http://www.oig.dot.gov/rss.jsp?subject=33 The 10 most recent releases on the U.S. DoT OIG web site related to Criminal Investigations en-US webmaster@oig.dot.gov (OIG Webmaster) http://www.oig.dot.gov/images/dot.gif http://www.oig.dot.gov/rss.jsp?subject=33 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2567 Benton J. Campbell, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, today announced the settlement of claims that Tutor Perini Corporation, formerly Perini Corporation (“Perini”), a publiclytraded construction services corporation, falsely and fraudulently reported that certain minority and disadvantaged business enterprises (“DBEs”) were performing subcontracted work on federally funded public works contracts with the City and State of New York, when in fact nonDBE subcontractors were performing the work. Pursuant to the settlement, Perini has paid the United States $9,750,000. The settlement does not constitute an admission of liability by Perini.The settlement announced today is the result of a joint investigation conducted by the Federal Construction Fraud Task Force, which was organized by the United States Attorneys Office in June 1999 to investigate fraud and corruption in the construction industry. In addition to the U.S. Attorneys Office, the members of the Task Force include the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division; the USDOT Office of the Inspector General; the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General; the New York City Department of Investigation; the Inspector General for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority; and the Inspector General for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.For further information, please see the press release of the U.S. Attorneys Office, Eastern District of New York. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2567 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2562 On October 30, 2009, U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced David Cooley, age 36, of Baltimore, MD, to 69 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $104,446.35 in restitution for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme to steal treasury checks from the mail and cash the checks using false identity documents.To date, 12 defendants have been convicted for their participation in this scheme. Altogether, the conspirators cashed over $100,000 in stolen United States Treasury checks. More than 50 individuals and businesses were victims of the scheme. This investigation was conducted jointly by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General; the U.S. Secret Service; the Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General; the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Inspector General; and the District of Columbia Office of Inspector General.View USDOJ Press Release for more information. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2562 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2570 On November 10, 2009, Stefanie Weathers of South Carolina pled guilty to fraud in connection with using the identification information of others to obtain loans over the Internet. In announcing the guilty plea, Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips praised the efforts of Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General Special Agent Dennis Ocampo, who conducted the investigation in this case. The full press release is available from the United States Attorneys Office, District of Columbia. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2570 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2553 On October 15, 2009, Charles D. Goodwin, Inc., (CDGI) doing business as Goodwins Trucking Company pled guilty in U.S. District Court, Winston Salem, North Carolina, to charges associated with the falsification of drivers duty status logs, which are regulated by FMCSA. CDGI is to be sentenced in May 2010.The investigation was initiated as a result of an FMCSA compliance review of CDGI following a fatal accident involving one of its drivers. The review revealed that the driver violated FMCSA hours of service regulations but was not at fault for the accident. DOT/OIGs investigation determined that between June 2007 and May 2008 CDGI drivers made numerous false entries in their drivers duty status logs. As part of the plea agreement, CDGI management admitted responsibility for the falsifications of the drivers duty status logs. Additionally, the plea agreement requires CDGI to install an FMCSA approved computerized monitoring device on all CDGI trucks. This DOT/OIG case was investigated with significant assistance by FMCSA. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2553 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2551 On October 9, 2009, Pablo Morales, previously a foreman with Adam Moving and Storage (AMS), Brooklyn, New York, a household goods (HHG) moving company, pled guilty in U.S. District Court, New York, New York, to a scheme of fraudulently inflating the cost of moving customers HHG. Mr. Morales participated in a scheme to provide AMS customers with lowball estimates, only to have the cost of the move increased, in some cases doubled or tripled, after the customers HHG were loaded on the moving truck. AMS would not release the customers HHG until they agreed to pay the artificially inflated rate. As part of his plea, Mr. Morales admitted to conducting this scheme on a move that was paid for by the Department of Defense. Investigation of AMS was initiated based on information received from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) alleging that AMS violated FMCSA regulations for failing or refusing to furnish an estimate in writing. As of May 2001, FMSCA received approximately 75 complaints alleging that AMS had been holding customers HHG hostage until the customer paid an artificially inflated amount. During a compliance review, FMCSA found that AMS had an established pattern of providing binding estimates to their customers that would be fraudulently inflated upon delivery. Federal regulations prescribe that the maximum a carrier can demand at time of delivery is no more than 10% over the nonbinding estimate amount. Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2551 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2552 On October 9, 2009, Michael Spinelli, a former Con Edison utility company inspector, was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Brooklyn, New York, to serve three years probation and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment for his role in accepting bribes from general contractors on New York area roadway reconstruction projects. Mr. Spinelli previously pled guilty and admitted that from 1970 to 2001, he conspired with others to accept bribes on numerous roadway reconstruction projects awarded by DOT grantees throughout the New York area and did not declare these bribes as income on his Federal tax returns. In exchange for the bribes, Mr. Spinelli and others expedited payments to the general contractors for the cost of the additional work they performed to avoid utilities on the roadway projects. On December 5, 2008, other defendants in this case, Andrew Catapano, President of AFC Enterprises, Incorporated, and John Mikuszewski, Consultant to Rosewood Contracting Corporation, pled guilty midway through their trial to charges of conspiracy and admitted that they conspired to bribe union officials and utility company representatives on numerous roadway reconstruction projects awarded by DOT grantees throughout the New York area from 1998 to 2001. They were subsequently sentenced to terms of incarceration and ordered to forfeit $1.2 million to the government. Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2552 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2545 On September 21, 2009, Hugo Daniel Solana, was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Newark, New Jersey, to one year probation and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment and a $500 fine in connection with his prior guilty plea for impersonating a Federal Motor Carrier Inspector. The Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Inspector Generals (OIGs) investigation determined that Mr. Solana owned a motor carrier consulting firm known as Redsol Safety Corporation (Redsol) in Union, New Jersey. Mr. Solana appeared at several trucking firms in the Newark, New Jersey, area where he displayed a gold badge, identified himself as a Inspector, and produced a business card bearing the DOT seal. He then threatened to arrest individuals for perceived motor carrier violations. Mr. Solana later returned and advised the victim companies that they could hire Redsol to resolve their motor carrier issues. During Mr. Solanas interview by the DOT OIG case agent Mr. Solana identified himself as a DOT Inspector and produced a gold badge. He was later arrested by DOT OIG special agents and the badge was confiscated. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2545 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2538 Powers Fasteners, Inc., a Brewster, New York company, was charged today in federal court with making a false statement in connection with the construction of a federally approved highway project, the I90 connector tunnel. Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2538 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2543 On February 12, 2009, Continental Flight 3407 crashed on approach to Buffalo Airport killing all 49 people on board and one person on the ground. A subsequent National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation revealed that several law firms contacted the victims families in relation to crash litigation and possible lawsuits in violation of NTSB regulations. Title 49 United States Code (USC) section 1136(g)(2) prohibits solicitations by attorneys within 45 days after an air carrier accident. The United States Attorneys Office, Rochester, New York, and NTSB asked the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General to assist with a civil prosecution of the law firms involved.On September 17, 2009, a civil complaint was filed in U.S. District Court, Rochester, New York, against Michigan attorney Carl Collins, III, alleging that he engaged in conduct which violated Title 49 USC section 1136(g)(2). Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2543 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2544 On September 17, 2009, Franciscus Johannes de Jong, aka Frank de Jong, the former vice president of cargo sales in Europe for Martinair Holland N.V., was sentenced in United States District Court Washington, D.C. to eight months in prison for his involvement in a price fixing scheme of air cargo shipments in violation of the Sherman Act. He was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine. According to Mr. de Jongs plea agreement filed in April 2009, he and his coconspirators engaged in a conspiracy to fix the cargo rates charged to customers for international air shipments to and from the United States. From April 2002 and continuing until February 14, 2006, Mr. de Jong and his coconspirators carried out the price fixing conspiracy by participating in meetings, conversations and communications to discuss the cargo rates to be charged on certain routes to and from the United States. This Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General investigation is being coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and is being conducted jointly with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General. Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2544