New York Paralegal Blog

BOSTON — Following an investigation and audit of Form I-9 documents by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), 14 New England employers have been fined this fiscal year for various violations that enabled companies to hire illegal aliens. The inspection of the employers' documents are part of ICE's worksite enforcement strategy, launched in 2009 to reduce the demand for illegal employment and protect employment opportunities for the nation's lawful workforce, by focusing its resources on the auditing and investigation of employers suspected of cultivating illegal workplaces by hiring workers who are later determined to be employed illegally.

PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, JANICE FEDARCYK, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and CHARLES PINE, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), announced the filing of charges against CHRISTOPHER CAVOUNIS and JAGDESH COOMA for orchestrating a scheme to defraud several banks of at least $10 million by obtaining commercial loans and lines of credit using false and fraudulent documents. As part of the scheme, CAVOUNIS and COOMA allegedly submitted applications for loans in the names of shell companies with no assets, and with straw owners, using fraudulent documents created to trick the banks into believing those entities were real. The defendants also paid bribes totaling over $135,000 to an employee of Citibank to obtain $2.45 million worth of loans. Manhattan U.S. Attorney PREET BHARARA stated: “The defendants enga...

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced 11 arrests in and around New York City stemming from an ongoing state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) investigation into bus drivers fraudulently obtaining multiple driver licenses using aliases, including Commercial Driver Licenses (CDLs). Among those arrested are commercial operators and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) employees. Yesterday, authorities arrested two bus drivers and a cab driver in New York City accused of obtaining driver licenses using aliases. Investigators with the DMV have been using facial recognition technology to identify individuals who have a valid CDL in one name and additional driver license documents in another. The DMV Division of Field Investigation coordinated today’s arrests with the New York City Police Department's Fraudulent Document Squad.

WASHINGTON — A British citizen and former executive of British Airways World Cargo has agreed to plead guilty, serve eight months in jail and pay a criminal fine for participating in a conspiracy to fix rates for international air cargo shipments, the Department of Justice announced today. According to the charges filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, Keith Packer, former Commercial General Manager for British Airways World Cargo, and his co-conspirators engaged in a conspiracy to fix the air cargo rates charged to customers for international air shipments, including to and from the U.S., in violation of the Sherman Act. Under the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, Packer has agreed to serve eight months in jail, pay a $20,000 criminal fine and cooperate with the Department’s ongoing investigation. More...