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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A pickleball entrepreneur who was forced into bankruptcy by investors he lured with promises of generous returns recently agreed to waive his bankruptcy discharge after an investigation by the Justice Department’s U.S. Trustee Program (USTP), preventing the discharge of more than $47 million in unsecured debt.

On May 14, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana approved a voluntary waiver of discharge by debtor Rodney Grubbs, owner of All About Pickleball LLC, an apparel and equipment company that did business as Pickleball Rocks. As a result, Grubbs remains personally liable for his debts, and creditors are free to pursue payment from him after the case is closed.

Grubbs solicited investments from pickleball players and fans from across the United States, usually in the form of promissory notes with purportedly guaranteed interest rates of 10 percent or higher. In December 2023, several unpaid investors filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against Grubbs under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. Grubbs opposed the petition, but after a hearing in which he testified to using new investors’ funds to pay back previous investors, the bankruptcy court granted the involuntary petition and ordered the case to proceed. Grubbs eventually disclosed nearly $1.6 million in assets and more than $47 million in liabilities, the vast majority of them unsecured debts owed to hundreds of individuals.

As part of its extensive investigation, the USTP’s Indianapolis office obtained Grubbs’ personal and business financial records and examined him under oath. Ultimately, Grubbs — who also faced allegations from multiple creditors consistent with a Ponzi scheme — elected to waive his bankruptcy discharge.

“The USTP is committed to addressing fraudulent and abusive conduct that threatens the integrity of the bankruptcy system,” said U.S. Trustee Nancy J. Gargula for Region 10, which includes the Southern District of Indiana. “Our commitment to protecting consumers and those who fall victim to various schemes that come to light in bankruptcy is unwavering.”

The USTP’s mission is to promote the integrity and efficiency of the bankruptcy system for the benefit of all stakeholders — debtors, creditors and the public. The USTP consists of 21 regions with 89 field offices nationwide and an Executive Office in Washington, D.C. Learn more about the USTP at www.justice.gov/ust. 

Source: United States Navy

The U.S. Navy proudly announces its return to Columbus, Ohio for Navy Week, Aug. 18-24. As part of the Navy’s signature outreach initiative, Columbus Navy Week will bring 50 to 60 Sailors to the city to engage with the community through a dynamic schedule of performances, educational outreach and community service projects. The events will lead into the Columbus Air Show Aug. 22-24 at Rickenbacker International Airport featuring the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels.

Source: United States Navy

 ST. GEORGE’S, GRENADA – The Mercy-class hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) arrived in St. George’s, Grenada, to provide a variety of medical treatments to include: dental, family medicine, internal medicine, optometry, nursing, pharmacy, biomedical repair, lab, radiology, X-ray and veterinary medicine as a part of Continuing Promise 2025 (CP25), June 9, 2025.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Justice Department announced today that it has secured a settlement agreement with Epik Solutions, a California technology recruiting company, to resolve Epik Solutions’ violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by preferring to recruit foreign H-1B visa holders over U.S. workers.

This settlement is the first since the department re-launched its Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative to enforce the law against companies that unlawfully discriminate against American workers in favor of foreign visa workers. The company will pay $71,916 in civil penalties to the United States, undergo training, revise its employment policies, and refrain from placing job advertisements that unlawfully exclude U.S. workers from employment opportunities.

“A top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is protecting American workers from unlawful discrimination in favor of foreign visa workers,” said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon. “Companies engaging in such discrimination are on notice that the days of the federal government looking the other way on American workforce protection are over.”

The public can call Immigrant and Employee Rights (IER) Section free hotline at 1-800-255-7688 for workers or at 1-800-255-8155 for employers (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired) for informal assistance; sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation; email IER@usdoj.gov; or visit www.justice.gov/ier.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Shortly after trial began, an Alabama chiropractor pleaded guilty yesterday to tax evasion and obstructing the IRS.

The following is according to court documents and evidence admitted at trial: Gary Forrest Edwards, of Shelby County, Alabama, owned and operated the chiropractic practice Hoover Health & Wellness Center. After not filing income tax returns for many years, in 2015, Edwards filed tax returns for 2009 through 2013. He later filed a tax return for 2017. On these returns, Edwards admitted that he owed more than $2.5 million in taxes. Nevertheless, he did not pay the taxes he reported due and did not pay the interest and penalties assessed against him.

Edwards took steps to thwart the IRS’s efforts to assess and collect taxes against him, including concealing financial accounts he owned from the IRS, transferring funds from accounts he owned to accounts in only his spouse’s name, filing false court documents to terminate federal tax liens against his property, and lying to IRS criminal investigators.

Edwards will be sentenced later this year. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the evasion charge and a maximum sentence of three years in prison on the obstruction charge. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. U.S. District Court Judge Anna Manasco for the Northern District of Alabama will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona for the Northern District of Alabama made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Isaiah Boyd of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison Garnett for the Northern District of Alabama are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice

A California man pleaded guilty yesterday to obstructing the IRS’s efforts to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes.

The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: Gabriel David Guerrero, a resident of Los Angeles County, is a real estate broker who did not timely file individual income tax returns for many years. After the IRS assessed taxes against Guerrero and attempted to collect them him, Guerrero took steps to conceal his income and assets from the IRS. For example, he made extensive use of cash and cashier’s checks; submitted a false form to the IRS that significantly understated his income; and used a nominee bank account to deposit income.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 15 and faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison. Guerrero also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Robert Kemins and Christopher Gerace of the Tax Division along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Arkow for the District of Central District of California are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice

A California man pleaded guilty yesterday to obstructing the IRS’s efforts to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes.

The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: Gabriel David Guerrero, a resident of Los Angeles County, is a real estate broker who did not timely file individual income tax returns for many years. After the IRS assessed taxes against Guerrero and attempted to collect them him, Guerrero took steps to conceal his income and assets from the IRS. For example, he made extensive use of cash and cashier’s checks; submitted a false form to the IRS that significantly understated his income; and used a nominee bank account to deposit income.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 15 and faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison. Guerrero also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Robert Kemins and Christopher Gerace of the Tax Division along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Arkow for the District of Central District of California are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Development projects may require a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit when wetlands need to be filled. Thus, developers of the Cainhoy Project — a more than 9,000-acre mixed use development in the Charleston, South Carolina — turned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2018 for a CWA permit.

The Cainhoy Project will provide much needed housing (at least 9,000 residential units) in addition to commercial development, schools, city services, jobs, a medical center, and more. After a four-year environmental assessment — and a modified proposal by the developers to reduce by 90% how much wetlands would be filled — the Corps issued a permit. A lawsuit over the permit’s issuance brought the case before the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina and  the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

The Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) defended the Corps’ decision to issue a permit. Plaintiffs asked for a preliminary injunction based on speculative harm to a species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The injunction was denied, however, and the ESA claim was abandoned after the Fourth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s order denying preliminary relief.

The District Court then granted summary judgment to the federal defendants regarding the CWA and National Environmental Policy Act claims. The court concluded that the Corps had reasonably determined the least damaging and practicable alternative for the proposed development. And in light of the Corps’ extensive consideration of the project, the District Court deferred to the Corps’ determination that the project would not lead to significant deterioration of waters of the United States, as ENRD had argued.

Attorneys from ENRD’s Environmental Defense Section, Natural Resources Section, and Wildlife and Marine Resources Section handled the case.

Source: United States Navy

SAN DIEGO — Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC) celebrated its 10 year anniversary at Naval Base San Diego, June 9th. Rear Adm. T. J. Zerr, commander, SMWDC, with guest speaker Rear Adm. Joseph Cahill, commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic, delivered remarks to former SMWDC Commanders, plankowners, teammates, and friends and family, all of whom played an instrumental role in the founding of SMWDC and its legacy.

Source: United States Navy

NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain – The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) returned to Naval Station Rota, Spain on Jun. 10, 2025 with a Unit Combat Action Ribbon following completion of her first Forward-Deployed Naval Forces-Europe (FDNF-E) patrol in the U.S. Sixth Fleet and Fifth Fleet areas of operations.