2022 Bronx Chamber of Commerce Gala Highlights
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Saturday, October 1, 2022
Bronx Chamber of Commerce - Bronx Business News You Can Use
NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ANNOUNCES NEXT STEPS IN $15 MINIMUM HOURLY WAGE PHASE-IN FOR COUNTIES UPSTATE
Division of the Budget Recommends One-Dollar Minimum Wage Increase to $14.20-Per Hour for Counties Outside New York City, Long Island, and Westchester,
Beginning December 31
DOB Analysis Finds Regional Unemployment Rates Outside of
New York City at Historic Lows
Public Comment Period Begins Today; New Yorkers Invited to Share Feedback
The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) today announced next steps in the state’s $15 minimum hourly wage phase-in. Commissioner Roberta Reardon issued an Order calling for the minimum wage rate in counties outside of New York City, Long Island and Westchester to rise by $1 per hour, from $13.20 to $14.20, following a statutorily required economic analysis conducted by the New York State Division of the Budget (DOB). The Division's analysis found evidence of pressure for wages to rise in the midst of a continued pandemic-driven labor shortage. Currently, the minimum wage rate in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County is $15 per hour, having reached that level following phased-in annual increases pursuant to statute.
The Commissioner's Order will be enacted through rulemaking and is subject to public comment before a final decision is made. NYSDOL announced the start of the public comment period for New Yorkers to weigh in on the recommendation and invited New Yorkers to share feedback by e-mailing regulations@labor.
“By raising the minimum wage incrementally, New York State is helping businesses adjust to the new rate, while giving low-wage workers the ability to better participate in our economy,” said New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon. “Continuing with the multi-year plan to raise the minimum wage is in line with market standards and ensures that no worker is left behind.”
An average of 200,000 New Yorkers in these upstate counties will benefit from this wage increase, 44% of which are full time workers and of those, nearly 25% are supporting children below age 18. In addition, this increase will help to close the gender pay gap, providing an estimated 110,000 women with greater financial stability.
New York’s minimum wage statute requires that DOB review the state’s economy annually to determine whether wage increases should move forward as scheduled. For the minimum wage that will be applicable in 2023, the statute also requires that DOB, in coordination with NYSDOL, evaluate various economic factors, such as consumer prices, and determine the rate of minimum wage increases outside of New York City, Long Island, and Westchester.
In its analysis, DOB considered various measures of inflation; statewide average wages; labor productivity; the pace of the state’s labor market recovery; labor demand and supply; regional unemployment rates and other trends in the low-wage employment sector; the impact of COVID-19 on the minimum wage workforce; and other factors. Key findings from DOB’s minimum wage report include:
- Regional unemployment rates outside of New York City are at historic lows. The 3.1 percent rate for this area for the four months from April through July 2022 is the lowest in the history of the data going back to 1976 and is lower than the national 3.5 percent rate for the same month. These data confirm the unprecedented tightness of the State labor market outside of New York City.
- Low-wage industries are overrepresented among the State’s remaining job losses due to the early impact of the pandemic. Although the minimum wage workers’ share is likely to rise as the low-wage sector recovery proceeds, the size of the minimum wage workforce is likely to continue to be constrained by a rise in entry-level wages as firms compete for workers.
- New York is experiencing a job gap of 351,000 relative to its pre-pandemic peak. Anecdotal evidence combined with alternative data sources argue that labor shortages could account for much of New York’s remaining job gap, particularly Upstate.
- Like the rest of the nation, the New York labor market is expected to continue to slow in the coming months. Because of the importance of financial markets to the State economy, the Federal Reserve’s apparent shift to aggressively battling inflation will have a disproportional impact in New York. As a result, State employment growth is projected to slow from 4.3 percent in 2022 to 0.8 percent in 2023. State employment is not expected to reach its pre-pandemic level until 2026.
GENERAL MINIMUM WAGE RATE SCHEDULE
CONSUMER ALERT: New York State Division of Consumer Protection Offers Tips for Keeping Babies Safe at Home and On the Go During Baby Safety Month
New York State Division of Consumer Protection (DCP) Creates an Important Baby Safety Checklist for Baby Safety Month
Part 2: Provide A Safe Environment for Babies
Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez says, “We can do a lot to avoid common injuries and it’s important to know prevention tips during these first critical months of a child’s life.”
In recognition of Baby Safety Month, the New York State Division of Consumer Protection (DCP) is providing a Baby Safety Checklist to help parents maintain a safe environment for their little ones. In the first alert, DCP called attention to the importance of monitoring product recalls here. In part two of the series, DCP is providing baby-proof safety measures and tips to help parents keep babies out of harm's way from birth through their toddler years.
“The first year of a baby’s life is packed with milestones that are both exciting and sometimes overwhelming,” said New York Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez, who oversees the Division of Consumer Protection. “The Baby Safety Checklist provides an overview of safety tips to help parents maintain a safe environment for babies. As parents, we can do a lot to avoid common injuries and it’s important to know prevention tips during these first critical months of a child’s life.”
The DCP Baby Safety Checklist is packed with tips on how to keep baby safe while sleeping, feeding, on the go or around the house. There are many potential hazards for babies, but parents can keep their child safe by finding out what the risks are, and then preventing or removing them.
The New York State Division of Consumer Protection provides resources and education materials to consumers on product safety, as well as voluntary mediation services between consumers and businesses. The Consumer Assistance Helpline 1-800-697-1220 is available Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm, excluding State Holidays, and consumer complaints can be filed at any time at www.dos.ny.gov/consumer-
For more consumer protection tips, follow the Division on social media at Twitter: @NYSConsumer and Facebook: www.facebook.com/nysconsumer.
Community Board 11 Public Hearing on the Just Home Proposal by the NYCHHC
This was a public hearing to listen to what the people of Community Board 11 and others had to say on the proposal of the NYCHHC to house people from Rikers Island at Jacobi Hospital who HHC selects as medically compromised with no concern about what crimes they may have been convicted of doing. People like myself arrived at the site of the public hearing one hour before the meeting because we were told only four-hundred people would be allowed into the six-hundred seat auditorium. A security car drove by to say that the doors would be opened at seven PM, which was when the meeting was to begin. After two calls to the Jacobi Hospital administration, the doors were open to the public at 6:45 PM.
The first speaker was Ms. Jeanette Merrill of the NYCHHC to briefly explain Just Home. Stanley Richards of the Fortune Society was next to give a brief description of the Fortune Society's fifty-five years of service, and very briefly what their goal was for Just Home. The next speaker was the only elected official Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez who really didn't say much, just that she had to run somewhere.
I was the first public speaker and I questioned the NO-Bid contract given to the Fortune Society by the NYCHPD who chose the Fortune Society to run this program. (We would find out much more later about the Fortune Society from a landlord who had a Fortune Society recommended tenant ruin his house, make his and his families lives a living hell, and how the Fortune Society uses its muscle with certain elected officials to get what it wants). I requested that HHC send a representative to the monthly Community Board 11 District Service Cabinet meeting for a monthly update on Just Home, and meet quarterly with the Housing Committee or a Working Group set up by CB 11. I made reference to certain items I had read in the seven page handout received only a few hours before the meeting. There would have to be a ULERP process by either HHC or the Fortune Society who was leasing the site from HHC. The part about residents of Just Home may have Mental Health or Substance use needs, only 10% will come from the bronx with no number of how many, if any people will come from CB11, eighty-six percent of the people incarcerated on Rikers Island are pre-trial detainees, the Just Home tenants will be free to roam the community, use mass transit, and have unchecked visitors. The fact that the total budget is not in place, as it states over the next several months Fortune will develop its financial plan and fundraise for the project.
One by one thirty speakers came up, with those against the Just Home project giving various reasons why they are against it. The reasons were safety, Jacobi Hospital is already overburdened, understaffed, the lack of knowledge of what crimes were committed by those in the Just Home program, the fact that the people would be allowed to roam the neighborhood freely looking at the homes around the hospital area, why can't the building be converted to serve the elderly in the community, or other uses were discussed. Of the five people who spoke in favor of the Just Home proposal two said they do not live in CB 11, with one sitting with the Jacobi Hospital people. They and one other in favor seemed to be goading the people against Just Home to bring out the anger in them so Mr. Michael Kaess also in favor of Just Home could film the anger making appear that the crowd was continuously rude and disruptive.
The highlight of the night came when Rodrick Compass spoke. He said he rented out an apartment in his home to a referral from the Fortune Society. Mr. Compas complained to the Fortune Society that the placement of their tenant was not working out, but it fell on deaf ears. The tenant was being abuse, breaking things, and not listening to Mr. Compass on matters concerning the building. He said that the Fortune Society still has not answered him from three years ago, photos were displayed of the damage to his home, he said his wife was sexually abused, his family lived in terror because of the power the Fortune Society has with certain elected officials naming Congressman Gregory Meeks as one, that the Fortune Society is worse than the mob, and needs to be stopped. He mentioned that the Fortune Society sued Macy's and Target receiving four million dollars when the two chains refused to hire Fortune Society referrals, and how could they do such terrible things to a family of four? When I asked Mr. Richards of the Fortune Society if he had anything to answer Mr. Compass's charges, all Mr. Richards would say is 'No Comment'.
Community Board 11 Housing Committee Chair Hazel Mura opens the Public Hearing on Just Home at Jacobi Hospital.
The crowd of over three hundred people. Stanley Richards of the Fortune Society looks at the camera from the front row, with Jeanette Merrill of HHC next to him.
Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez didn't even take her coat off as she ran out, or returned when I mentioned that while the public first learned about Just Home at the end of June, Assemblywoman Fernandez received the power point presentation March 1, 2022.
34th State Senate District candidate Samantha Zherka voice her opposition to the Just Home experiment by the HHC at Jacobi Hospital.
While almost all of the speakers were against the Just Home project at Jacobi Hospital, Michael Kaess spoke in favor of putting ex cons at Jacobi Hospital no matter what crimes they may have committed.
Patrick McManus speaks against the Just Home project at Jacobi Hospital. In the background is Michael Kaess filming the entire meeting for anything he could use to bolster his campaign to place criminals in Jacobi Hospital.
Community Board 11 member and candidate for the 80th Assembly District Phyllis 'Tiz' Nastasio reads from a list of reasons why she is opposed to the Just Home experiment at Jacobi Hospital.
Republican Elections Commissioner for: Bronx County, Gino A. Marmorato was very direct in why he was in opposition to the Just home project at Jacobi Hospital.
Ms. Diana Finch looks at Ms. Merrill and Mr. Richards after asking if there were going to be any answers to the questions asked. She waited for thirty seconds before she was told by the board District Manager no, and she then went on to ay she was in favor of the Just Home project.
The highlight of the night came when Rodrick Compass spoke of renting an apartment to a referral from the Fortune Society three years ago. In that time his family was put through a living hell because the Fortune Society refused to answer for the tenant they placed in Mr. Compass's building. Mr. Compass asks Fortune Society Stanley Richards if he has any answers now, but both Richards and Merrill from HHC refused to say anything.
Community Board 11 Vice-Chair Al D'Angelo reads from a list of reasons why he is opposed to the Just Home proposal at Jacobi Hospital.
Jeanette Merrill of HHC seems to be concerned that her photo is being taken after Mr. Richards was confronted by Mr. Compass of what the Fortune Society did to his family and building. Stanley Richards trying to shake off what just transpired with Mr. Compas would leave a few minutes later.
Friday, September 30, 2022
MAYOR ADAMS, TLC, SENATOR SCHUMER, NYTWA, MARBLEGATE ASSET MANAGEMENT ANNOUNCE MORE THAN $225 MILLION IN DEBT RELIEF ALREADY ACHIEVED UNDER HISTORIC TAXI MEDALLION DEBT RELIEF PROGRAM
Following Agreement in August, More Than 1,000 Medallion Owners Have Already Accessed Meaningful Debt Relief
MRP Closing Events Being Held This Week at TLC Offices in Queens
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) Chair and Commissioner David Do, and Senator Charles Schumer today announced that more than 1,000 medallion owners have already achieved more than $225 million in debt relief from the enhanced version of the Medallion Relief Program, MRP+ first announced in August. Following a finalized agreement with Marblegate Asset Management — the largest taxi medallion lender in the city — and the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) on the operational terms of the program last month, renegotiated deals are now being closed, finally providing hundreds of millions of dollars in relief to medallion owners.
“Yellow cabs are New York City icons, right alongside the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty, but in recent years, our taxi medallion owners and drivers have been burdened by crippling debt that has crushed people who only wanted to pursue the American Dream,” said Mayor Adams. “I am proud to announce that as of today, more than 1,000 medallion owners have closed on loans, resulting in over $225 million of taxi medallion debt relief and counting. MRP+ puts money back in the pockets of medallion owners and drivers — many of whom are immigrants — working around the clock to keep New Yorkers on the move and put food on their family’s table. This debt relief program means they no longer have to max out their credit cards, lose their homes, or be unable to pay for their children’s college education.”
“Today's achievement signals financial certainty in what has been a critically fragile market for medallion owners and taxi drivers,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. "Taxi drivers are the backbone for our city and the industry is critical to our transportation network, but for so long our driver owners have faced crippling debt. Today starts a new chapter of repair and rebirth for the industry."
“After striking a deal to get medallion owners the relief they desperately need, we finally have a program in place that is very quickly providing substantial amounts of debt forgiveness,” said TLC Chair and Commissioner Do. “I am incredibly thankful for all of the hard work done by the TLC, our partner agencies, Marblegate, and NYTWA, and I am looking forward to seeing the positive impacts that this program will have on the lives of medallion owners and the health of the taxi industry.”
“I am proud to have worked hand-in-hand with New York Taxi Workers Alliance, Mayors Adams and de Blasio, local elected officials, and a city-wide movement of New Yorkers to broker a deal with City Hall to provide life-saving debt relief for cab drivers,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. “The medallion debt crisis has gone on for years—taking lives and livelihoods. I commend Mayor Adams, NYTWA, TLC, and Marblegate for working assiduously to enact the deal we reached last fall and providing critical debt relief for over 1,000 medallion owners thus far with more to come. Together, we are working to bring this ongoing situation to a just resolution for the cabbies who work every day to serve this city.”
“We are thankful to Mayor Adams, Majority Leader Schumer, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, TLC Chair David Do, and thousands of New Yorkers and electeds for standing with NYTWA members in our fight for a life free from crushing debt and poverty,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive director, NYTWA. “Drivers put their bodies on the line to win this victory and we’ve come so far from the despair and shock of drivers dying by suicide when there was no hope for relief from medallion debt. Now, finally, drivers and their families can breathe. $225 million in relief means $225 million toward groceries, rent, healthcare and education. It feels impossible to quantify how much this will mean for drivers' families and the reinvestment into their lives and through them into our city. NYTWA members will keep working around the clock until every owner-driver gets the relief they need and for relief from the tax burden from forgiven debt. We thank Marblegate for partnering with us for a solution and ask all lenders to follow their lead. We also thank Chair Do, TLC staff, TLC driver resource center legal services, and FieldPoint Servicing for a truly herculean effort to close on so many loans over these two weeks. Their labor made these closings possible and the program a reality.”
"Over the past two weeks, we have seen more than a thousand medallion owners take action to restructure their loans through this groundbreaking debt relief program, a significant public-private partnership that has delivered more than $225 million in life-changing debt forgiveness," said Andrew Milgram, managing partner and chief investment officer, Marblegate Asset Management. "I want to thank everyone from the elected officials, the TLC, NYTWA, the Field Point Servicing team, and countless others for their extraordinary work to maximize the number of medallion owners that participated in this program. This is a testament to the important role that private capital can play to lead the way for change and public good, and I am proud to help deliver this incredible win for drivers."
“Taxi drivers have been a reliable part of our transportation system for decades, and the city wouldn’t be the same without them,” said New York City Corporation Counsel Sylvia Hinds-Radix. “They were severely impacted by an economic crisis worsened by a pandemic beyond our control. This historic program provides the financial relief these New Yorkers need to get them back on their feet so they can continue adding to the vibrancy and economic well-being of the city.”
Medallion owners are encouraged to sign up for free legal representation and financial counseling through TLC’s Owner/Driver Resource Center. Other lenders that would like to learn more should also visit the resource center.
DEC to Host Annual 'I FISH NY' Fall Fishing Festival Oct. 15 at Hempstead Lake State Park
Free Fishing, Rods and Bait, Live Animal Show, Contests, and Activities for Children at Annual Long Island Event
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) I FISH NY Program and Freshwater Fisheries Unit and the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) today announced the annual Fall Family Fishing and Children's Festival at Hempstead Lake State Park will be held Saturday, Oct. 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“The Fall Family Fishing and Children’s Festival has been a Long Island family tradition for two decades,” said DEC Regional Director Cathy Haas. “For some, it was their first introduction to fishing and has resulted in them becoming lifelong anglers. We look forward to continue welcoming everyone to this wonderful event.”
“Hempstead Lake State Park is pleased to partner with DEC to offer the annual Fall Family Fishing Festival," said State Parks Long Island Regional Director George Gorman. "The festival is a great opportunity for both children and families to learn and experience the joys of fishing, and check out all the new trails and amenities that Hempstead Lake has to offer."
Festival activities include fishing with free loaner rods and bait, fishing instruction, casting instruction, and fish-cleaning services. In addition to fishing opportunities, the festival features a children's casting for pumpkins contest, live animal show, magician, pumpkin decorating, fish printing, and a children's slide, in addition to DEC and State Parks displays.
The fishing license requirement for all anglers over the age of 16 is suspended for this festival, and admission and parking are free.
The children's casting for pumpkins contest will be held for as long as pumpkins last, during which kids can "catch" a pumpkin and "hook" a prize. Casting contest prizes are provided by I FISH NY and State Parks.
Prior to the festival, State Parks will stock South and McDonald ponds in Hempstead Lake State Park with brook and rainbow trout. DEC stocks brown trout in several other waterbodies in Nassau and Suffolk counties, including Upper Twin Pond, Oyster Bay Mill Pond, Massapequa Reservoir, and 12 additional Suffolk County lakes. These stockings will occur by Oct. 27, and provide excellent prospects for fall fishing. A second DEC stocking will occur in early November.
For more information about the festival, call DEC's I FISH NY Program at (631) 444-0283 or Hempstead Lake State Park (516) 766-1029 for event status. There is no rain date for this event.
For more information about the fall trout stocking program in Nassau and Suffolk counties, call the DEC Bureau of Fisheries at (631) 444-0280. General information on freshwater fishing on Long Island can be found at DEC's Long Island/NYC Fishing webpage and more info at DEC's Fishing webpage.
What: 2022 Fall Family Fishing and Children's Festival
Where: McDonald and South Ponds
Hempstead Lake State Park
West Hempstead, NY 11552
Hempstead Lake State Park
West Hempstead, NY 11552
When: Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022
Time: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Who: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Details: Come out and enjoy a day of fishing with the entire family! Headlining the event is a children's "Casting for Pumpkins" contest. In addition, more than 1,000 trout will be stocked prior to the event.
Cost: None - Free Event Admission and Free Parking
Sponsors: DEC's I FISH NY program and State Parks
Contact: DEC's I FISH NY at (631) 444-0283 or ifishny@dec.ny.gov
Directions: Take exit 18 off Southern State Parkway. Follow the drive into the Hempstead Lake Park. Make your second right at the ticket booth. Make an immediate left after the booth for Field #3. Follow to the end of the parking lot. Walk along the paved path to McDonald and South ponds.
Russian Oligarch Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska And Associates Indicted For Sanctions Evasion And Obstruction Of Justice
New Jersey Resident Olga Shriki Arrested for Her Role in Facilitating Illicit Travel by Deripaska’s Girlfriend and in Real Estate Transactions
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging OLEG VLADIMIROVICH DERIPASKA, a/k/a “Oleg Mukhamedshin,” and NATALIA MIKHAYLOVNA BARDAKOVA, a/k/a “Natalya Mikhaylovna Bardakova,” citizens of the Russian Federation (“Russia”), and OLGA SHRIKI, a New Jersey resident and naturalized U.S. Citizen, with conspiring to violate United States sanctions imposed on DERIPASKA and one of DERIPASKA’s corporate entities, “Basic Element.” SHRIKI is further charged with obstruction of justice based on her deletion of electronic records relating to her participation in DERIPASKA’s sanctions evasion scheme following receipt of a Grand Jury subpoena requiring the production of those records. BARDAKOVA and is charged in one count with making false statements to agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Additionally, EKATERINA OLEGOVNA VORONINA, a/k/a “Ekaterina Lobanova,” is also charged with making false statements to agents of the Department of Homeland Security at the time of VORONINA’s attempted entry into the United States for the purpose of giving birth to DERIPASKA’s child. SHRIKI was arrested this morning.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “The indictment unsealed signals the United States’ ongoing support for the people of Ukraine in the face of continued Russian belligerence. The enforcement of sanctions is a vital tool wielded by this Office and our law enforcement partners as we seek to deter Russian aggression, and today’s indictment should be taken as a warning that, try as they might, individuals violating these sanctions will be held accountable.”
Andrew C. Adams, Director of Task Force KleptoCapture said: “Despite his cozy ties with the Kremlin and his vast wealth acquired through ties to a corrupt regime, Deripaska did all he could to lead a life in a stable, free, democratic society – even if that meant lying and evading U.S. sanctions. The hypocrisy in seeking comfort and citizenship in the United States, while enjoying the fruits of a ruthless, anti-democratic regime, is striking. That Deripaska practiced that hypocrisy through lies and criminal sanctions evasion has made him a fugitive from the country he so desperately wished to exploit.”
FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said: “Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, was sanctioned in April 2018 as part of the U.S. response to the Russian Government’s engagement in worldwide malign activity and its annexation of Crimea, Ukraine. Since that time, Deripaska has continued to circumvent those sanctions through an international network of enablers and facilitators. We will not idly standby while Russian oligarchs brazenly subvert our laws and simultaneously seek benefit from U.S. goods and services for themselves and their families. Today’s actions demonstrate the FBI’s commitment to protecting U.S. national interests through the identification and disruption of Kremlin-linked oligarchs’ criminal networks.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]
DERIPASKA, the owner and controller of Basic Element Limited (“Basic Element”), a private investment and management company for DERIPASKA’s various business interests, was subjected to economic sanctions on April 6, 2018. On that day, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) designated DERIPASKA as a Specially Designated National (“SDN”) in connection with its finding that the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation with respect to Ukraine constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States (the “OFAC Sanctions”). In so designating DERIPASKA, OFAC explained that DERIPASKA was sanctioned for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, a senior official of the Government of the Russian Federation, as well as for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy.
Following his designation by OFAC, DERIPASKA conspired with others to evade and to violate those sanctions in various ways and over the course of several years. DERIPASKA, through the corporate entity “Gracetown Inc.,” illegally utilized the U.S. financial system to maintain and retain three luxury properties in the United States (the “U.S. Properties”) and further employed OLGA SHRIKI and NATALIA MIKHAYLOVNA BARDAKOVA to utilize U.S. financial institutions to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of services for his benefit in the United States. For example, in or about 2019, SHRIKI facilitated for DERIPASKA’s benefit the sale of a music studio in California for over $3 million. DERIPASKA had owned the studio through a series of corporate shell companies that obscured his actual ownership. Following the sale of the studio, SHRIKI attempted to expatriate over $3 million in proceeds through one such shell company, “Ocean Studios California LLC,” to a Russia-based account belonging to another DERIPASKA company.
BARDAKOVA – largely based in Russia – directed SHRIKI to engage in particular illegal transactions on DERIPASKA’s behalf. These instructions included directing SHRIKI to obtain U.S. goods and technology for DERIPASKA. Moreover, between in or about May 2018 and in or about 2020, BARDAKOVA instructed SHRIKI to purchase and send flower and gift deliveries on behalf of DERIPASKA to DERIPASKA’s social contacts in the United States and Canada. The deliveries included, among others, Easter gift deliveries to a U.S. television host, two flower deliveries to a then-former Canadian Parliament member, and two flower deliveries in 2020 to VORONINA while she was in the United States in 2020 to give birth to DERIPASKA’s child.
Then, in or about 2020, SHRIKI and BARDAKOVA helped DERIPASKA’s girlfriend, VORONINA, travel from Russia to the United States so she could give birth to DERIPASKA’s and VORONINA’s child in the United States. Despite DERIPASKA’s ongoing support for the Russian regime, he funded hundreds of thousands of dollars of transactions so that his child could take advantage of the U.S. healthcare system and U.S. birthright. SHRIKI orchestrated the payment of approximately $300,000 worth of U.S. medical care, housing, childcare, and other logistics to aid VORONINA and DERIPASKA’s efforts to help VORONINA give birth in the United States, which resulted in the child receiving U.S. citizenship. DERIPASKA counseled VORONINA on obtaining a visa to travel to the United States, including by telling her to be “careful” ahead of an interview by U.S. immigration authorities. VORONINA thereafter applied for and obtained a U.S. visa for a purported ten-day tourism visit without disclosing her intent to travel and stay in the United States for approximately six months to give birth to DERIPASKA’s child. Following the birth, SHRIKI, BARDAKOVA, and VORONINA conspired to conceal the name of the child’s true father, DERIPASKA, going so far as to change, slightly, the spelling of the child’s last name.
Later, in or about 2022, at DERIPASKA’s further behest and for his further benefit, SHRIKI and BARDAKOVA attempted to facilitate VORONINA’s return to the United States to give birth to DERIPASKA’s and VORONINA’s second child. This second attempt included BARDAKOVA and VORONINA’s attempt to use false statements to conceal DERIPASKA’s funding and secure VORONINA’s entry into the United States – an attempt that was thwarted, and VORONINA was denied entry and returned immediately to Istanbul, through which she had flown from Russia to the United States.
DERIPASKA, 52, and BARDAKOVA, 45, of Russia, and SHRIKI, 42, of New Jersey, are charged with one count of conspiring to violate and evade U.S. sanctions, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. SHRIKI is further charged in one count of destruction of records, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. BARDAKOVA and VORONINA, 33, of Russia, are each further charged in one count of making false statements to federal agents, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The Indictment also provides notice of the United States’ intention to forfeit from DERIPASKA the proceeds of his offense, including the U.S. Properties and the proceeds from the sale of the music studio.
The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and its New York Field Office, Counterintelligence Division and thanked the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section for their assistance.
On March 2, 2022, the Attorney General announced the launch of Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions, and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed, along with allies and partners, in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. The task force will leverage all the Department’s tools and authorities against efforts to evade or undermine the economic actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.
The charges in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Governor Hochul Announces Launch of New York State’s Institute for Immigration Integration Research & Policy to Help Immigrants Transition to Community Life, Further Education, and The Workforce
Advisory Board of Community Leaders Confirmed to Set in Motion Groundbreaking Policy Development and Select an Executive Director and Assistant Director in the Coming Months
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the launch of New York State's Institute for Immigrant Integration Research & Policy to help immigrants transition to community life, further education, and the workforce. The Institute, which received funding in the FY 2023 State Budget, will be housed at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, the State University of New York's public policy think tank. The announcement coincides with the selection of an Advisory Board of community leaders, who will set in motion groundbreaking policy development and select an Executive Director and Assistant Director in the coming months.
"New York is built on the hard work and determination of generations of immigrants, and this Institute will work to improve the lives of those who are trying to build better lives for themselves and their families," Governor Hochul said. "By clearing the boundaries for new New Yorkers, we can help to better integrate them into the New York community and access the New York Dream."
Upon arrival, immigrants often struggle to learn English, help their children to assimilate in school, find safe and affordable housing, secure jobs with a livable wage, secure transportation to commute to said jobs, and access available services—often for fear of deportation. The Institute's Executive Director and Assistant Director will analyze real-time immigration, economic, labor, and other data and identify potential solutions for policymakers to help build on the state's commitment to supporting immigrants of all ages, nationalities, and backgrounds.
The launch of the Institute follows Governor Hochul's mission to protect immigrants, including those who are undocumented, who were forced to leave their homelands. In October 2021, the Governor signed legislation (S.343-A/A.3412-A) classifying certain threats to report a person's immigration status as extortion or coercion under New York law. She opened up educational and housing opportunities to assist evacuees from Afghanistan and Ukraine.
According to the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), 900 refugees and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders resettled in New York State in 2021, primarily from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Afghanistan, and Burma. In the last 12 months, at least 1,300 Afghan evacuees were resettled in NYS as well.
The Institute's Advisory Board is a broadly based group of accomplished leaders who bring an array of experiences and relationships, as well as a shared commitment to immigration integration to the Institute's work. The Advisory Board—which will also provide the Institute with guidance and recommendations with respect to research, programming, fundraising opportunities, and community events—includes:
Wilma Alvarado-Little, MA, MSW, Director of Minority Health and Health Disparities Prevention, NYSDOH
Dr. Laura Anker, Professor, American Studies, SUNY Old Westbury
Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition
Marcos Crespo, Board Trustee, SUNY
Dr. Isaac Ehrlich, Professor, Economics, University at Buffalo
Lucia Gomez, Political Director, New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO
Laura Gonzalez-Murphy, Executive Director, Office for New Americans, NYS Department of State
Ramona Hernandez, Director of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, CUNY
Paola Martinez, Community Organizer
Cesar Perales, Board of Trustees Vice Chairman, SUNY
Dr. Dina Refki, Director of the Center for Women in Government & Civil Society, University at Albany
Jennifer Rizzo-Choi, Executive Director, International Institute of Buffalo
Jo-Ann Yoo, Executive Director of the Asian American Federation
EDITOR'S NOTE:
By some of the names we see we can tell this is purely politics as usual.
Kathy Hochul must be defeated comes November 8th.