This blog presents Metropolitan Engineering Consulting & Forensics (MEC&F) claim management and claim investigation analyses of some of the typical claims we handle
Tree Trimmer Dies After Becoming Trapped in Palm Tree at Hacienda Heights Home
Posted 4:54 PM, September 6, 2018, by Erika Martin and Kimberly Cheng,
Authorities recovered the body of a 49-year-old tree trimmer who died after becoming trapped inside a palm tree outside a Hacienda Heights home on Thursday, officials said.
Simon Lemus' teenage daughter was on the job with him when she his heard screams for help, his family said. She ran over to discover her father had become lodged deep inside a mass of dried fronds at the base of the tree's canopy.
Lemus had been trimming trees more than half his life and worked with a local company. But on Thursday, he was doing a side job to help out a friend, his family said.
Simon Lemus is seen in an undated photo provided by his family.
"Receiving news about my dad's passing at this accident is something that's very sad for our family," his son, Simon Lemus Jr., said through a translator. "But he passed away doing what he loved most."
Officers responded to the scene on the 15400 block of Garo Street at about 4 p.m., said Vanessa Lozano with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Aerial video showed two fire personnel had ascended a ladder to reach the palm fronds about 40 feet off the ground. They were pulling them apart and working to access deeper inside the tree, where Lemus was trapped.
By 5:15 p.m. they had strapped his limp body to the trunk of the tree and were working to get him down. Around 5:45 p.m., firefighters told KTLA he had been pronounced dead.
It appeared Lemus had become stuck under a tangle of dry palm fronds, which can collapse quickly and become very heavy. Coroner's officials have yet to determine a cause of death.
Leonel Granados, another tree trimmer who'd worked alongside Lemus for decades, said he was experienced and had proper safety equipment.
"I know he's a very strong guy, so I don't know what happened inside there," Granados said. "It's not the first one; he had trimmed, I think, thousands of palms."
Lemus' family remembered him as a loving husband, father and grandfather. Simon Jr. described him as a religious and charismatic man with a strong work ethic.
"First and foremost, he was a person who loved God," his son said. "He was the best kind of guy, admirable, always smiling."
Of the
nine counts of conviction, eight were misdemeanors, consisting of one
count relating to a 25 minute delayed reporting and seven counts under
California's strict liability misdemeanor statutes (six animal takings
counts and one discharge count).
LOS ANGELES, CA (AP) — A California jury has found a pipeline company guilty of nine criminal charges for causing a 2015 oil spill that was the state's worst coastal spill in 25 years.
The jury in Santa Barbara County reached its verdict against Plains All American Pipeline of Houston on Friday following a four-month trial.
The jury found Plains guilty of a felony count of failing to properly maintain its pipeline and eight misdemeanor charges, including killing marine mammals and protected sea birds.
The company had faced a total of 15 charges for the rupture of a corroded pipeline that sent at least 123,000 gallons (465,000 liters) of crude oil gushing over Refugio State Beach and out to sea.
The spill closed beaches, hurt tourism and fishing, and crippled the local oil business.
Plains apologized and paid for cleanup but denied criminal wrongdoing, saying the spill was an unfortunate accident.
In a statement following the verdict, Plains All American said:
"A jury decision was announced today in the trial against Plains in State Court in Santa Barbara County, California arising out of the accidental release of crude oil from Line 901 in May of 2015. The charges against Plains were brought by the California Attorney General and Santa Barbara County District Attorney following a May 2016 indictment filed against Plains and one of our employees.
"Plains is pleased that (i) our employee was dismissed before trial began; (ii) 37 of the initial 46 charges against the company were either dismissed by the Judge or resulted in acquittals or deadlocks by the jury; and (iii) in particular, that the jury did not find any knowing misconduct by Plains with respect to the operation of Line 901. Of the nine counts of conviction, eight were misdemeanors, consisting of one count relating to a 25 minute delayed reporting and seven counts under California's strict liability misdemeanor statutes (six animal takings counts and one discharge count).
"Plains' operations with respect to Line 901 met and/or exceeded applicable legal and industry standards, and accordingly, we believe that the jury erred in its verdict on one count where applicable California laws allowed a conviction under a negligence standard. We intend to fully evaluate and consider all of our legal options with respect to the trial and resulting jury decision announced today.
"Plains continues to accept full responsibility for the impact of the accident. We are committed to doing the right thing. The verdict reflected no knowing wrongdoing by Plains or our employees with respect to the operation of Line 901, and the testimony established our comprehensive cleanup effort. Numerous witnesses testified that Plains did everything possible to return areas impacted by the 2015 oil release to conditions as good as or better than before the release."
============================
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KABC) --
A
Santa Barbara County jury Friday found a Texas pipeline company guilty
of nine criminal charges for causing the 2015 oil spill at Refugio
Beach.
The oil spill, which spread across 4 miles of coastline
and shuttered beaches for months, happened after a 24-inch pipeline
ruptured. The spill sent at least 123,000 gallons of crude oil onto beaches and into the sea. Plains
All-American Pipeline, based out of Houston, was found guilty of one
felony count of failing to properly maintain its pipeline and eight
misdemeanor charges, including killing marine mammals and protected sea
birds.
In the wake of what is considered the state's worst spill in 25 years,
the company apologized and paid for cleanup but denied any wrongdoing.
The company's 2017 annual report estimated costs from the spill at $335
million, not including lost revenues.
In May 2016, the company was indicted and faced a total of 15 charges in the case. The trial lasted about four months.
The
company still faces possible fines from the U.S. government and also
faces a federal class-action lawsuit by owners of beachfront properties,
fishing boat operators, the petroleum industry and oil workers who lost
jobs because of the spill.
Plains All-American Pipeline is the
same company that was also involved in an oil spill in Atwater Village
in May 2014. A pipeline burst and spewed about 10,000 gallons of oil
over a half-mile area.
========================
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KABC) --
A
ruptured 24-inch pipeline spilled oil into the ocean off Refugio State
Beach, about 20 miles west of Santa Barbara, which spread across 4 miles
of coastline.
A citizen reported the leak at about noon Tuesday
coming from the pipeline off the 101 Freeway. The pipeline, owned by
Santa Maria-based Plains All-American Pipeline, was on land, and the oil
flowed from a culvert into the waters.
The culvert was later
blocked and the leak was stopped, Plains All-American Pipeline's
officials said. It was initially reported an estimated 21,000 gallons of
oil spilled into the ocean, but an exact amount was unknown.
"Plains
deeply regrets this release has occurred and is making every effort to
limit its environmental impact. Our focus remains on ensuring the safety
of all involved," Plains All-American Pipeline released in a statement.
Plains
All-American Pipeline was also involved in an oil spill in Atwater
Village in May 2014, when a burst pipeline spewed about 10,000 gallons
of crude oil over a 1/2-mile area.
The U.S. Coast Guard was
monitoring clean-up operations. A commercial oil spill response company
was helping with the clean-up, Coast Guard officials said.
At one point, whales could be seen swimming in the area. Clean-up crews attempted to push the animals away from the oil.
Concerned
citizens also scoured the beaches looking to rescue any animals that
may have been caught in the thick, gooey oil. So far, there have been no
reports of any injured wildlife, but photos from Santa Barbara-based
online news website Noozhawk showed birds caught in the muck.
Officials with the Coast Guard said the sludge is considered a "medium-sized" spill.
Santa
Barbara County Office of Emergency Management, Exxon, the Santa Barbara
County Fire Department and California Department of Fish and Wildlife
were on scene.
About 20 barrels of oil have been retrieved so far.
The
public was urged to avoid the area during clean-up. Refugio Beach and
its campground were closed until further notice. Officials said the oil
could spread another 2 to 4 miles south down the coast due to the winds
and surf.
Lake Margrethe is a 1,920-acre lake in Crawford County, just west of Grayling, where PFAS contamination is under investigation in connection to the Camp Grayling Michigan National Guard base there.
In Grayling, filters have been provided to about 175 homes near the Grayling Army Airfield and another 35 homes around Lake Margrethe. The state is telling residents that it needs to decide if more homes need the filters and notes that no long-term safe water solution has been determined yet because the city's municipal supply is also contaminated.
The military, meanwhile, is following a linear, drawn-out investigation process in Grayling and other bases that's likely to delay any actual cleanup by years.
As time goes by, affected residents continually learn more about contaminants that few had ever heard of before last year.
Because PFOS is a surfactant, a chemical microlayer on the water surface gets sudsy when wind conditions are right.
The foaming has also been observed on Lake Margrethe in Crawford County, where the DEQ is also conducting a PFAS plume investigation at the Camp Grayling Michigan National Guard base. The DEQ took foam samples from the lake late last year.
"It's different than the foam you'd see on disturbed water," Bush said, describing it as whiter and frothier. "It's like Mr. Bubbles suds."
======================================== Firefighting chemical linked to water safety concerns By Jeremy Wahr
September 7, 2018
By JEREMY WAHR Capital News Service
LANSING, MI —
A firefighting foam has been linked to a group of chemicals known to be harmful to infants, toddlers and pregnant women. But it is still kept on hand because firefighters say they don’t have effective alternatives.
Detection of the chemicals, known as PFAS, has led to the creation of the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team, a multi-agency organization dedicated to understanding the far-reaching effects of the chemical and educating the public on the threat it poses.
“It’s reason for concern because it’s an issue of public health,” said Katie Parrish, communications director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.
The Michigan PFAS Action Response Team has asked State Fire Marshal Kevin Sehlmeyer to survey over 1,000 fire departments to identify the amount of PFAS in firefighting foam, according to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
Although the survey has not been completed, the response team and other agencies have evidence of the dangers of the foam used to contain fuel and electrical fires and in training drills.
Firefighters and certain military personnel are required to use the foam. The response team believes the military’s heavy use of it contributed to elevated levels of the chemicals in Lake Margrethe, a lake adjacent to Camp Grayling. About a dozen similar sites are also affected.
Because of the danger, many newer firefighting foams don’t contain PFAS, said David Glotzbach, president of the Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs and a 33-year veteran firefighter.
“However,” Glotzbach said in an email, “these products are not effective in extinguishing flammable liquid fires.”
The Department of Environmental Quality has 35 active investigations for potential PFAS contamination across the state. It has begun testing public drinking water for the contaminant throughout the state, said Scott Dean, the agency’s communications director.
The testing will be finished by the end of the year and the agency has only found one public drinking supply – in Parchment – with dangerous levels of the chemical, he said.
Some commercial businesses have fought the testing. In May, the managers of Gerald R. Ford International Airport attempted to deny DEQ testing, claiming government overreach. The DEQ eventually tested the airport and found elevated levels of the chemical.
PFAS is dangerous in part because it does not break down in the environment or the human body, leading to its designation as a “forever chemical” by the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.
The chemical is produced across the country and used not just for firefighting but for products such as stain-resistant shoes and no-stick pans. Waste from these production sites cannot always be treated by generic wastewater treatment plants, according to the Michigan Environmental Council. Specifically, when several industrial buildings discharge waste directly into a treatment plant, the chemicals will still survive.
Meghan Swain, executive director of the Michigan Association for Local Public Health, says the federal government should be more proactive in regulating PFAS.
“Michigan is the only state talking about PFAS chemicals,” Swain said referring to the formation of the state’s PFAS Action Response Team. “The EPA should have sounded the alarm years ago.”
The EPA says 70 parts per trillion is the limit on PFAS for safe drinking water. But some groups, such as the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, say that it is too lenient.
“The state is using the EPA’s standard but it’s critical to understand that this EPA standard is an unenforceable, advisory-only recommendation and only covers two of the many PFAS chemicals,” Parrish said.
Mine Worker Injured By Equipment, Company Fined $70,000
Ministry of Labour
Convicted: FNX Mining Company Inc. o/a KGHM International (FNX); head office 66 Wellington Street West, Toronto, Ontario. Location: The company's copper ore mine (Morrison Mine) near Onaping (Sudbury area), Ontario. Description of Offence: A worker suffered critical injury while riding in the bucket of a scooptram (similar to a front-end loader). Date of Offence: January 11, 2017. Date of Conviction: September 7, 2018. Penalty Imposed:
Following
a guilty plea, the company was fined $70,000 by Justice of the Peace
Michael G. Kitlar in Sudbury court; Crown Counsel Judy L. Chan.
The court also imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
Background:
On
January 11, 2017, a worker was performing remote mucking (loading
extracted ore) from a draw point (a funnel-shaped opening through which
the ore is removed). The worker was using a scooptram ( a Load Haul Dump
truck equipped with a front-mounted bucket, used to move broken
rock/ore in a mine).
After some time, the worker noticed that
the in-and-out movement of the scooptram in the draw point had damaged
ventilation tubing and the area was filling up with the diesel fumes
from the scooptram. A supervisor directed a second worker to help with
the repair.
The two workers placed a 5' x 11' section of screen
mesh in the bucket of the scooptram, intending to elevate it at a
particular place at the draw point, where it would be used. It was
agreed that the first worker would work from the bucket to carry out the
repairs, while the second worker would operate the scooptram.
About
half of the mesh section was outside of the bucket, so the first worker
got into the bucket and stood on top of the mesh to weigh it down and
prevent it from moving. The second worker raised the bucket and curled
it back, in order to lift the part of the mesh section that was still on
the ground.
As the bucket rotated back and up, the worker in
the bucket was pinched between the bucket and the frame of the machine
as the hydraulic cylinder was closing. The worker suffered crushing
injuries requiring surgery.
The operator's guide for the
scooptram states that riders should not be allowed in the bucket. The
Ministry of Labour engineer who examined the scooptram concluded that
the scooptram was not designed for the particular task for which it was
being used, given the potential hazards of pinch points, among others.
FNX
failed to take the reasonable precaution of ensuring that the scooptram
was used in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and/or in a
way in which it was designed to be used, contrary to section 25(2)(h)
of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This is an offence under section 66(1) of the act.
3 Severely Burned In Whitehall Explosion September 6, 2018
WHITEHALL, PA (KDKA) —
The owner of a Bethel Park flooring company was among the three contractors injured in a violent and unusual explosion at a Whitehall home Wednesday night.
All three men working on a job in the basement of a home in a residential neighborhood remain at Mercy Hospital with severe burns, two are in critical condition. Melted shoes and tattered clothes remain visible, evidence of the violent explosion that rocked this Whitehall home and sent neighbors running to help the injured.
One of the victims working for Sims Speciality Flooring of Bethel Park has been identified. The company’s president, David Sims, was severely burned while working in the basement of the home. The two other men have yet to be identified.
Around 7:30 Wednesday night three contractors from the flooring company were severely burned while working in a home on the 4300 block of McKee Drive. Homeowners Albert and Machelle DeCarlo, were remodeling their basement according to neighbors.
“The worst part was the blood-curdling screams. Burn victims sustain so much pain,” said Ashley Sites, registered nurse and neighbor.
(Photo Credit: Meghan Schiller/KDKA)
Sites said she heard a loud boom and didn’t think anything of it. Then she heard screaming and walked outside to see the three workers screaming a few doors down. She quickly sprang into action.
“I had said ‘Well, we need to preserve as much skin as we can, we need to wash the chemicals off,’” Sites said. “I couldn’t touch them, I didn’t have gloves on, so we got towels. We were able to use that as a barrier, put that around them to keep the skin moist, wash the chemicals off.”
Firefighters and EMS arrived within minutes and transported the victims to UPMC Mercy’s burn unit.
Neighbors and firefighters told KDKA it appeared that the workers were preparing to stain the concrete floor in the home’s basement. The fumes from the chemicals ignited in some way and turned into a fire ball that burst out of the home.
“It was definitely an experience and probably a life-changing moment for a lot of us,” Carllie Reck, a next-door neighbor, said.
Reck said the boom shook her wall-mounted television. One of the victims ran to her front door.
“When he was at my door, his face was stark white and his eyes weren’t really open. You could see holes in his shirt,” Reck said.
(Photo Credit: Meghan Schiller/KDKA)
The flooring materials still sat in the backyard on Thursday, marked “flammable.” The door rests on the driveway, charred around the edges. The windows to the basement also appear black around the edges.
The Whitehall Fire Department said the residents on the second floor were not hurt.
Nationally from 1992-2002, 52 fatal injuries were sustained by workers in the floor laying/other floor work business (Standard Industrial Code 1752, not necessarily wood floors). Of these injuries, 21% (11/52) resulted from fires and explosions. Five of the workers who died due to fire or explosion were employed specifically in wood floor sanding. These fires as well as air pollution from certain floor finishing products can present public safety and health threats to the residents of the affected buildings and neighborhoods. The New York City Fire Department has instituted citywide regulations restricting the use of flammable products. The products implicated in these fires are frequently flammable liquids, especially lacquer sealers. Flammable liquids have flash points under 100° F. This means that any spark or ignition source can easily ignite the mixture of product vapor and air near the surface of the liquid when it reaches these temperatures. In fact, some floor finishing products have flash points well below normal room temperatures, around 50° F or 25° F. Some of the most flammable products are certain lacquer sealers, which have been implicated in several recent fires. These types of sealers are inexpensive and dry very quickly. Therefore, they are used by some contractors as a quick first coat under coats of finish. Safety measures recommended for using flammable liquids include preventing known sources of sparks. This involves extinguishing all pilot lights, disconnecting electric appliances such as stoves and refrigerators, covering electric outlets, using only non-sparking tools, and, of course not smoking. All containers should be closed when they are not in use to prevent sparks from coming into contact with the vapor-air mixture above the surface of the liquid. In addition, maintaining ventilation as stipulated in the manufacturer’s instructions will help dilute the product vapors in the rest of the room, potentially to a concentration that is too low to ignite. The challenge to these safety measures results from the fact that is nearly impossible to prevent all sparks. For example, use of ventilation devices requires electricity, which can produce sparks. Turning on a light switch can produce sparks. Simply pouring liquid from one container to another can create enough friction to cause sparks if containers are not grounded. Static electricity can also result from other types of friction, especially in dry weather. Striking a metal object, such as a nail or staple in the floor, can produce sparks.
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2 charged in North County drug-lab explosion September 5, 2018, by City News Service
SAN DIEGO, CA —
Two men were charged Wednesday with a slate of narcotics and weapons charges in connection with a drug-lab explosion that set a northern San Diego County home ablaze last spring.
Gregory Allen Amos, 23, and 34-year-old Christopher Paul Hernandez allegedly were using butane to extract hash oil from marijuana in a house in the 1200 block of Barbara Drive in Vista when the blast occurred about 10:45 a.m. March 27, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Deputies and firefighters arrived to find a glass door blown out on a second-floor balcony of the burning residence and dozens of cans of butane strewn on the driveway, the court document states.
Inside the damaged home, authorities found the remnants of a butane hash-oil laboratory and related items, including pounds of marijuana, hundreds of cans of butane and glass tubes. Agents also seized about a pound of cocaine and three guns, including a 5.56-mm rifle and a 9-mm semiautomatic pistol.
Operating a butane hash-oil lab is an illegal and highly dangerous way extract THC, the principal psychoactive found in marijuana plants. Since January, San Diego-area law enforcement personnel have dealt with at least 17 such illicit facilities, three of which generated fires or explosions, according to federal officials.
Using butane to obtain hash oil — which contains extremely high levels of THC and can be up to four times more potent than high-grade marijuana — often results in the highly flammable gas evaporating and collecting on the floor, then accumulating to explosive levels.
“BHO manufacturing poses an enormous threat to human life,” San Diego-area U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman said. “No one is safe — not those involved in the illegal (process) themselves, not those who happen to be living or visiting nearby, not first responders.”
Amos, a Vista resident, and Hernandez, of San Diego, are scheduled to be arraigned in the case Friday afternoon.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, September 7, 2018 Fugitive Lawyer Involved in Largest Social Security Fraud Scheme Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for His Escape and Related Crimes Sentence to Run Consecutively with 12-year Sentence Previously Imposed for Underlying Role in $550 Million Social Security Fraud Scheme
A former fugitive and social security disability lawyer was sentenced to 15 years in prison today for his role in retaliating against an informant and fleeing from the United States. The sentence is to run consecutive to the 12 years in prison previously imposed for his role in the underlying scheme to defraud the Social Security Administration (SSA) of more than $550 million.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Michael McGill of the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General’s (SSA-OIG) Philadelphia Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Amy S. Hess of the FBI’s Louisville, Kentucky Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Korner of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Cincinnati Ohio Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Atlanta Regional Office made the announcement.
Eric Christopher Conn, 58, of Pikeville, Kentucky, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky, who also ordered Conn to pay $72,574,609 in restitution. On June 4, Conn was convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of conspiracy to escape, and one count of conspiracy to retaliate against an informant. Judge Reeves further ordered that the 15-year term of imprisonment imposed run consecutive to the 12-year term of imprisonment the Court imposed on July 12, 2017, for convictions of paying illegal gratuities to a Social Security Administrative Law Judge and theft of government money. In total, for his role in the largest fraud scheme in the history of the Social Security program, Conn was sentenced to serve 27 years in prison.
“After orchestrating a massive $550 million social security fraud, Eric Conn tried to escape justice by fleeing to Honduras,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “But thanks to the tremendous work of U.S. law enforcement, not only was Conn’s fraud discovered and prosecuted, he was brought back to the United States to answer for his crimes. This case should serve as a strong warning to those who think they can steal from our taxpayer funded programs and escape liability: our law enforcement partners will find you and you will be brought to justice.”
“Mr. Conn directed a scheme that defrauded millions of dollars from Social Security and affected many people in Kentucky and West Virginia,” said SSA-OIG Special Agent in Charge McGill. “Despite his best efforts to escape justice for his actions, Mr. Conn has finally been held accountable with today’s significant sentencing. The SSA-OIG thanks all of our law enforcement partners for their assistance during this investigation, and we remain committed to pursuing Social Security fraud and improving disability program integrity.”
“Conn’s sentencing brings closure to the promise the FBI made that we would not rest until Conn was held accountable for the lives he devastated and the trust he betrayed,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Hess.
“Theft from American taxpayers in any capacity is a serious crime,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Korner. “Eric Conn’s actions were particularly egregious, as he victimized those who are most vulnerable and then made a cowardly attempt to escape punishment. Thanks to the coordinated efforts of our law enforcement partners and their commitment to seeking justice for all Americans, Conn was made to face the consequences of his actions.”
“When individuals are approved for certain Social Security and SSI benefits, they become entitled to Medicare or Medicaid,” said HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Jackson. “As a result, a large portion of Conn’s fraudulent scheme drained federal health care plans and cheated needy patients out of the limited dollars available for these vital taxpayer-funded programs.”
Crooked SSA administrative law judge Charlie Paul Andrus
According to admissions made as part of Conn’s June 2018 plea, from October 2004 to December 2017, Conn participated in a scheme with former SSA administrative law judge David Black Daugherty, multiple doctors, including clinical psychologist Alfred Bradley Adkins, and others to submit thousands of falsified medical documents to the SSA to fraudulently obtain disability benefits totaling more than $550 million for thousands of individuals. According to the admissions, upon a former SSA employee discovering and providing information about the scheme to federal agents, Conn and former SSA administrative law judge Charlie Paul Andrus conspired and acted to have the former SSA employee terminated in an effort to discredit the employee. Finally, Conn admitted that after pleading guilty in March 2017, and prior to being sentenced on June 2, 2017, he fled the country with the help of Curtis Lee Wyatt by severing the electronic monitoring device from his ankle and fleeing across the Mexican border.
Conn was originally charged in April 2016, along with Daugherty and Adkins, in an 18-count indictment with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and other related offenses in connection with the disability fraud scheme. Conn subsequently pleaded guilty on March 24, 2017, to a two-count information charging him with theft of government money and paying illegal gratuities, and, after fleeing, he was sentenced in absentia on July 14, 2017 to 12 years in prison on those charges. After his flight from the United States, Conn was charged, along with Wyatt, in September 2017, in a seven-count indictment with conspiracy to escape, escape and other related offenses. On Dec. 5, 2017, Conn was returned to the United States from Honduras after being apprehended by Honduran authorities.
Andrus pleaded guilty in June 2016 to a one-count information charging him with conspiracy to retaliate against an informant, and was sentenced Aug. 7, 2017 to six months in prison. Daugherty pleaded guilty in May 2017 to a two-count information charging him with receiving illegal gratuities, and was sentenced on Aug. 25, 2017, to four years in prison. Adkins was found guilty following a six-day trial in June 2017 of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of making false statements, and was sentenced on Sept. 22, 2017, to 25 years in prison. Wyatt pleaded guilty in March 2018, and, on June 29, 2018 was sentenced to seven months in prison.
The case was investigated by the SSA-OIG, FBI, IRS-CI and HHS-OIG. Trial Attorneys Dustin M. Davis of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Ann Marie Blaylock and Rebecca Caruso of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section prosecuted the case, with previous co-counsel including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth G. Wright of the District of Maryland and Trey Alford of the Western District of Missouri as well as Investigative Counsel Kristen M. Warden of the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General.
New York lawyer Steven M. Etkind, CPA, guilty for stealing more than $3.5 million from Deceased Client’s Estate
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, September 6, 2018 New York Attorney Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud Related to Multimillion-Dollar Embezzlement From Deceased Client’s Estate
Steven M. Etkind, CPA, a New York-licensed attorney and former partner at a New York law firm pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax evasion arising from a scheme to embezzle millions of dollars from a deceased client’s estate, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman for the Southern District of New York.
“The fiduciary duty that a lawyer owes to a client is paramount to the practice of law,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman. “The Justice Department will prosecute and seek just punishment against any attorney who victimizes their clients for their own personal gain.”
“As he admitted in court today, Steven Etkind violated the law, the canons of his profession, and the trust of his client by stealing more than $3.5 million from the client’s estate,” said U.S. Attorney Berman. “Etkind now awaits sentencing for his crimes.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, Steven M. Etkind was a partner at a New York law firm’s tax, trusts and estates group and a Certified Public Accountant. Etkind performed legal work for a successful entrepreneur client, who passed away in 2008, naming Etkind as the co-executor of his $35 million estate.
The client’s will directed the creation of two charitable trust private foundations, funded with assets from the client’s estate, for the sole purpose of donating to 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, including those aimed at assisting Jewish-sponsored organizations. Etkind was named co-trustee of these trusts.
Beginning in 2009, Etkind and his co-conspirator set up a phony charitable organization, the United Jewish Education Foundation (UJEF), and used it to steal more than $3.5 million from these charitable trusts. As part of the conspiracy, Etkind directed that donations from the trusts be first made to legitimate Jewish charitable organizations in order to give the disbursements the appearance of legitimate donations. Etkind and his co-conspirator then redirected the funds to accounts of UJEF, the phony charity that his co-conspirator controlled.
Etkind subsequently directed his co-conspirator to write checks, totaling $327,500, to a bank account in the name of JE Capital Holding Corp., a nominee corporate entity that Etkind controlled exclusively. Etkind further directed more than $3 million to be used in 2010 to purchase a 6,300 square-foot home with a swimming pool in Southampton, New York. The Southampton property was purchased for the use and enjoyment of Etkind and his family. Etkind later transferred title of the property to JE Trust, a nominee trust he controlled.
To conceal his embezzlement, Etkind filed, and caused to be filed, fraudulent personal, corporate, and charitable trust returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). During the course of a subsequent audit of UJEF by the IRS Tax Exempt & Government Entities Division, Etkind and his co-conspirator made several false and misleading statements, including about the true ownership of the Southampton Property.
United States District Judge John G. Koelt scheduled Etkind's sentencing for January 18, 2019. Etkind faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge and five years in prison for tax evasion. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Berman praised the outstanding efforts by special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Jorge Almonte and Jack A. Morgan of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case, as well as the IRS’s Tax Exempt & Government Entities Division for their assistance in the investigation.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
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Partner
Steven Etkind
– Present (8 months) New York City
Mr.
Etkind has created hundreds of estate plans, ranging from a few million
dollars in size to those in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Mr.
Etkind has represented trust companies or business owners in numerous
ESOP transactions, advised many businesses and private investment
partnerships on taxation, corporate transactions, business succession
issues and employee incentive strategies.
Mr. Etkind has been quoted in The New York Times, Barron’s, Money Magazine and many other publications.
Tax Representations Include:
Structured an inbound investment of loans to other lenders in the U.S.
Structured the ownership of broker/dealer holdings owned by offshore persons and U.S. persons.
Structured
the rollup of 45 subsidiaries into a holding company and subsequently
configured the sale of the holding company's shares to a regulated
entity, to provide the legal framework for the structure to unwind
without income tax, should the regulated entity not receive government
permission to proceed.
Represented several individuals in tax
controversy cases involving undeclared offshore bank accounts and other
financial assets which were not properly reported.
Structured hundreds of offshore investment companies.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, September 7, 2018 United States Files Complaint Against Hawaii Fishing Companies, Managers, and Vessel Operator Over Illegal Oil Discharges and Lodges Partial Settlement With Managers
The United States filed a civil enforcement action against Azure Fishery LLC, the company’s managers, the operator of the commercial fishing vessel Jaxon T, and the new owner of the vessel for violations of the federal Clean Water Act, the Department of Justice and U.S. Coast Guard announced today. Along with the filing of the complaint, the United States also lodged a partial settlement to resolve the claims against the two company managers, Hanh Nguyen and Khang Dang, who have agreed to pay $475,000 in civil penalties and reimbursements. The managers also committed to perform operational improvements and other compliance measures to their entire fleet of 25 longline fishing vessels based in Honolulu. The claims against the rest of the defendants remain for future adjudication.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii today, alleges five causes of action against six defendants: Azure Fishery LLC, company managers Nguyen and Dang, company member and prior owner Tuan Hoang, vessel operator Andy Hoang and current owner Linh Fishery LLC. The complaint alleges willful discharges of oil, including oily bilge water, from the commercial longline fishing vessel Jaxon T, now known as the St. Joseph, into the ocean offshore of Hawaii, as well as related violations of the Coast Guard’s longstanding spill prevention and pollution control regulations, including failure to provide sufficient capacity to retain all oily mixtures on board. The complaint further alleges that in order to extend the length of fishing voyages, the defendants routinely pumped a mixture of fuel oil, lubricating oils, water, and other fluids from the vessel’s engine room bilge into the Pacific Ocean rather than retain the waste on board. The United States alleges that Azure Fishery LLC and the company managers and vessel operator are each liable for civil penalties under the Clean Water Act for discharging oily mixtures into the waters off Hawaii. The United States also seeks injunctive relief from these same defendants and Linh Fishery LLC, the current owner of the vessel.
“A thriving commercial fishing sector in Hawaii and other parts of the United States largely depends upon keeping our ocean environments free of harmful pollution,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Today’s action shows that the Justice Department is as committed as ever to enforcing the nation’s vessel pollution laws in close partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard.”
“This is the fourth case we have brought this year involving illegal oil discharge practices in the Honolulu-based longline fishing fleet,” said Rear Adm. Kevin Lunday, Commander, Coast Guard 14th District. “All vessel owners and operators are responsible for maintaining their vessels and preventing illegal discharges of oily wastes into the ocean. We are committed to the people of Hawaii to protect our waters and the Pacific Ocean from the damage caused by illegal pollution.”
“We will continue to protect our precious natural resources by enforcing the Nation’s environmental laws,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii Kenji M. Price. “This settlement, and the other tremendous work performed by the law enforcement community in this area, should encourage owners and operators to proactively make necessary repairs and improve their waste disposal practices. Violators who fail to act on this message will face similar, or more severe, consequences.”
The complaint further alleges that company managers Nguyen and Dang fraudulently transferred the vessel to the current owner, Linh Fishery LLC, shortly after the Coast Guard discovered the violations in March 2017. Because the sale of the vessel and distribution of the proceeds to company members rendered Azure Fishery LLC insolvent and thus otherwise unable to pay a civil penalty, the complaint seeks recovery of the value of the fraudulently transferred vessel from the beneficiaries of the transfer, Linh Fishery LLC, Hanh Thi Nguyen, Khang Nguyen Dang, and Tuan Ngog Hoang, under the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act (“FDCPA”), 28 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq.
Contemporaneously with the filing of the complaint, the United States has lodged a partial consent decree addressing the claims against company managers Nguyen and Dang. Under the settlement, Nguyen and Dang will each pay $211,000 for the Clean Water Act penalty claims against them and they will jointly pay an additional $53,000 for their apportioned share of the fraudulent transfer claim under the FDCPA. Moreover, they will perform corrective measures across their fleet of 25 Hawaii-based longline fishing vessels. The corrective measures are designed to ensure safe and lawful operations going forward and include (1) repairing the vessels to reduce the quantity of oily waste generated during a fishing voyage; (2) obtaining independent verification of repairs; (3) providing crewmembers with training on the proper handling of oily wastes; (4) documenting proper oily waste retention during voyages and disposal after returning to port; and (5) submitting periodic compliance assurance reports to the Coast Guard and the Department of Justice.
Section 311(b) of the Clean Water Act makes it unlawful to discharge oil or hazardous substances into or upon the waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines in quantities that may be harmful to the environment or public health. Under the act, the Coast Guard also has promulgated spill prevention and pollution control regulations for vessels and other facilities. Overboard discharges of oily mixtures, whether by directly pumping out oily bilge water that has not been properly treated, or by attempting to pump only the portion of the oily bilge water beneath a floating oil layer in the bilge (so-called decanting), has long been unlawful under federal law. Eliminating oil discharges into the ocean helps protect people, birds, fish, marine mammals, sea turtles and other natural resources.
Under the terms of the Clean Water Act, the penalties paid for these violations will be deposited in the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund managed by the National Pollution Funds Center. The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund is used to pay for federal response activities and to compensate for damages when there is a discharge or substantial threat of discharge of oil or hazardous substances to waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines.
The proposed partial consent decree, lodged in the District of Hawaii, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and court review and approval. Copies of the consent decree are available on the Department of Justice website at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.
ST. JOSEPH
Owner Name: LINH FISHERY, LLC
Owner Address: 1108 CLIO ST, HONOLULU, HI 96822-2701, USA
