NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ANNOUNCES BROADENED WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION LAW IS NOW IN EFFECT

Law Now Extends to Elementary and Secondary Public Education Facilities that were Previously Exempt

The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) today announced the expansion of the Workplace Violence Prevention Law (Section 27-b of Labor Law) to elementary and secondary public education facilities is now in effect. These facilities must complete a workplace violence policy statement, a workplace risk evaluation, and a workplace violence prevention program by May 3, 2024.

“Our educational facilities are community cores that play a vital role in our economic future," said New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon. "I commend Governor Hochul and the legislature for protecting students, teachers, and other faculty at schools across New York State.”

This law has been in effect since 2009, but was recently expanded to include public school districts, New York City public schools, Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES), and County Vocational Education and Extension Boards. 

The Workplace Violence Prevention Law requires that covered employers must:

1. Perform a risk evaluation of the workplace and determine the factors that place employees at risk from occupational assaults and homicide.
2. Provide employees with information and training on the risks of occupational assaults and homicides in their workplace or workplaces at the time of their initial assignment and annually thereafter.
3. Establish and implement a system for employees to report incidents of workplace violence.
4. Develop and maintain a Workplace Violence Incident Report and review the report annually.

Additionally, public employers with twenty or more full-time employees must develop and implement a written Workplace Violence Prevention Program. A written policy statement describing the goals and objectives of the Program must be posted where employee notices are usually posted. The Program must be made available, upon request, to employees, the employees’ designated representatives, and NYSDOL.

All newly covered entities must come into compliance on the following timeline:

1. The Employer's Policy Statement must be completed within 30 days of the law going into effect (February 3, 2024).
2. The Workplace Risk Evaluation and Determination must be completed within 60 days of the law going into effect (March 4, 2024).
3. The Workplace Violence Prevention Program must be completed within 75 days of the law going into effect (March 19, 2024).
4. Employers must fully comply with the regulations within 120 days of the law going into effect (May 3, 2024).

Any employee who feels they are experiencing hazardous conditions in the workplace should first provide written notice to a supervisor of the alleged violation and allow reasonable time for correction.

If the matter has not been resolved, employees can file a complaint with the NYSDOL Public Employee Safety & Health Bureau (PESH). Complaints may result in a worksite inspection to determine if the employer has implemented the Workplace Violence Prevention Law requirements. Employers found out of compliance with the law may receive notices of violation. Complaints about public education employers will not be accepted until May 3, 2024, their deadline to come into compliance with the new law.

Public employers can also contact PESH to set up consultation sessions to help them meet compliance standards. PESH’s free consultation services are separate from enforcement and NYSDOL encourages employers to utilize this service.

Prior to the legislation going into effect, NYSDOL has been running a public awareness campaign to bring attention to this new law and the consulting services NYSDOL provides. This campaign will continue through January.

For more information about the Workplace Violence Prevention Law, visit NYSDOL’s Workplace Violence Prevention webpage. 

Justice Department Marks More Than 500 Illegal Firearm Purchases Stopped by New Enhanced Background Checks

 

Expanded Outreach Mandated by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act Resulted in the 500th Denial of an Unlawful Firearm Purchase by a Person Under the Age of 21 in Late December

On June 25, 2022, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) into law. Among other provisions aimed at reducing gun violence, BSCA requires the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to conduct an enhanced background check before any sale or transfer of a firearm to a person under the age of 21 (U21). In addition to the traditional records databases reviewed during a standard background check, these U21 checks involve expanded outreach by the FBI’s NICS Section to state and local officials who may have access to additional disqualifying information.

Since implementing BSCA’s enhanced background checks in October 2022, the FBI NICS Section has conducted enhanced background checks on more than 200,000 transactions. Those checks have kept more than 1,900 firearms out of the hands of dangerous and prohibited persons, and over a quarter of those denials — 527 as of the first week of January — were based solely on information received through the additional BSCA-enabled outreach. Without the enhanced outreach required by BSCA, these 527 U21 transactions would likely have proceeded because the disqualifying information was otherwise unavailable to NICS.

“In the 19 months since the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the law’s expanded background checks have already kept 500 firearms out of the hands of young people who are prohibited from having them,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will continue to bring to bear every tool we have to combat the gun violence that plagues our communities.”

The 500th BSCA-specific U21 denial — which was recorded on Dec. 18, 2023 — involved a prospective purchaser whose transaction was denied after a state police officer provided records, otherwise not available to NICS, that showed the prospective purchaser to be an unlawful user of, or addicted to, a controlled substance. Other exemplary U21 denials include:

• A sheriff’s office responded to the NICS Section with an incident report implicating the U21 purchaser in a rape offense. The NICS Section obtained court documentation establishing that the purchaser was convicted of felony rape. The transaction was denied based on the federal prohibitor for persons convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year. 
• A sheriff’s office responded to the NICS Section with an incident report indicating that the U21 purchaser had been arrested for attempted murder and other offenses. The NICS Section obtained court documentation showing that the U21 purchaser was released on bond with court-ordered firearm restrictions pending the resolution of those charges. The transaction was denied based on a state prohibitor for active court-ordered firearm restrictions.
• During BSCA-mandated outreach, a juvenile court provided documentation establishing that a U21 purchaser was found to be mentally ill and involuntarily committed for mental-health treatment. The transaction was denied based on the federal firearm prohibitor relating to mental-health adjudications.
• A police department informed the NICS Section that the U21 purchaser was under felony indictment for sexually exploiting a minor. The transaction was denied based on the federal firearm prohibitor for persons under active felony indictment.
• During BSCA-mandated outreach, a county court provided the NICS Section with documentation that the U21 purchaser had sustained juvenile adjudications for sexual battery, possession of a knife at school, and intimidation. The transaction was denied based on a state prohibitor for disqualifying juvenile adjudications.
• A sheriff’s office informed the NICS Section that a U21 purchaser was currently in jail on multiple pending charges, including domestic violence, robbery, and assault with a dangerous weapon. The transaction was denied based on the federal firearm prohibitor for persons under active felony indictment.
• A police department provided the NICS Section with an incident report for a U21 purchaser who was making suicidal threats and transported for emergency detention at a local in-patient psychiatric center. The transaction was denied based on the federal firearm prohibitor relating to mental-health adjudications.

The FBI continues to engage in extensive education and outreach efforts to improve the state and local partnerships necessary to the success of these enhanced background checks, including by hosting trainings for over 500 law-enforcement agencies and more than 2,000 state criminal-justice officials.

Former Pharmaceutical Executive And Doctor Sentenced For Insider Trading Around Alexion Pharmaceuticals’ Acquisition Of Portola Pharmaceuticals

 

Joseph Dupont, Former Vice President of Alexion, Misappropriated Deal Information and Tipped Another Individual; Slava Kaplan Used Misappropriated Information to Trade and to Tip Others

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JOSEPH DUPONT and SLAVA KAPLAN, a/k/a “Stanley Kaplan,” were sentenced to three years’ probation and five months in prison, respectively, for securities fraud in connection with their participation in an insider trading scheme surrounding the announcement of Alexion Pharmaceutical, Inc.’s acquisition of Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.  DUPONT and KAPLAN were arrested June 2023 and pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods in September 2023. 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “This Office continues to keep a watchful eye over Wall Street, and we will work quickly to prosecute those who choose to cheat to make a quick buck.  These sentences reflect our commitment to ensuring fairness in the stock market and combatting corruption.” 

According to the allegations in the Indictment and statements made in public court proceedings:

In 2020, DUPONT, KAPLAN, and others engaged in an insider trading scheme surrounding the announcement of Alexion’s acquisition of Portola.  DUPONT was a vice president at Alexion and, on January 31, 2020, was informed of Alexion’s upcoming acquisition of Portola.  Before that acquisition was publicly announced, in April 2020, DUPONT provided material, non-public information (“MNPI”) that he misappropriated from Alexion about the acquisition to a friend so that the friend could use the information to trade profitably in securities.

In turn, DUPONT’s friend provided KAPLAN, who was also known to DUPONT, the MNPI about Portola’s pending acquisition, both so that KAPLAN could trade in advance of the acquisition and so that KAPLAN would assist DUPONT’s friend in formulating trading strategies to maximize DUPONT’s friend’s own trading profits.  KAPLAN further shared MNPI about the upcoming acquisition with a family member and a friend and colleague.  After Alexion’s acquisition of Portola was publicly announced on the morning of May 5, 2020, causing Portola’s stock price to increase significantly, KAPLAN and others who had purchased shares and options based on DUPONT’s inside information sold their shares of Portola and call options for Portola stock, reaping millions of dollars of illegally obtained trading profits.

Additionally, JOSEPH DUPONT, 45, of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, was fined $75,000.  SLAVA KAPLAN, 45, of Hopewell Junction, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to forfeit $472,053.61.  

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Mr. Williams also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which has filed a parallel civil action.

Statement from Attorney General James on Resignation of NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre

New York Attorney General Letitia James released the following statement on the resignation of National Rifle Association (NRA) Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. LaPierre, who has spent decades working for the NRA, and has been Executive Vice President and CEO since 1991, is one of five defendants in the lawsuit brought by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) against the NRA and senior management in August 2020. 

“While the end of the Wayne LaPierre era is an important victory in our case, our push for accountability continues. LaPierre's resignation validates our claims against him, but it will not insulate him or the NRA from accountability. All charities in New York state must adhere to the rule of law, and my office will not tolerate gross mismanagement or top executives funneling millions into their own pockets. Our case will move ahead, and we look forward to proving the facts in court.”

The lawsuit brought by Attorney General James in August 2020 alleged LaPierre and NRA senior management misappropriated millions of dollars to fund personal benefits, including private jets, expensive meals, and even family trips to the Bahamas. The NRA, as a New York-registered not-for-profit, charitable corporation, has legal obligations to use its funds for charitable purposes, not to support the lavish lifestyles of senior management and organization insiders. The OAG investigation found that instead of serving NRA members, senior management blatantly disregarded New York state and federal laws, and even internal NRA policies. The trial is set to begin on January 8. 

BRONX WOMAN WHO SCAMMED IMMIGRANTS IN APARTMENT SCHEME PAYS $60,000 RESTITUTION, IS SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS PROBATION

 

 Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx woman has been sentenced to three years probation after paying restitution in the amount of $60,346 stolen from 21 immigrants in a scheme promising affordable apartments in city-owned buildings.  

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant preyed on hardworking immigrants desperate for affordable housing, taking amounts from $1,620 to $3,240 for deposits on apartments, which were enormous sums for the victims. We are pleased to recover more than $60,000 for them.” 

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Jennifer Ricardo, 42, of Decatur Avenue, the Bronx, was sentenced today to three years probation after paying restitution in the amount of $60,346, including processing fees, by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Guy H. Mitchell. On November 16, 2022, Ricardo pleaded guilty to third-degree Grand larceny was re-sentenced to petit larceny after paying back the stolen funds. 

 According to the investigation, between June 2019 and September 2020, Ricardo posed as a real estate broker or an employee of city housing agencies. She targeted Spanish speaking immigrants, primarily from the Dominican Republic, accepting rent payments and security deposits for apartments in Bronx buildings. The would-be renters never received keys or got the apartments and could not get in contact with Ricardo after they paid her. 

 District Attorney Clark thanked Police Officer John Istorico of the NYPD Bronx Grand Larceny Squad for his assistance in the investigation. District Attorney Clark also thanked the New York City Department of Investigation, New York City Housing Preservation and Development, New York City Housing Development Corporation, and Safe Horizon for their assistance.  

Governor Hochul Announces Limited Service to be Restored at 5:00 P.M. on 1 and 3 Lines Following Subway Derailment

2 Train will Continue to Run on the 5 Line

Restoration Comes One Day After Derailment

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the Metropolitan Transportation Authority New York City Transit will resume limited subway service on the 1 and 3 lines to and from a reopened 96 Street Station at 5:00 p.m. today. The restoration comes one day after passengers were finished being safely evacuated from the derailed trains. The incident, at 96 Street 1 2 3 station, involved a passenger train carrying approximately 300 customers and a vandalized train that had been taken out of service at another station.

“MTA has been working around the clock to safely restore this essential subway service to New Yorkers,” Governor Hochulsaid. “I am grateful to all our first responders who were able to evacuate passengers quickly yesterday, and to the workers continuing to ensure that full-service is restored as soon as possible.”

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “New York’s subway system is incredibly resilient and over and over has shown an ability to quickly bounce back. In this case, MTA teams have worked 24 hours straight to reestablish service, and we’ll keep at it until full service is restored.”

The 1 and 3 trains will run limited service in two sections with shuttle bus service provided at skipped stations. The 1 train will run in both directions from its northern terminus at Van Cortlandt Park-242 Street to 96 Street, and from Times Sq-42 Street to South Ferry. The 3 train will run in both directions from its northern terminus at Harlem-148 Street to 96 Street, and from Times Sq-42 Street to New Lots Av. Shuttle buses will provide service for customers in both directions between 96 Street and Times Sq-42 Street. The 2 train will continue to run on the 5 line. These service changes will be in effect until additional tracks can be cleared and any necessary repairs completed.

At approximately 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 4, two trains were traveling northbound leaving 96 Street Station at slow speeds at which time the trains bumped into each other and both derailed. There were no reported serious injuries.

Following the incident, crews made substantial progress overnight and through the day on Friday to rerail three cars that had left the tracks. The train that had been in service with passengers was removed and crews are currently addressing the vandalized non-passenger train that derailed on the local track and conducting an inspection of the area and making any necessary repairs to the tracks and infrastructure to enable resumption of full service on the 1 2 3.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is on scene and their investigation into this incident is ongoing. Customers are advised to check mta.info and the MYmta app for the latest service updates.

 

MAYOR ADAMS RECOGNIZES SANITATION CHIEF, TRANSIT BUS OPERATOR WHO HELPED REUNITE LOST CHILDREN WITH THEIR FAMILIES

New York City Mayor Eric Adams presented New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) Chief Jeff Pitts and New York City Transit (NYCT) Bus operator Marvin McLaurin of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) with proclamations recognizing their recent individual actions to help lost children reunite with their families.

 

“Chief Jeff Pitts and MTA bus operator Marvin McLaurin show us that you do not have to wear a cape to be a hero — and that we have heroes at our Sanitation Department and behind the wheel at the MTA,” said Mayor Adams. “Chief Pitts and Marvin’s actions remind us that it takes a city to raise a child and that we all need to look out for each other. Thank you, Chief Pitts and Marvin, for going above and beyond the call of duty to keep our children safe.”

 

On December 16, DSNY Chief Pitts was at a gas station in Glendale, Queens when he saw a 10-year-old boy walking around with a backpack alone. He asked the boy to wait with him while he called 911. Chief Pitts bought the child lunch and kept him safe until two NYPD detectives arrived. Earlier that morning, the young boy had been reported missing. Chief Pitts kept the boy safe and helped return him home.

 

On November 20, at 5:15 AM, two unaccompanied siblings — a six-year-old girl and 11-year-old boy — boarded the B83 bus that McLaurin was driving through East New York, Brooklyn. McLaurin acted quickly, giving the children a sweater and jacket to keep them warm, and offering them his phone to keep them assuaged. He encouraged the two siblings to stay near the front of the bus and notified his supervisors of the situation. Once on scene, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) escorted the children to a nearby hospital, and the two siblings were soon after reconnected with their parents.

 

“There’s a misconception that New Yorkers put up blinders to other’s moments of need. Chief Pitts and Marvin McLaurin remind us that the opposite is true: Inside the heart of every New Yorker is a Good Samaritan,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “It’s reassuring to remember that we can rely on one another to watch out for not just for us, but for our kids in this big, complex city of ours — and that our civic workforce, our bus drivers and train car operators, our sanitation staff and teachers are second to none.”

 

“Chief Pitts is a mensch and a public servant in the truest sense of the phrase,” said DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tisch. “One of the great joys of working in government is meeting people who are driven by goodness and a higher calling to serve. On and off the job, Chief Pitts exemplifies the best of us. On and off the job, he is a blessing to our city.”

 

“Bus customers tell us time and again in surveys that our operators are beloved for the work they do moving New Yorkers and being part of the fabric of their communities, and this act of compassion demonstrates why,” said NYCT President Richard Davey. “The operator's attention to detail and quick action ensured those children were kept safe until EMS and police arrived. We honor and congratulate him on a job well done.”

 

“Seeing a child in need, I just did what any other public servant would do,” said DSNY Chief of Cleaning Operations Pitts. “Being vigilant and looking out for others — that’s what it means to be ‘New York's Strongest.’”

 

“As a father of four, my instincts kicked in when I noticed a little girl and boy alone on the bus in pajamas and wanted to make sure they were okay,” said NYCT Bus Operator Marvin McLaurin. “I thought about my own children and how I would want someone to help them. I’m thankful to have been behind the wheel of my bus at the right place and time.”

 

Chief Pitts joined the DSNY as a sanitation worker in 1999, beginning his career in West Harlem. He currently serves as the chief of cleaning operations, where he oversees key elements of the Trash Revolution — DSNY’s historic agenda to transform the city’s streetscape by removing trash, including the first-ever Highway Unit, which focuses on delivering cleanliness to the city’s highways.

 

McLaurin is currently a NYCT bus operator at the East New York Bus Depot. He has been with the MTA for seven years and became a bus operator in 2019. McLaurin is a proud father of four.

  

Two Florida Residents Sentenced for $93M Health Care Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme

 

A Florida man and woman were sentenced for their roles in a wide-ranging conspiracy to defraud Medicare by billing over $93 million for home health therapy services that were never rendered.

Karel Felipe, 42, of Miami Shores, was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison. Tamara Quicutis, 54, of Hialeah, was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison. The court also ordered forfeiture of fraud proceeds. Both defendants were convicted in October 2023 after a jury found them guilty of conspiring to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and conspiring to commit money laundering.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Felipe and Quicutis conspired with others to submit false bills to Medicare for three home health companies located in Michigan. Their co-conspirators recruited individuals from Cuba to sign Medicare enrollment documents and appear as the owners of the home health agencies to conceal the identities of Felipe, Quicutis, and others involved in the scheme. Felipe, Quicutis, and their co-conspirators used these home health companies to submit claims for services that were not rendered using lists of stolen patient identities. Felipe, Quicutis, and their co-conspirators used dozens of shell companies and hundreds of bank accounts to launder the Medicare fraud proceeds and convert the proceeds into cash at Miami-area ATMs and check cashing stores. 

Four additional Florida residents were previously sentenced in the case. Jesus Trujillo, 52, of Miami, was sentenced to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The court also entered a forfeiture money judgment against him for the amount involved in money laundering, $44,351,817, and ordered forfeiture of two real properties to satisfy that judgment. Didier Arcia, 44, of Davenport, was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Alexey Gil, 41, of Miami, was sentenced to five years and five months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. Jeffrey Avila, 33, also of Miami, was sentenced to time served and supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen Mahmood of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Jamie de Boer, D. Keith Clouser, and Emily Gurskis of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabrielle Raemy Charest-Turken for the Southern District of Florida is handling asset forfeiture.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.