Latest News Releases:
Department of Justice Releases First National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction - U.S. Marshals Service to Launch Nationwide Operation Targeting Top 500 Most Dangerous, Non-compliant Sex Offenders
Tax Division~Founder and Principal Manager of Genesis Fund Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison on Tax Charges - Also Ordered to Pay Restitution of Nearly $3 Million
ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: DOJ Office of Public Affairs
3August2010 2:15pmPDT
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE:
Department of Justice Releases First National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction - U.S. Marshals Service to Launch Nationwide Operation Targeting Top 500 Most Dangerous, Non-compliant Sex Offenders
WASHINGTON � Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that the Department of Justice released its first-ever National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction. The strategy also provides the first-ever comprehensive threat assessment of the dangers facing children from child pornography, online enticement, child sex tourism, commercial sexual exploitation and sexual exploitation in Indian Country, and outlines a blueprint to strengthen the fight against these crimes. The strategy builds upon the department�s accomplishments in combating child exploitation by establishing specific, aggressive goals and priorities and increasing cooperation and collaboration at all levels of government and the private sector.
"Although we�ve made meaningful progress in protecting children across the country, and although we�ve brought a record number of offenders to justice in recent years, it is time to renew our commitment to this work. It is time to intensify our efforts," said Attorney General Holder. "This new strategy provides the roadmap necessary to do just that � to streamline our education, prevention and prosecution activities; to improve information sharing and collaboration; and to make the most effective use of limited resources. Together, we are sending an important message � that the U.S. government, and our nation�s Department of Justice, has never been more committed to protecting our children and to bringing offenders to justice."
"Thanks to law enforcement operations like Operation Nest Egg and Operation Achilles, the department and our law enforcement partners have brought thousands of offenders to justice in the last year. But this progress is only a start," said Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler. "Tangible steps outlined in the National Strategy will bring our fight to the next level."
The strategy first analyzed the threat to our nation�s children and described the current efforts at all levels of the government against this threat. Since FY 2006, the Department of Justice has filed 8,464 Project Safe Childhood (PSC) cases against 8,637 defendants. These cases include prosecutions of online enticement of children to engage in sexual activity, interstate transportation of children to engage in sexual activity, production, distribution and possession of child pornography and other offenses.
Despite vigorously fighting all aspects of child exploitation, the department recognized that more work remains to be done. To that end, the department�s strategy lays out goals to increase coordination among the nation�s investigators, better train investigators and prosecutors, advance law enforcement�s technological capabilities and enhance research to inform decisions on deterrence, incarceration and monitoring. The strategy also includes a renewed commitment to public awareness and community outreach.
As part of its public outreach efforts, the department is re-launching ProjectSafeChildhood.gov, PSC�s public website. PSC is a department initiative launched in 2006 that aims to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. Led by U.S. Attorneys� Offices and the Criminal Division�s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, tribal 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 regarding the National Strategy to Combat Child Exploitation, Prevention and Interdiction, please visit: www.projectsafechildhood.gov/docs/natstrategyreport.pdf .
Alexandria, Va. - Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction Announcement
"Thank you, Ernie [Allen], and thank you all for being here. I�m pleased to be joined by several key leaders and partners in the federal government �s fight to protect our children from exploitation and abuse: Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler, FBI Executive Assistant Director T.J. Harrington, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Alonzo Pena, Chief Postal Inspector Guy Cottrell and U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz . We are also joined by Melissa, a courageous young woman who �s here to share her own story of surviving abuse and to help us shine a light on the threats that our kids face and the responsibilities that we must fulfill.
Today marks an important step forward in meeting these responsibilities and taking our fight against child exploitation and sexual abuse to the next level. This morning, the Justice Department submitted to Congress the first-ever National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction. In developing this Strategy, we solicited ideas and sought expertise from advocates, victims, law enforcement officers, policymakers, and partners at every level of government and across the international community. Many of these partners are here today, and I�m grateful for their contributions and ongoing engagement. With their help, we�ve created a Strategy that provides a comprehensive assessment of the threats at hand, as well as the effectiveness of current efforts to combat child exploitation and abuse. Most important, this new Strategy outlines our goals and priorities going forward and details new ways we plan to improve our work, broaden our impact, and build on the progress that�s been made in recent years.
Since the Justice Department launched the Project Safe Childhood initiative in 2006, investigations and prosecutions of child exploitation crimes have increased dramatically. Unfortunately, we�ve also seen an historic rise in the distribution of child pornography, in the number of images being shared online and in the level of violence associated with child exploitation and sexual abuse crimes. Tragically, the only place we�ve seen a decrease is in the age of victims.
This is unacceptable. And although we�ve made meaningful progress in protecting children across the country � in rural areas, inner cities, tribal communities and online � and although we�ve brought a record number of offenders to justice in recent years, it is time to renew our commitment to this work. It is time to intensify our efforts.
This new Strategy provides the roadmap necessary to do just that � to streamline our education, prevention and prosecution activities; to improve information sharing and collaboration; and to make the most effective use of limited resources. It also details specific steps that are being � and will be � taken to reduce and overcome current threats. For example, the Justice Department will update the Project Safe Childhood website to improve reporting, information sharing, and public education efforts. And I�m pleased to announce that the U.S. Marshals Service is launching a new, nationwide operation targeting the top 500 most dangerous, non-compliant sex offenders.
As the Strategy makes clear, we intend to fuse cutting-edge technologies with traditional methods of law enforcement and recovery and to better leverage the capacity of our law enforcements partners, as well as the broad network of nonprofits actively engaged in the fight against child exploitation and abuse.
Congress has rightly called for such an approach � and for more aggressive enforcement of laws aimed at safeguarding our children and preventing, stopping, and punishing child exploitation crimes. The Justice Department is fully committed to answering this call. But we cannot do it alone. We will be relying on � and working closely with � the many agencies, organizations, and partners represented here today. Together, we are sending an important message � that the U.S. government, and our nation�s Department of Justice, has never been more committed to protecting our children and to bringing offenders to justice.
Not only is this a Department priority, it is also a personal priority. I am committed to this work and to the success of this new Strategy. And, despite difficult circumstances and odds, I am confident that, with this new level of commitment � and with this new plan of action � we can, and we will, make the progress our children deserve.
And, now, I�d like to turn things over to Deputy Attorney General, Gary Grindler."
[Image: Maggies Notebook]
Alexandria, VA. - Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler Speaks at the National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction Announcement
"Thank you all for joining us. As the Justice Department brings its fight against child exploitation to a new level today, I am honored to stand with so many incredible colleagues and public servants who have made it their life�s work to protect exploited children and seek justice for the most vulnerable members of our society.
As the Attorney General said the fight against child exploitation must be a top priority of the Department. That�s why my office is eager to spearhead these efforts, which will be overseen by the National Coordinator for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.
The Attorney General outlined what we plan to do next to address this issue; however, I�d like to spend a few minutes telling you about what we�re doing now.
Today, we�re joined by the leaders � the agents, the prosecutors, the advocates � who fight child exploitation day in and day out. This includes many representatives from the Department�s components and agencies, including our Criminal Division, the FBI, Office of Justice Programs, the U.S. National Central Bureau, the U.S. Marshals Service, the NDIC, our ICAC Task Forces, and the U.S. Attorney community.
And we are also joined by our partners on Capitol Hill and at the Department of Homeland Security, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Secret Service, NCIS, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the National Children�s Alliance, PROTECT, the Rebecca Project, HARPO, and even the UK�s CEOP center.
By acknowledging some of the individuals and organizations here today, I think it helps capture the extent to which the Department is engaged across agencies, jurisdictions, state lines, and national borders. And it�s not only investigations and prosecutions that these many public servants pursue. They also foster international cooperation, support victim services, and fund research
As we prepare to build on these ongoing efforts, I�m proud to report we continue to see success after success. There are, of course, many small victories, which add up and send strong messages to would-be exploiters. And there are major operations that reverberate for months and years to come. For example:
- Operation Nest Egg, which was launched two and a half years ago this month, and still ongoing today, has targeted more than 500 individuals worldwide for involvement in an online group for trading child pornography. Over 50 people have been arrested and a majority of them have already been convicted on child exploitation charges. The investigation�s success was directly tied to the coordination of many law enforcement agencies, including ICE, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Northern Virginia/Washington, D.C. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Taskforce, the Indiana ICAC Taskforce, the Indiana State Police, and numerous local and international law enforcement agencies across the United States and Europe.
- In addition, in Operation Achilles, which was initiated by the FBI in June of 2006, the Bureau targeted a highly sophisticated group of Internet offenders who traded more than 400,000 images of child pornography over 15 years. The FBI, working closely with law enforcement as far away as Queensland, Australia, identified 14 members of this group in the U.S., at least five of whom were actively molesting children. Both American and foreign children were identified and rescued from their abusers. All of the U.S. members were convicted, and many received well-deserved life sentences.
Thanks to these and the numerous other law enforcement operations, the Department and our law enforcement partners have brought thousands of offenders to justice in the last year. But this progress is only a start. Tangible steps outlined in the National Strategy will bring our fight to the next level.
For one, the U.S. Marshals Service is launching a nationwide operation targeting the top 500 most dangerous, non-compliant offenders.
The Department also plans to develop a national database to empower federal, state, tribal, local and international law enforcement partners to deconflict their cases with each other, engage in undercover operations from a portal facilitated or hosted by the database, share information and intelligence, and conduct analysis on dangerous offenders and future threats and trends.
And the Department has already created 38 additional Assistant U.S. Attorney positions devoted exclusively to child exploitation cases. Over the coming months we will work to fill these vacancies � and build on the more than 2300 cases of child exploitation were filed by U.S. Attorneys across the country in Fiscal Year 2009.
Yet, every time I hear a statistic, I cannot help thinking of the individual cases I have read and the stories I have heard. They all remind me that these victims are individuals.
Today, we are joined by one such victim � Melissa � who has summoned the courage to speak up. As her story will remind us, someone can grow up and enjoy her life in spite of the trauma she has suffered. Her story is a reminder of the resiliency of the human spirit. It also reminds of the importance of continuing the Department�s mission and the mission of many of the agencies and organizations here today that are dedicated to helping individuals like Melissa.
The National Strategy champions and expands this effort. Thank you to all of you who are partners in this effort. Your vigilance and dedication will ensure that our shared aspiration � of a safer America for our children � becomes a reality.
Our next several speakers will be from our law enforcement partners, including the FBI, ICE, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, who will describe some of their recent investigations and anticipated undertakings in the future.
Thank you."
Founder and Principal Manager of Genesis Fund Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison on Tax Charges - Also Ordered to Pay Restitution of Nearly $3 Million
WASHINGTON - John S. Lipton, formerly of Mission Viejo and Laguna Hills, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer in Los Angeles to 70 months in prison, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. The court also ordered Lipton to pay restitution of $2,915,427.16 to the IRS.
On April 8, 2010, Lipton pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax evasion. Lipton and several co-defendants were indicted on charges stemming from the operation of the Genesis Fund, a bogus foreign currency exchange investment fund that operated as a Ponzi scheme from May 1998 to June 2002 and received investments of millions of dollars. The remaining defendants are scheduled to begin trial in April 2011.
According to the indictment, the defendants falsely claimed that investors received monthly returns of four percent, when investments were actually used to make "profit" distributions to defendants and early investors. Lipton was one of the founding members of the Genesis Fund and its principal manager. The defendants promoted the Genesis Fund as having no reporting obligations to the IRS. Bank accounts in the names of trusts and offshore bank accounts were allegedly used to receive distributions from the Genesis Fund that were not reported to the IRS. Some of the defendants allegedly created "disclosed" and "undisclosed" Genesis Fund accounts for themselves and certain fund investors in order to conceal from the IRS all but a small portion of the fund�s distributions. In addition, some Genesis Fund investors were allegedly advised to create nominee offshore corporations and bank accounts to receive distributions from the fund.
The indictment further alleged that to obscure the operations of the fund and to limit scrutiny of its operations by investors and the government, the defendants caused the Genesis Fund to maintain no financial statements or other statements of operation. Additionally, in or about April 2000, to conceal the true nature of its operations from investors and the government, Genesis Fund�s administrative operations were relocated from Anaheim, Calif., to Costa Rica. At about the same time, paper records were moved to Costa Rica and electronic data on computers was destroyed.
In his plea agreement, Lipton admitted that he used, and conspired with others to use, foreign trusts, corporations, and bank accounts, to receive distributions from the Genesis Fund and did not report these distributions to the IRS. Lipton also admitted that he directed the transfer of approximately 19 boxes of Genesis Fund documents to Costa Rica, rather than turn them over in response to a grand jury subpoena. Lipton acknowledged that he did not file federal individual income tax returns from 1989 through 2005.
Three defendants, Richard B. Leonard, Victor H. Preston and Teresa R. Vogt have entered guilty pleas in this matter. The trial of the remaining four defendants on tax fraud and conspiracy charges is set for April 2011. A separate trial on charges related to the Ponzi scheme is set for September 2011.
"The IRS will continue to aggressively investigate individuals who use offshore bank accounts and abusive trusts arrangements to conceal investment income and evade taxes," said Victor S.O. Song, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John A. DiCicco commended the special agents from IRS Criminal Investigation who investigated the case, as well as Tax Division trial attorneys Lori A. Hendrickson, Ellen M. Quattrucci, Danny N. Roetzel and Matthew J. Kluge, who are prosecuting the case. Acting Assistant Attorney General DiCicco also thanked the U.S. Attorney�s Office in Los Angeles for its valuable support throughout the litigation of this matter.
