March 27, 2020. Jails across the country have continued to release low-level offenders at an increasing rate as the coronavirus outbreak worsens. No one has beaten New Jersey’s move to release a thousand inmates, but some have come close, with Cleveland releasing more than 700 inmates from the county jail, and hundreds of other inmates […]
March 27, 2020. The Atlanta Journal Constitution has reported that an outbreak of coronavirus at the Lee State Prison in Lee County, Georgia has resulted in the death of an inmate, 49 year old Anthony Cheek. Mr. Cheek only had two more years to serve. At this point, multiple inmates and prison staff at Lee […]
March 27, 2020. As we see an increase in prosecutions for “coronavirus-related fraud,” it appears that law enforcement’s efforts are becoming more formal. Today, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia announced that he has appointed a federal prosecutor to investigative suspected fraud schemes related to the COVID-19 outbreak. The move comes after […]
March 26, 2020. This week, Attorney General William Barr issued a memo to the Bureau of Prisons urging officials to identify certain inmates for home confinement in an effort to reduce the inmate population. The move to expand home confinement comes after reports that inmates in at least two BOP facilities have contracted the coronavirus. […]
March 25, 2020. On Wednesday, the FBI arrested a man in California and charged him with federal fraud offenses. The man was allegedly soliciting investments for a fake cure for the coronavirus. To date, there is no cure for those infected with the virus. According to an article on ABC News, the federal government is […]
March 25, 2020. ABC News has reported that the Department of Justice has urged U.S. Attorneys to consider bringing federal terrorism charges against individuals who either threat to spread or who intentionally spread the coronavirus to others. According to a DOJ memo, prosecutors are encouraged to treat the virus as a “biological agent” which can […]
March 26, 2020. According to internal documents obtained by ABC News, the BOP has continued to transfer inmates between facilities days after three federal inmates tested positive for coronavirus at two different facilities (FCC Oakdale in Louisiana and MDC New York). While the BOP recently released a memo to staff notifying them that inmate movement […]
Marsh 24, 2020. Attorney General William Barr has recently requested that Congress pass a law allowing federal judges to indefinitely detain individuals pre-trial and suspend other rights that criminal defendants have. Specifically, the DOJ wants to empower federal judges to “pause” court proceedings during instances of “natural disaster, civil disobedience, or other emergency situation.” The […]
March 24, 2020. On Sunday, the Department of Justice released a press release announcing its first enforcement action to “combat fraud related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.” The federal government filed the action in Austin, TX accusing operators of the website “coronavirusmedicalkit.com” of engaging in wire fraud. The website operators were fraudulently advertising that they […]
The coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19, has changed virtually every aspect of the way we are living our lives, from practicing “social distancing” to shutting down our favorite bars and restaurants. We are also seeing millions of people quarantine themselves or “self-isolate” to prevent getting sick or spreading the coronavirus to others. Unfortunately, not […]
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