized crime.  Due to the DHS’s mission, the Department is uniquely positioned to leverage and deploy resources of many components in the fight against organized crime everywhere, while working closely with other federal, state and local agencies, foreign governments and partners in the private sector.

The most effective way of curbing corruption and other illicit activities, including cybercrime, drug and human trafficking, and terrorism, is through enhanced intelligence gathering and information sharing throughout the federal government. Examples include:

•In November 2010, the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis established the Border Intelligence Fusion Section (BIFS)—in collaboration with the Departments of Justice and Defense, and the U.S. intelligence community— to provide law enforcement, border enforcement, and investigative agencies with multi-source intelligence to support investigations and operations conducted along the Southwest border.

•In support of this strategy, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is implementing a new "Illicit Pathways Attack Strategy," which will prioritize, and integrate its authorities and resources in a focused and comprehensive manner to attack criminal organizations along the entire pathway, or continuum of crime, both at home and abroad. 

Once TOC threats have been identified, the Department works with our partners to interdict them through strengthened interdiction, investigations, and prosecutions. Some examples of these include:

•Cybercrime—As a result of close collaboration with the private sector regarding developing technologies and trends in the financial payments industry, the U.S. Secret Service has apprehended individuals charged with committing some of the world’s most advanced cybercrimes.

•Securing our borders—In 2006, ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) worked with other federal, state, local, and foreign partners to establish the BEST, in order to break down TOC networks that attempt to conduct illegal activities across and along our borders. Since the inception of this initiative, there are now 21 BESTs spread out along the Southwest and Northern borders as well as at major seaports.  .

In addition to securing our nation’s Southwest and Northern borders to disrupt drug trafficking, DHS has multiple maritime agreements with our international partners to facilitate cooperation in counterdrug operations in U.S. and foreign waters. Earlier this month, DHS unveiled an unprecedented cross-component Maritime Operations Coordination plan to enhance the Department’s coordination capabilities, and the U.S. Coast Guard utilizes intelligence gathered across the federal government to intercept and apprehend traffickers before they reach the United States.

Most Wanted Terrorist Dead

Bin Laden Killed in U.S. 'Targeted Operation'

The mastermind of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 that killed thousands of innocent men, women, and children has been killed.

President Barack Obama made the announcement late Sunday evening, May 1, in a televised address to the world. He said he had been briefed by the intelligence community last August that bin Laden was in hiding “within a compound deep inside of Pakistan.” Over the intervening months, intelligence agencies worked to confirm the intelligence. Then last week, President Obama determined there was enough intelligence to take action.

“Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan,” the President said from the East Room of the White House. “A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.”

Well before the events of 9/11, bin Laden had openly declared war on the U.S. and was committed to killing innocents. His al-Qaeda group was responsible for the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya. The attacks killed over 200 people. Bin Laden was indicted for his role in planning the attacks and added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in 1999.

Intelligence agencies quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by bin Laden’s terrorist organization, and in October 2001, his name was added to the U.S. Department of State’s Most Wanted Terrorists List.

"Tonight, we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who’ve worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome,” President Obama said. “The American people do not see their work, nor know their names. But tonight, they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice.”

Six Cities Present Plans to Reduce and Prevent Youth Violence

By Tracy Russo

The following post appears courtesy of Laurie O. Robinson, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs

Statistics tell us that crime rates are down. However, many communities still face challenges when it comes to preventing and reducing youth violence.  That’s why President Obama launched the Forum on Youth Violence Prevention  last year, and it’s why representatives from six cities were in Washington, D.C., earlier this week.  Officials from Boston; Chicago; Detroit; Memphis, Tenn.; Salinas, Calif.; and San Jose, Calif., have spent the past several months preparing plans detailing how they can work within their communities to address youth violence.  They presented their plans at the Summit on Preventing Youth Violence hosted by the Department of Justice and other federal agencies, including the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Each city’s plan incorporates multi-disciplinary partnerships, balanced approaches, and data-driven strategies for real, sustainable progress.  Ultimately, we expect that those plans will help these cities drive down crime and improve outcomes for kids, not just for a month or two but for years to come.

Attorney General Eric Holder, Special Advisor to the President Advisor Valerie Jarrett, and Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, M.D., all expressed their support for the Forum and the work of these six cities.  We also know that this week’s meeting is just the beginning.  This is a long-term project for our nation, but a necessary one.  We aren’t looking for quick, cosmetic changes.  We want long-lasting results.  And we’re working together to get them.

As the Attorney General said:

“Our children are counting on us.  Our communities are counting on us.  And we cannot – and will not – let them down.

 This is not just our professional obligation – this is our moral calling.

 Our nation will be defined, and its progress will be determined, by the support that we provide – and the doors that we open – for our young people.  The priorities that we set now are what will allow America’s next generation of leaders to rise above the current threats and obstacles and seize tomorrow’s opportunities.  This is our great test – and, in many ways, it is the single most consequential challenge we face in determining America’s future.”

This week’s Summit was part of a national conversation about youth violence.  We need to continue to add new voices to this effort.  Our goals are ambitious—they require more hard work and more difficult conversations—but they are attainable.  And they’re worth our time, energy, and investment.  We can’t afford to stand for a violent epidemic that robs our youth of their childhood and perpetuates a cycle in which today’s victims become tomorrow’s criminals.  We need to put our communities—and our kids—on better footing for the future.

CBP in Sault Ste. Marie Augments Presidential Security Detail

Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers from the Port of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan participated in a presidential security detail in Marquette, Mich., on Feb. 10.

The detail was coordinated with the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Air Force’s Presidential Advance Team and included on site security of Air Force One and its fuel. A contingent of eight CBP Office of Field Operations managers and officers from the port of Sault Ste. Marie traveled over 300 miles to conduct tarmac/hangar security and to perform roving patrols during the President’s visit to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

President Barack Obama arrived in the Upper Peninsula with Sen. Carl Levin to meet with local business owners who have used broadband to boost their exports and to tout a plan for nationwide wireless broadband access. This was Obama's first visit the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the first presidential visit since George W. Bush in 2004.

“This was an excellent opportunity for CBP Office of Field Operations to support the President of the United States and to demonstrate the professionalism and dedication of our officers,” stated Devin Chamberlain, Port Director for the Sault Ste. Marie port of entry. “Security was extremely tight and our officers were an important partner in that effort.”

“The fact that officers from Sault Ste. Marie traveled over 300 miles to provide support for the Presidents visit to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula exemplifies the professionalism and can-do spirit that is prevalent in our organization,” said Christopher Perry, Director Field Operations, Detroit Field Office. “This is the same attitude and spirit that these officers bring to their mission at the border every day.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

California Man Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 27 Months in Prison for Insider Trading Scheme

Involving Theft of Confidential Information from the Walt Disney Company

PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that YONNI SEBBAG, a/k/a "Jonathan Cyrus," was sentenced today to 27 months in prison in connection with his participation in an insider trading scheme in which SEBBAG and his co-conspirator, BONNIE HOXIE, an assistant to a top executive at the Walt Disney Company ("Disney"), obtained confidential, non-public information about Disney's quarterly earnings. SEBBAG attempted to sell the information to investment companies seeking to trade on inside information. The sentence was imposed in Manhattan federal court by U.S. District Judge KIMBA M. WOOD.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney PREET BHARARA said: "Yonni Sebbag concocted a brazen scheme to exploit his access to valuable, non-public information by attempting to sell it to would-be investors. Sebbag is only the latest person to learn the hard way that trying to earn a quick buck through insider trading will earn you a prison sentence instead. Together with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to protect companies against those who steal and trade on their proprietary information."

According to documents previously filed in Manhattan federal court and statements made during court proceedings:

25, 2010, HOXIE was employed as a secretary to Disney's Head of Corporate Communications. In this capacity, HOXIE obtained material, nonpublic information, including Disney's quarterly earnings statements (the "Inside Information"), which she disclosed to SEBBAG. SEBBAG, in turn, offered to sell the Inside Information to outside investors for the purpose of trading in advance of the official public announcement of Disney's earnings.

As part of the scheme, SEBBAG sent anonymous letters to multiple hedge funds and other investment companies, many of which were located in Manhattan, offering to sell the Inside Information for purposes of illegal insider trading. Special agents of the FBI, who were working undercover, posed as hedge fund traders (the "Tippees") and agreed to buy the Inside Information from SEBBAG for purposes of trading in advance of the public announcement of the Inside Information.

On May 8, 2010, three days in advance of the May 11, 2010, public announcement of Disney's earnings for the second quarter of 2010, SEBBAG sent to the Tippees a confidential document titled "The Walt Disney Company Q2 Fiscal 2010 Key Topics Speaking Points." The document contained a collection of talking points that Disney executives intended to refer to while answering analysts' questions during the May 11, 2010, earnings call.

In addition, on May 11, 2010, roughly two hours in advance of the public announcement, SEBBAG notified the Tippees that Disney's earnings per share would be 48 cents, which was better than what stock analysts had forecast. On May 14, 2010, SEBBAG met with two undercover FBI agents in New York and accepted payment of $15,000 cash for having released the Inside Information. SEBBAG further agreed that he would provide similar confidential information in the future in return for a 30% share of any profits from the insider-trading scheme.

In addition to his prison term, Judge WOOD sentenced SEBBAG, 30, of Los Angeles, California, to two years of supervised release and ordered him to forfeit $15,000, representing the funds he received from the undercover FBI agents. During the sentencing proceeding, Judge WOOD stated: "Insider trading undermines the integrity of the security exchanges and undermines confidence in our financial markets, which are important to the well-being of everyone in this country."

SEBBAG's co-defendant, BONNIE HOXIE, 34, of Los Angeles, California, is scheduled to be sentenced on February 22, 2011, at 11:45 a.m. before U.S. District Judge ALVIN K. HELLERSTEIN.

Mr. BHARARA praised the work of the FBI and thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its assistance in the investigation.

This case was brought in coordination with President BARACK OBAMA's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, on which Mr. BHARARA serves as a Co-Chair of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group. President OBAMA established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

This case is being handled by the Office's Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney JULIAN J. MOORE is in charge of the prosecution.

BANK OF AMERICA AGREES TO PAY $137.3 MILLION IN RESTITUTION TO FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES AS A CONDITION OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT'S ANTITRUST CORPORATE LENIENCY PROGRAM

WASHINGTON — Bank of America entities have agreed to pay a total of $137.3 million in restitution federal and state agencies for its participation in a conspiracy to rig bids in the municipal bond derivatives market and as a condition of its admission into the Department of Justice's Antitrust Corporate Leniency Program, the Department of Justice announced today.

Bank of America entered into agreements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC), and 20 State Attorneys General. The global resolution with these federal and state entities provides for payment of restitution to the IRS and to municipalities harmed by Bank of America's anticompetitive conduct in the municipal bond derivatives market. In a related matter, Bank of America entered into a written agreement with the Federal Reserve Board to address certain remedial measures.

According to agreements announced today, Bank of America employees engaged in illegal conduct, including bid rigging and other deceptive practices, in connection with the marketing and sale of tax-exempt municipal bond derivatives contracts.

Bank of America was the first and only entity to come forward and report its wrongdoing to the Department of Justice before the department opened its investigation into anticompetitive conduct in the municipal bond derivatives industry. The department's ongoing investigation has resulted in charges against seven executives and one corporate entity and guilty pleas by eight executives for antitrust and related federal crimes. The investigation remains active and ongoing.

"The Department of Justice's Antitrust Corporate Leniency Program is essential to our criminal enforcement of the antitrust laws," said Christine Varney, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division. "Bank of America's disclosure of wrongdoing and cooperation has led to an aggressive, ongoing investigation by the Department of Justice into anticompetitive activity in the municipal bond derivatives industry. The bank's participation in the leniency program has also resulted in today's resolution to address the harm caused by its wrongdoing. The Division's investigation of this matter continues and the prosecution of anticompetitive conduct in the financial markets remains our highest priority."

As a condition of its admission into the Department of Justice's Antitrust Corporate Leniency Program, Bank of America was required to be the first entity to self report the anticompetitive conduct, acknowledge its wrongdoing, provide ongoing cooperation in the investigation and make full restitution to the victims of the conspiracy. Bank of America continues to provide significant cooperation to the federal and state enforcement officials in their ongoing parallel investigations in the municipal bond derivatives industry.

The Department of Justice's Antitrust Corporate Leniency Program is designed to deter and detect anticompetitive behavior. Through the Leniency Program, a corporation can avoid criminal conviction and fines, and individuals can avoid criminal conviction, prison terms and fines, if the corporation or individual is the first to report participation in a criminal antitrust violation and if other specified requirements of the program are met. The requirements of the program include self-reporting, acknowledgment of wrongdoing, full cooperation with the department's investigation into the conduct, and payment of restitution to victims. The requirements provide the division with critical information to conduct investigations and enforce the criminal antitrust laws.

With the agreements announced today, Bank of America has met its obligation, under the Leniency Program, to pay full restitution to the IRS and municipalities based on anticompetitive conduct identified by these federal and state agencies. The bank's agreements with the SEC, IRS, OCC and State Attorneys General represent the substantial benefits for victims that can result from the Department of Justice's Antitrust Corporate Leniency Program, and reflect Bank of America's commitment to address the harm caused by the conduct it discovered.

As a result of its voluntary disclosure of its anticompetitive conduct and its ongoing cooperation, Bank of America will not be required to pay penalties as a part of the agreements reached today. Upon successful completion of cooperation and other requirements of the Leniency Program, Bank of America and its current employees who have cooperated with the ongoing investigation will not be prosecuted by the Antitrust Division for the reported conduct. The Antitrust Division's investigation regarding other entities and individuals continues.

More information about the Department of Justice's Antitrust Corporate Leniency Program is available at: www.justice.gov/atr/public/criminal/leniency.htm.

The Antitrust Division and other agencies involved in this matter are part of the l Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information on the task force, visit www.StopFraud.gov.

Tennessee Man Sentenced for Conspiring to Commit Murders of African-Americans

WASHINGTON—The Justice Department announced that Daniel Cowart was sentenced today to 14 years in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in a conspiracy to murder dozens of African-Americans, including then-Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama, because of their race.

On March 29, 2010, Cowart pleaded guilty to conspiracy, threatening to kill and inflict bodily harm upon a major candidate for the office of President of the United States, interstate transportation of a short-barreled shotgun, interstate transportation of a firearm for the purpose of committing a felony, unlicensed transportation of an unauthorized short-barreled shotgun, possession of a short-barreled shotgun, intentional damage to religious real property, and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Cowart, 22, of Bells, Tenn., admitted to conspiring with Paul Schlesselman of West Helena, Ark., to engage in a killing spree specifically targeting African-Americans. He further acknowledged that he intended to culminate these attacks by assassinating President Obama, a U.S. Senator and presidential candidate at the time of the conspiracy.

Cowart admitted that he and Schlesselman also conspired to burglarize a federally licensed firearms dealer to obtain additional weapons for their scheme. He also admitted to transporting a sawed-off shotgun from Arkansas to Tennessee for the purpose of committing felonies. Cowart additionally admitted to shooting the window of the Allen Baptist Church in Brownsville, Tenn.

Under the plea agreement, Cowart agreed that an appropriate sentence would be between 12 and 18 years. The charges to which he pleaded guilty carried a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of 75 years in prison.

“Threats of violence fueled by bigotry and hate have no place in the United States of America, and they will not be tolerated,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Although the heroic intervention of law enforcement spared us from a tragedy, this conspiracy and its associated crimes demanded a severe sentence. The sentence imposed constitutes serious punishment for a serious crime.”

“Thankfully, the defendants were not able to execute their violent scheme. Nevertheless, this is a grave matter and Judge Breen’s sentence reflects that crimes of this magnitude demand stiff penalties,” said Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. “I would like to recognize the extraordinary diligence of the Crockett County Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the U.S Secret Service, and the FBI.”

Cowart’s co-defendant, Paul Schlesselman, pleaded guilty on Jan. 14, 2010, to one count of conspiracy, one count of threatening to kill and inflict bodily harm upon a presidential candidate, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Schlesselman was sentenced to 10 years in prison on April 15, 2010.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Secret Service; the FBI; and the Crockett County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Larry Laurenzi and James Powell and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Jonathan Skrmetti.