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Proposed $125M Settlement Agreement Provides Critical Work for Advancing the Lower Passaic River Superfund Cleanup

Source: United States Department of Justice

The Justice Department, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), today lodged a proposed settlement agreement with Environmental Resource Holdings LLC (ERH) to perform critical work to support the cleanup of the Diamond Alkali Superfund site, including the lower 17 miles of the Passaic River. The work is estimated to cost $125 million and focuses on the next steps needed to get the in-river work started. 

Under the proposed consent decree, ERH would construct an upland processing facility and several upland support facilities that would enable dredging and capping work in the Lower Passaic River. The construction would include a facility to handle sediment dredged from the river before it is sent for off-site disposal. The upland support facilities would provide land and infrastructure needed to support future in-river construction work. ERH would sample the lower 8.3 miles of the river to establish a baseline and reimburse EPA for future oversight costs related to this work.

“Over many decades, industrial activity contaminated the Lower Passaic River,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Energy and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “This settlement is a significant step toward cleaning up a site that has been a longstanding priority for EPA.  We will continue to partner with EPA to promote public health by ensuring that responsible parties remediate Superfund sites.”

“The construction ordered in this consent decree is the next step in cleaning up the Lower Passaic River and finally remediating one of the oldest Superfund sites,” said Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Jeffrey Hall. “This settlement demonstrates this Administration’s commitment to expediting work through cooperative engagement and well-tailored agreements.”

“This is a huge step in cleaning up one of New Jersey’s most complex Superfund sites,” said Regional Administrator Michael Martucci of EPA Region 2. “The work laid out in this proposed settlement gets shovels in the ground and lays the foundation for dredging and that brings us one important step closer to a cleaner and restored Passaic River.”

ERH is a potentially responsible party for the site and a corporate successor to Occidental Chemical Corporation and to Diamond Alkali Company/Diamond Shamrock Corporation, which owned and operated the former Diamond Alkali facility in Newark.

The proposed consent decree was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and is subject to a 30-day comment period. The complaint and the proposed consent decree are available on the Justice Department’s website at www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. 

Attorneys with ENRD’s Environmental Enforcement Section are handling this matter.

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Atoka Resident Sentenced For Illegally Possessing Firearm

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Vet Sentrel Colbert, age 44, of Atoka, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 3 years’ probation for one count of Felon in Possession of Firearm.On November 5, 2025, Colbert pleaded guilty to the charge.  According to investigators, on August 3, 2024, law enforcement discovered Colbert in possession of a 9mm Luger caliber, semi-automatic pistol after having been previously convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year imprisonment.

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Convicted Felon Found Guilty of Using a Firearm During a Brooklyn Attempted Bank Robbery

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Pierre Lee, also known as “Pierre Wilmoth,” was convicted today by a federal jury in Brooklyn of use of a firearm during a crime of violence.  The charge relates to Lee’s attempted robbery of a Capital One Bank branch in Brooklyn on April 26, 2026 (the Capital One Attempted Robbery).  The verdict followed a three-day trial before United States Chief District Judge Margo K. Brodie.  Prior to trial, on September 1, 2026, Lee pleaded guilty to four counts of the indictment: bank robbery, two counts of attempted bank robbery—including the Capital One Attempted Robbery—and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition (Lee had a prior robbery conviction).  The bank robbery and attempted robberies were committed over a four-day spree in Manhattan and Brooklyn.  When sentenced, Lee faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.

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Seminole Resident Pleads Guilty To Federal Firearm Offense

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Dalton Dean Harjo, a/k/a Dolo, age 19, of Seminole, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Use, Carry and Brandish a Firearm During and In Relation to a Crime of Violence, punishable by no less than 7 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.The Indictment alleged that on April 8, 2026, Harjo knowingly used, carried, and brandished a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol during and in relation to a crime of violence for which he may be prosecuted in a court of the United States, that is, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm.

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Brandon Pulmonary Practice Agrees to Pay Over $400,000 to Resolve False Claims Act Violations

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Tampa, FL – Pulmonary Associates of Brandon, P.A. has agreed to pay $419,410 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to Medicare for certain Evaluation and Management (“E&M”) codes. The government contends that the underlying services were medically unnecessary and the claims in issue should have been properly submitted under a lower E&M code from January 2017 through March 2020. 

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Security News: Cuban National Sentenced for Assaulting Transportation Security Officers and Local Law Enforcement Officers at Airport

Source: United States Department of Justice

LAS VEGAS – A Cuban national who was on probation following a conviction for assault with a deadly weapon and with other prior violent convictions was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge Andrew P. Gordon to 33 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to attempting to access a secure passenger boarding area using a fake boarding pass then assaulting four officers at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. The government recommended a sentence of 60 months’ imprisonment.

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Ukrainian National Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Wire Fraud Conspiracy in Connection with Conti Ransomware

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Conti Attacked Over 1,000 Victims, Resulting in at least $150 Million in Ransom Payments

Oleksii Oleksiyovych Lytvynenko, 44, a Ukrainian national, was sentenced today to four years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a conspiracy to deploy Conti, a ransomware variant that infected the computers of more than 1,000 victims worldwide.

According to court documents, Lytvynenko, formerly of Cork, Ireland, conspired with others to deploy Conti ransomware to extort victims and steal their data. From 2020 until 2022, Conti was used to attack computers and networks in 47 states, 31 foreign countries, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The FBI estimates that, as of January 2022, there had been victim payouts associated with Conti ransomware exceeding $150,000,000.

 “Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of ransomware and the Department’s commitment to protecting America’s hospitals, schools, businesses, and local governments,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “For years, the Conti ransomware group executed a sustained and sophisticated campaign that victimized hundreds of organizations across the United States and abroad, including critical infrastructure entities, causing losses in the millions of dollars. Lytvynenko joined that conspiracy as both an intruder and a developer — personally harming at least 12 companies, storing stolen data from victims, and helping build the malicious tools Conti used to extort and threaten communities. Even after the Conti conspiracy ended, he continued engaging in active ransomware operations until his arrest. Cybercriminals who build, deploy, or profit from malware like Conti — no matter where they operate — will face justice and meaningful consequences in U.S. courts.”

“Ransomware attacks like Conti cause real harm to businesses, institutions, and families here at home and around the world,” said U.S. Attorney Braden H. Boucek for the Middle District of Tennessee. “Today’s sentence demonstrates that cybercriminals cannot hide behind borders or a keyboard to escape justice. We are grateful to our law enforcement and international partners whose work made this result possible.”

“Lytvynenko and his co-conspirators used Conti ransomware to attack computers and networks in nearly every state, and today’s sentence reflects the gravity and extent of those crimes,” said Assistant Director Brett Leatherman of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “Ransomware criminals should know they are not anonymous and operating from overseas does not mean operating without consequences. The FBI and our partners will use every lawful tool to dismantle their infrastructure and bring them to justice.” 

“Conti ransomware caused extraordinary harm, targeting victims across nearly every state and dozens of countries and disrupting critical operations for organizations across multiple industries,” said Assistant Director Brent Daniels of the U.S. Secret Service’s Office of Field Operations. “Today’s sentence is a measure of justice for the victims whose data, operations, and livelihoods were put at risk. It underscores the Secret Service’s commitment to pursuing ransomware actors and their networks wherever they operate and protecting the American people.”

Lytvynenko pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy on June 10. Evidence recovered from Lytvynenko’s online accounts showed he possessed data stolen from eight U.S. victims and four overseas victims. Lytvynenko further admitted to joining a team run by a Conti conspirator during which time Lytvynenko was directed to work on coding a “loader,” which is typically a type of malware, or malicious software, that is used to load programs necessary to execute other malicious attacks. Forensic artifacts recovered at the time of his arrest in July 2023 in County Cork, Ireland, further demonstrated ongoing involvement in ransomware activity.

In September 2023, an indictment charging four other Conti conspirators was unsealed in the Middle District of Tennessee. 

The FBI’s San Diego, Nashville, and El Paso Field Offices and the U.S. Secret Service are investigating the case. The Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations New York field office provided valuable assistance.

Trial Attorney Sonia V. Jimenez of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor Phillips for the Middle District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and the Irish Department of Justice, Home Affairs, and Migration, the Irish Office of the Attorney General and the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau provided valuable assistance to secure the arrest and extradition of Lytvynenko. 

CCIPS investigates and prosecutes cybercrime and intellectual property (IP) crime in coordination with domestic and international law enforcement agencies, often with assistance from the private sector. Since 2020, CCIPS has secured the conviction of over 180 cyber and IP criminals, and court orders for the return of over $350 million in victim funds. 

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Former U.S. Army Soldier Sentenced to Life in Prison for Physically and Sexually Assaulting Two Minors While Serving Abroad

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Adam Schlueter, 40, of Atlanta, was sentenced today to life in prison and lifetime supervised release for physically and sexually assaulting two minors under the age of 10. 

According to evidence presented at trial, Schlueter was stationed in Grafenwöhr, Germany, while a member of the Army from 2009 until 2013. While there, he physically, emotionally, and sexually abused two minor victims. During trial testimony, both minors described being choked and beaten by Schlueter, among others form of egregious physical abuse. One minor described, at age eight, being pushed through a second-story window and dangled above the ground. Schlueter sexually assaulted both minors when they were under the age of 10. Schlueter also employed threats to prevent his victims and other witnesses from disclosing the abuse to authorities, going so far as to threaten to kill one witness. A federal jury in the Northern District of Georgia convicted Schlueter on April 20.

“Adam Schlueter betrayed the honor and duty that comes with serving in the U.S. military,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division. “There is nothing honorable about subjecting the most vulnerable in our community to violence and sexual exploitation. We are grateful for the strength and courage of the survivors in this case who came forward to end this man’s reign of terror.”

“Through his years of sickening abuse, Schlueter betrayed the uniform of the U.S. Army and inflicted unimaginable harm on defenseless children,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg for the Northern District of Georgia. “Today’s sentence underscores that we always stand ready — even years later and on the other side of an ocean — to vindicate the victims of such crimes and ensure justice is served.”

“Schlueter’s horrific abuse inflicted lasting trauma on children who should have been protected from harm,” said Special Agent in Charge Marlo Graham of the FBI Atlanta Field Office. “The FBI will continue to pursue those who prey upon children and hold them accountable for their crimes, no matter how much time has passed. We hope today’s sentence brings a measure of justice to the victims and reinforces that we will never stop fighting to protect children.”

The FBI Atlanta Field Office investigated the case.

Trial Attorney McKenzie Hightower of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leanne Marek for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case. CEOS Trial Attorney Kaylynn Foulon and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew LaGrone for the Northern District of Georgia provided valuable assistance. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.