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法律訴訟

2009年1月1日

作者:
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

PA Child Care lawsuits (re "kids for cash" scandal)

查看所有標籤

狀態: CLOSED

提訴日期
2009年1月1日
未知
申訴地點: 美國
事發地點: 美國
訴訟類型: Domestic

企業

Aviva 英國 保險
Orano (formerly Areva) 法國 採礦, 核能
Alstom 法國 跨產業綜合企業
adidas 德國 衣服和紡織品, 鞋類, 零售, 體育用品
BHP 澳洲 採礦, 油、氣、煤
bp 英國 油、氣、煤
Boliden 瑞典 採礦
Bull (part of Atos) 法國 技術、電信和電子產品
Blackwater 美國 安保公司
Body Shop (part of Natura) 英國 化妝品
Coca-Cola 美國 食品和飲料
CACI 美國 軍隊/防衛
Chevron 美國 油、氣、煤
Drummond 美國 採礦
Dow Chemical 美國 化學製品:綜合
Danzer 德國 伐木和木材
Posco International (part of POSCO) 南韓 農業機械, 棕櫚樹和棕櫚油, 化學製品:綜合, 跨產業綜合企業, 機器和機床, 金屬和鋼鐵, 油、氣、煤, 汽車和其他機動車輛
DynCorp 美國 軍隊/防衛
Daimler AG 德國 汽車和其他機動車輛
DaimlerChrysler (now Daimler) 德國 汽車和其他機動車輛
ExxonMobil 美國 油、氣、煤
Ford 美國 汽車和其他機動車輛
Google (part of Alphabet) 美國 技術:綜合, 廣告和市場營銷, 人工智能 (AI), 金融和銀行業, 娛樂, 互聯網公司
Halliburton 美國 跨產業綜合企業, 軍隊/防衛, 油、氣、煤
HSBC 英國 金融和銀行業
Hudbay Minerals 加拿大 採礦
Kuoni 瑞士 旅遊業
Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) 美國 工程, 安保公司
L'Oreal 法國 化妝品
L-3 Communications 美國 技術、電信和電子產品
L-3 Titan (part of L-3 Communications) 美國 技術、電信和電子產品
Microsoft 美國 技術:綜合, 互聯網公司
Mercedes-Benz Group 德國 汽車和其他機動車輛
Nestlé 瑞士 食品和飲料
Posco 南韓 採礦, 工程
Paladin Energy 澳洲 能源
Rio Tinto 英國 採礦
Abbott Laboratories 美國 藥品
Anglo American 英國 採礦
Royal Bank of Scotland 英國 金融和銀行業
Shell plc 英國 油、氣、煤
TotalEnergies (formerly Total) 法國 油、氣、煤, 能源
Telefónica 西班牙 技術、電信和電子產品
Texaco (part of Chevron) 美國 油、氣、煤
Union Carbide (part of Dow) 化學製品:綜合
Veolia (formerly Vivendi Environnement) 法國 廢物處理, 水務公司, 能源
Vedanta Resources Limited 英國 採礦, 金屬和鋼鐵, 油、氣、煤
Walmart 美國 超市和雜貨店
Transocean 瑞士 油、氣、煤
ERAMET 法國 採礦
Nexa Technologies (formerly Amesys) 法國 軍隊/武器/安保設備:綜合, 技術、電信和電子產品
Qosmos (part of Enea) 法國 技術、電信和電子產品
Indorama 新加坡 衣服和紡織品
Shurtanneftegaz 烏茲別克 油、氣、煤
Trustbank 烏茲別克 金融和銀行業

Sources

In January 2009, US prosecutors charged former Pennsylvania judges, Mark Ciavarella Jr. of the Luzerne County Juvenile Court and Michael Conahan of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas, with fraud and tax evasion in connection with receiving $2.8 million in kickbacks in return for sending teenage offenders to two privately-run juvenile facilities – PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care. The judges allegedly accepted money from Robert Powell, a co-owner of the facilities, and Robert Mericle, the builder of the facilities, in return for imposing harsh sentences on juveniles brought before their courts and ensuring that juvenile offenders were sent to PA Child Care facilities. Between 2003-2006, over 2,000 juveniles, including children as young as eight years old and many first-time offenders, were sentenced for minor crimes such as petty theft and jaywalking. Former Judge Ciavarella sentenced juvenile defenders at a much higher rate than other judges in Pennsylvania at the time. Several of the individuals sentenced have died by suicide or overdoses since the lawsuits began. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has thrown out over 4,000 convictions impacting 2,300 juveniles.

In September 2009, a federal grand jury returned a 48-count indictment against the judges, including racketeering, extortion, bribery, money laundering, fraud and tax violations. Judge Ciavarella was accused of routinely depriving youth defendants of their right to counsel and ordering teenage offenders into detention even when probation officers did not recommend it. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison and was ordered to pay $1.17 million in restitution. In May 2013, a US appeals court upheld all but one of the convictions of Mark Ciavarella. Judge Conahan was sentenced to 17 years in prison. He was released in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was ordered to serve the rest of his sentence at home.

In June 2009, Robert Powell was criminally charged in the Scranton District Court with failing to report a felony and being an accessory to a conspiracy, and in July he pleaded guilty to both charges. Powell served 18 months in prison. In September 2009, Robert Mericle pleaded guilty to failing to report a felony. Mericle failed to disclose to federal authorities that he paid more than $2 million to the judges as finder's fees for the PA Child Care facilities. In April 2014, Mericle was sentenced to one year in prison, received a $250,000 fine and was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service.

The children and the parents impacted by this “kids-for-cash” scheme filed a class action lawsuit in June 2009 against the judges, Powell, Mericle, PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care seeking monetary damages for the abuses they suffered. In December 2011, the parties announced a partial settlement in this class action when Mericle agreed to pay $17.7 million to the plaintiffs. In August 2015, the plaintiffs and Powell agreed on a settlement of $4.75 million. In August 2022, the US District Court ordered the former judges to pay $106 million in compensatory damages and $100 million in punitive damages to a class of almost 300 individuals.

-"Kids-for-cash judges ordered to pay more than $200M", Michael Rubinkam, AP News, 17 Aug 2022

- "Pennsylvania Seeks to Close Books on "Kids for Cash" Scandal", Jon Schuppe, NBC News, 12 Aug 2015

-"Mericle Sentenced to Federal Prison", Dave Bohman, WNEP, 25 Apr 2014

- "Builder Gets Prison in ‘Kids for Cash' Scandal", Michael Rubinkam, NBC Philadelphia, 25 Apr 2014

-"Mericle agrees to $17M settlement", Dave Janoski, Times-Tribune, 17 Dec 2011

- "Ex-jurists plea, still free", Terrie Morgan-Besecker, Times Leader, 16 Sep 2011

- "Ex-US judge pleads guilty to child prison scam", BBC News, 23 Jul 2010

-"Mericle pleads guilty", Terrie Morgan-Besecker, Times Leader, 3 Sep 2009

- "Mericle pleads guilty in kids-for-cash scandal", Dave Janoski, Citizens Voice, 2 Sep 2009

- "Plea Agreement by 2 Judges Is Rejected in Pennsylvania", Ian Urbina, New York Times, 31 Jul 2009

-"US judges admit taking kickbacks", BBC News, 13 Feb 2009

- Juvenile Law Center [counsel for victims]: Luzerne Kids-For-Cash Scandal (includes links to legal documents for class action)

- [PDF] USA v Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella US District Court for Middle District of Pennsylvania, 9 Sep 2009 [Indictment]
- [PDF] USA v Robert K.Mericle, US District Court for Middle District of Pennsylvania, 9 June 2009, 31 Jul 2009 [Plea agreement]
- [PDF] USA v Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella, US District Court for Middle District of Pennsylvania, 30 Jul 2009 [Memorandum and Order]
- [PDF] USA v Robert J.Powell, US District Court for Middle District of Pennsylvania, 9 Jun 2009 [Information]
- [PDF] USA v Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella, US District Court for Middle District of Pennsylvania, 26 Jan 2009 [Information]

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