Category: US State of California

Source: US State of California

Note: View Notice of Funding Opportunity here.

The Justice Department today announced the opening of the Fiscal Year 2026 Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for comprehensive funding to American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes to develop comprehensive approaches to public safety and victimization issues.

The department anticipates awarding more than $107 million in grant funding. Administered by the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), The NOFO includes guidance on how federally recognized Tribal governments and Tribal consortia can apply for funding to aid in the development of a comprehensive and coordinated approach to public safety and victimization.

“The Department is dedicated to promoting public safety and supporting victims in Tribal Nations,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Jr. “Through these grant funding opportunities, tribes can receive support to develop comprehensive plans that identify gaps, strengthen coordination and address the underlying conditions that contribute to criminal and social disorder. This Department is proud to contribute resources to ensuring the overall success and improvement of tribal justice systems.”

This NOFO responds directly to Tribal leaders’ requests to improve and simplify the DOJ grant-making process by combining many of its Tribal government-specific funding opportunities into one NOFO and requiring only one application. CTAS funding can be used for a range of public safety and justice-related projects and services, including strengthening law enforcement through hiring, training, and purchasing equipment; improving Tribal justice systems to address and prevent crime; improving justice system physical infrastructure; increasing access to substance use treatment and recovery support services; and reducing juvenile delinquency and improving youth outcomes. In addition, the grants serve American Indian and Alaska Native victims of child abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence and elder abuse.

In FY 2025, the department awarded 108 CTAS grants, amounting to more than $99 million in CTAS funding to Tribes and Tribal consortia across the United States.

The grants.gov application deadline for CTAS is Oct. 15, 2026, at 8:59 p.m. ET, and the JustGrants deadline is Oct. 22, 2026, at 8:59 p.m. ET.

The department will also facilitate a series of webinars to guide applicants through the application process. The full list of available webinars and registration links are available here. 

About the Office of Justice Programs

The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance, and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime; promote fair and impartial administration of justice; assist victims; and uphold the rule of law. More information about OJP and its program offices – the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Institute of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office for Victims of Crime, and Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking or SMART Office – can be found at ojp.gov. 

About the Office of Community Orienting Police

The COPS Office is the component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing and the Administration’s priority of Making America Safe Again by supporting the nation’s state, local, territorial and Tribal law enforcement agencies through information and grant resources.

Source: US State of California

Coalition sues over federal rule that reinstates provisions blocked by a federal court and adds new harmful changes

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led a coalition of 21 attorneys general and the Governor of Pennsylvania in filing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to challenge a federal rule that once again illegally undermines the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and would make health insurance more expensive and harder to obtain for millions of Americans. The lawsuit seeks to block provisions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) 2027 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters, a federal rule that sets standards for health plans offered in 2027 and was opposed by the coalition in a March 2026 comment letter. Among other harmful changes, the rule expands eligibility for catastrophic health insurance plans that are ineligible for premium tax credits, offer only limited coverage, and can leave consumers facing significantly higher out-of-pocket costs than standard ACA plans. The rule also allows catastrophic and bronze plans to exceed ACA limits on maximum annual out-of-pocket costs, increasing the financial burden on consumers, and attempts to reinstate several provisions that a federal court recently found to be unlawful. The coalition argues these and other provisions unlawfully undermine the ACA’s goal of expanding access to affordable healthcare by increasing costs, reducing enrollment, and shifting financial burdens onto consumers, states, and healthcare providers.

“The Affordable Care Act was designed to make healthcare more affordable and accessible. But once again, this Administration is moving in the wrong direction by adopting harmful provisions that push consumers into bare-bones plans and strip away critical protections,” said Attorney General Bonta. “We are returning to court to challenge these unlawful changes. At a time when families are already facing rising costs, they cannot afford to pay more for coverage that gives them less.” 

Congress enacted the ACA to expand access to affordable health insurance, and more than 23 million Americans currently receive coverage through its marketplaces. California has approximately two million ACA plan enrollees, the third highest of any state. Today’s lawsuit follows the coalition’s challenge to the Trump Administration’s similar 2025 ACA Marketplace rule. Earlier this week, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts held a hearing on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment in that case, with a final decision expected at a later date. In related litigation, a federal court last month vacated several provisions of the Administration’s 2025 rule — including provisions at issue in this case — after finding that they violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The Administration’s new rule setting standards for 2027 health plans, which is the subject of this lawsuit, brings back many of the same provisions and adds new changes that further undermine the ACA. HHS estimates the new rule will cause two million people to lose coverage in 2027 alone and a total of five million by 2030.

In today’s lawsuit, the coalition argues that the new rule:

• Reimposes provisions that a federal court has already vacated — including additional income verification requirements and penalties for consumers who do not complete tax-credit paperwork — without addressing the court’s legal concerns.
• Unlawfully expands eligibility for catastrophic health plans beyond the limits established by Congress in the ACA.
• Unlawfully allows catastrophic and bronze plans to exceed ACA limits on maximum annual out-of-pocket costs.
• Will increase costs, reduce enrollment, and shift financial burdens onto consumers, healthcare providers, and states.
• Was adopted without adequate explanation or a meaningful response to the coalition’s comments, making it arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act.

In filing today’s lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta co-led the coalition alongside New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport. They were joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

Source: US State of California

Bryce Cleveland, the President and CEO of Scalpa, Inc., pleaded guilty today to three charges related to Scalpa’s selling of skincare products that had not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

Cleveland, 42, of Scottsdale, Arizona, pleaded guilty to mail fraud, introduction of an adulterated device into interstate commerce, and introduction of an unapproved new drug into interstate commerce. Cleveland was apprehended late last year in Colombia and removed back to the United States where he was arrested on an outstanding federal warrant by the U.S. Marshals Service after an indictment against him was returned in July 2024. 

In 2015, Scalpa was a for-profit corporation incorporated in Arizona that marketed and sold medical devices and drug products intended to affect the structure and function of the human body. Between March 2018 and December 2020, Cleveland devised a fraudulent scheme to unlawfully enrich himself by marketing and delivering, and causing others to market and deliver, unapproved devices to consumers, including the ScalpaJECT Hyaluronic Acid, and Hyaluron Pen, while making false representations that the devices were not subject to FDA regulation. Similarly, Cleveland introduced and delivered, and caused others to introduce and deliver, the unapproved new drug “Scalpatox” into commerce.  

The ScalpaJECT Hyaluronic Pen, Hylaron Pen, and similar unapproved and misbranded devices and drugs are especially concerning from a public health perspective because injectable drug products can pose risks of serious harm to users. Injectable products are delivered directly into the body, sometimes directly into the bloodstream, and therefore, bypass some of the body’s key defenses against toxins and microorganisms that can lead to serious and life-threatening conditions.

Scalpatox was an unapproved and misbranded botulinum toxin product. On Nov. 5, 2025, the FDA issued a warning to owners of websites illegally marketing unapproved and misbranded botulinum toxin products, commonly called Botox. The agency is aware of adverse events associated with unapproved and misbranded botulinum toxin products, including botulism symptoms.

Cleveland has agreed to be sentenced to a prison term of between four and eight years. He has also agreed to pay restitution for the entire scope of his criminal conduct, and to forfeit $800,000. 

The FDA Office of Criminal Investigations investigated the case with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Valuable assistance was provided by the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the Judicial Attaché Office in Bogotá. The U.S. Marshals Service provided exceptional assistance in locating the defendant in Colombia and facilitating his return to the United States.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Corey Hall and Randy Ramseyer for the Western District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Taylor Broadbent of the Criminal Division’s Health and Safety Unit are prosecuting the case.

The Health and Safety Unit within the Department’s Criminal Division works with law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute violations of federal laws designed to protect public health and safety. The unit focuses on corporations and individuals who make and sell dangerous drugs, food, and other consumer products that could cause significant harm to Americans. For more information, see https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/health-safety-unit.

Source: US State of California

A three-count complaint charging was unsealed today charging Mohammad Yousef Hasna, also known as “Orhan Korkmaz” and “Abu al-Baraa,” 45, of Istanbul, Turkey, with conspiring to provide material support to Hamas, a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO), and related terrorism financing charges. As alleged, Hasna used his senior role at a purported global humanitarian organization to coordinate directly with Hamas’s senior leadership regarding the delivery of funds and supplies to Gaza, and the distribution of those funds and supplies at Hamas leadership’s instructions. Hasna was arrested in the United Kingdom today.

“The money that flows from sham charities like the one described in the complaint fuels Hamas’s terrorist activities, including the atrocities the group committed on October 7,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Hamas cannot function without injections of money through its illicit financial networks. The National Security Division will continue to work tirelessly to disrupt Hamas’s operations, including through the prosecutions such as this.”

“Mohammad Hasna is alleged to have abused his position as the global director of a purported humanitarian organization to raise money and provide funds and supplies to Hamas, a brutal terrorist organization responsible for the murders of dozens of Americans and over a thousand other innocent victims, including as part of the heinous atrocities of October 7,” said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald for the Southern District of New York. “Hasna worked closely with Hamas’s senior leadership to deliver supplies, food, funding, and other materials to terrorists under the guise of humanitarian aid. Our arrest of Mohammad Hasna demonstrates our commitment to dismantling Hamas’s illicit global financing networks and the sham charities that support terrorist organizations and their violent aims using the lie of philanthropy.”

“The accused allegedly used a purported humanitarian aid organization to raise funds and provide financing and supplies to Hamas, a ruthless international terrorist organization,” said Assistant Director Jarod Brown of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “According to the criminal complaint, the defendant coordinated his actions closely with a senior leader of Hamas and knew the resources were going to that group rather than to needy non-combatants. The FBI is committed to cutting off funding and other assistance to terrorist organizations and will continue to work closely with our U.S. government and international partners to present a united front against global terrorism.”

According to the allegations contained in the complaint, Hasna is the global director of a purported international charity registered in the United Kingdom (the “Sham Charity”). In that role, Hasna allegedly provided financing and commodities to Hamas, including by coordinating extensively with individuals at the highest levels of Hamas. As alleged, Hasna worked closely with senior Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad (Hamad), a member of Hamas’s governing body known as the Politburo and the Minster for the Ministry of Social Development in Gaza (MoSD), a putative governmental agency that is controlled by Hamas. 

Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyya, commonly known as Hamas, is a terrorist organization that was founded in 1987, and has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States since 1997. From its inception, Hamas’s stated purpose has been to create an Islamic Palestinian state throughout Israel by eliminating the State of Israel through violent holy war, or jihad. Hamas also promotes attacks against the United States and its citizens, and over more than two decades, Hamas has murdered and injured dozens of Americans as part of its campaign of violence and terror. On October 7, 2023, Hamas committed its most violent, large-scale terrorist attack to date (the “October 7 Hamas Massacres”) when Hamas sent more than 2,000-armed fighters into farms and towns in southern Israel, where they carried out the massacres of over a thousand people and the kidnappings of 251 hostages. 

Following the October 7 Hamas Massacres, in its disclosures to UK authorities, the Sham Charity reported that its total gross income nearly doubled from approximately $41.8 million USD in fiscal year 2023, to approximately $81.56 million USD in fiscal year 2024. The Sham Charity represented that it spent approximately $91 million on charitable activities in the fiscal year ending July 31, 2025. 

Since at least 2023, Hasna and Hamad coordinated the delivery of purported humanitarian aid organized by or allocated to the Sham Charity into Gaza for Hamas’s benefit, repeatedly coordinating the delivery of supplies, food, and other items by Hasna (under the guise of humanitarian aid from the Sham Charity) directly into Hamad’s and Hamas’s hands. In coordination with Hamad and at Hamad’s direction, Hasna allegedly arranged (1) deliveries of cash to Hamad; (2) the procurement of supplies for import to Gaza; (3) transportation of supplies into Gaza by truck from Egypt and elsewhere; (4) deliveries to warehouses controlled by the Sham Charity or by MoSD, according to Hamad’s instructions; and (5) distribution of those supplies to lists of recipients identified by Hamad. As part of this scheme, Hasna and Hamad concealed where the supplies were being delivered or stored, including by misrepresenting that supplies were being delivered to MoSD when in fact they were being delivered to warehouses controlled by Hasna; having supplies delivered initially to MoSD but then redistributed to the actual receiving parties; and taking pictures and videos of the supplies that omitted any signage inside the warehouses that would reveal their location or control. 

Hasna is charged with conspiring to provide material support to Hamas, conspiring to finance terrorism, and financing terrorism, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

A federal district judge will determine their sentences after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

The Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division thanks the U.K. authorities and the Israeli Security Agency for their assistance with this investigation. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the United Kingdom’s law enforcement authorities provided significant assistance.

This case is being handled by the Southern District of New York’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah L. Kushner, Michael D. Lockard, and Juliana N. Murray are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Alicia Cook of the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: US State of California

New York ophthalmology practices Mark D. Fromer, P.C. doing business as Fromer Eye Centers and Floral Park Ophthalmology P.C. have agreed to pay a total of $2.3 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act arising from their billing for trans-cranial doppler ultrasounds (TCDs) through a kickback arrangement with a third-party testing company. The Estate of Mark Fromer, the former owner of Fromer Eye Centers, also joined in the settlement with the practice. Both practices have agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department’s ongoing investigations of other participants in the alleged scheme.

“The integrity of healthcare decision-making depends on sound medical advice that is free from undue influence of illegal kickbacks and other improper arrangements,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department will continue to hold accountable healthcare providers who engage in such schemes.”

“Medical service providers who place profit above patients not only compromise the integrity of our health care system, but patients’ care,” stated U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida. “Our office will continue working with our partners to combat fraud against our federal health care programs.”

“Kickback arrangements work to corrupt impartial medical decision-making and drive up health care costs for everyone,” said Special Agent in Charge Isaac M. Bledsoe of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to investigate and hold accountable those who attempt to defraud federal health care programs.”

The settlements announced today resolve allegations that the settling practices knowingly submitted, and caused the submission of, false claims to Medicare (and, with respect to Fromer Eye, Medicaid) for medically unnecessary TCDs. The United States alleges that the settling practices performed TCDs on thousands of patients and billed Medicare and Medicaid hundreds of dollars per test. Before the patients received the results of the test, the practices and the third-party testing company allegedly identified the patients as having received a serious diagnosis that could qualify the patient for reimbursement of a TCD. However, the United States alleged that nearly all patients who received TCDs never had that diagnosis, and it was not reflected in the patient’s medical history or in the TCD results. In addition, Floral Park Ophthalmology allegedly received remuneration paid by the third-party testing company to induce the practice to refer its Medicare and Medicaid patients to the testing provider for TCDs.

The United States alleged that as a result of this scheme, the settling practices submitted, or caused the submission of, false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for TCDs that were medically unnecessary, that were premised on false diagnoses, and that resulted from violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law.

As a result of the settlements, Fromer Eye Centers and the Estate of Mark Fromer will pay $1,800,000 and Floral Park Ophthalmology will pay $500,000. Of the total settlement amounts, $384,000 will be paid to the State of New York for its share of Medicaid, which is a jointly funded federal and state program.

The civil settlements resolved claims in a lawsuit filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the Government’s recovery. The qui tam was filed by a whistleblower who will receive approximately $132,000 in connection with the settlement with Fromer Eye Centers. 

The settlements were the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, with assistance from HHS-OIG and the FBI. The United States previously resolved similar allegations against Brandon Eye Associates P.A., Pinellas Eye Care, P.A. (doing business as Gulfcoast Eye Care), Clay Eye Holdings LLC, Retina Macula Specialist of Miami LLC, Florida Eye Institute P.A., Miami Eye LLC, and Kendall Eye Institute Inc.

The government’s pursuit of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to HHS at 1-800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

This year the Administration launched the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division to enhance the Administration’s war on fraud, waste, and abuse in federal programs. When unscrupulous actors exploit these programs for their own financial gain, they defraud the government, harm the people these programs are designed to aid and protect, and undermine American businesses that play by the rules. The Civil Division’s FCA enforcement plays a critical role in combatting such fraudulent schemes, recovering billions of dollars for the American taxpayers, and holding wrongdoers accountable. FCA matters will continue to be on the forefront of the battle against fraud, and the Civil Division’s FCA work will support and advance the mission of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division. Trial Attorney Nelson Wagner in the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mamie Wise for the Middle District of Florida handled the matter.

The claims resolved by the settlements are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

Source: US State of California

A Mexican national pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine for unlawful importation into the United States, and using, carrying, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking conspiracy. 

According to court documents, Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, 67, of Michoacán, Mexico, trafficked cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States for Mexico-based cartels for over two decades. From around 2002 to 2010, Oseguera Cervantes operated as a member of the Milenio Cartel in Jalisco, Mexico, overseeing narcotics sales, protecting territories from rival cartels, and supervising and maintaining the operations of methamphetamine laboratories. He procured precursor chemicals for the manufacture of methamphetamine and distributed methamphetamine and cocaine destined for the United States.  

The court filings state that since around 2010, Oseguera Cervantes worked with and reported directly to his notorious and now-deceased brother, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “Mencho,” who co-founded and led the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). The CJNG is one of the most prolific and dangerous drug cartels in Mexico, based in the State of Jalisco, which traffics multi-tonnage quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States. Oseguera Cervantes furthered CJNG’s drug trafficking operations, including by supplying precursor chemicals to CJNG methamphetamine laboratories and distributing cocaine and methamphetamine for the CJNG. He also collected drug proceeds and managed CJNG’s money laundering activities, such as transferring drug proceeds from the United States to Mexico through currency exchange locations. When collecting drug proceeds or attending meetings to discuss drug trafficking, Oseguera Cervantes armed himself with a pistol. 

Oseguera Cervantes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine destined to the United States, as well as using, carrying, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking conspiracy. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 13 and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of two consecutive life sentences in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Administrator Terrance C. Cole of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made the announcement.

The DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit Los Angeles is investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance to Oseguera Cervantes’ February 2025 transfer from Mexico to the United States pursuant to Mexico’s National Security law. The Department of Justice thanks the Government of Mexico for its assistance in securing Oseguera Cervantes’ presence in the United States for prosecution.

Chief Kaitlin Sahni of the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Unit (NDDU) and Trial Attorneys Lernik Begian, Douglas Meisel, and Nicole Lockhart, of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section are prosecuting the case.

The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s (MNF) mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system and financial institutions; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.

MNF’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Unit investigates and prosecutes the top command and control elements of international drug cartels, drug trafficking organizations and related transnational criminal organizations.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

Source: US State of California 2

Source: US State of California

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

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Source: US State of California

The Justice Department today announced that Holmes Motors Inc., a “lease here, pay here” dealership with locations in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, has agreed to pay over $137,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by illegally repossessing vehicles owned by servicemembers and failing to refund security deposits and prepaid lease amounts to servicemembers who terminated their vehicle leases due to military orders.

“The Servicemember Civil Relief Act provides certain rights and protections to the members of our Armed Forces. These protections are designed to lessen the legal and economic burdens of military service and enable our warfighters to focus on the defense of our Nation,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will not waver in its commitment to enforcing these rights.”

“As someone with 30 years of military service, enforcing the law to protect servicemembers’ rights is of the highest priority to me and to my office,” said U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr. for the Northern District of Alabama. “The law is clear that when servicemembers are on active duty, they should not have to worry their car will be repossessed while they serve their county. I am very proud of this settlement, which ensures that companies understand that this law is not optional and servicemembers’ rights will be protected in this district.”

The Department alleges that Holmes Motors illegally repossessed three vehicles leased by SCRA-protected servicemembers without obtaining court orders.  In at least one case, Holmes Motors repossessed a vehicle even after the servicemember gave the company a copy of her military orders requiring her to deploy in support of operations at the southern border.

The Department also alleges that Holmes Motors violated the SCRA when it failed to refund security deposits and prepaid lease amounts when servicemembers terminated five vehicle leases early after receiving qualifying military orders.

Under the settlement, Holmes Motors will pay $77,348 in compensation to the affected servicemembers. The company will also pay a $60,000 civil penalty and will be required to make policy and training changes to avoid committing future violations.

Since 2011, the Department has obtained over $489 million in monetary relief for over 152,000 servicemembers through its enforcement of the SCRA. For more information about the Department’s SCRA enforcement efforts, please visit www.servicemembers.gov.

Servicemembers and their dependents who believe that their rights under the SCRA may have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program Office. Office locations can be found at legalassistance.law.af.mil.