U.S. Department of Justice
Federal officials to observe voting in Pawtucket and Woonsocket
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday it will monitor polls in Pawtucket and Woonsocket on Election Day to make sure the communities provide bilingual accommodations for Hispanic voters. Federal officials conducted similar monitoring during the Sept. 5 special primary in the two cities, along with Providence and Central […]
Washington Trust reports 40% drop in profits after DOJ settlement
A month after The Washington Trust Co. agreed to a $9 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over alleged discrimination against would-be borrowers in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, its holding company saw profit margins plummet. The $11.2 million third-quarter earnings mark a 40% decline compared with the third quarter of 2022, according to […]
Bank to pay $9 million in redlining settlement
PROVIDENCE — The nation’s oldest community bank will pay over $9 million to settle a federal lawsuit alleging it discriminated against Black and Hispanic borrowers in Rhode Island, the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) announced Wednesday. Washington Trust was accused of redlining, the name for the practice of avoiding providing credit services to people because of […]
Biden administration provides guidance on diversity in college admissions
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice and Department of Education jointly released guidance on Monday to colleges and universities about how to consider race in admissions decisions, following the Supreme Court’s summer decision that struck down affirmative action in higher education. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, on a call with reporters, said higher education institutions can […]
Seven fishermen in R.I. and Mass. indicted for tax evasion
Seven fishermen who worked as commercial contractors for companies based in Point Judith and New Bedford, Massachusetts, have been charged with tax evasion and failing to file tax returns. Federal grand juries in Providence and Boston recently returned indictments finding that the seven defendants – two of whom live in Rhode Island – failed to […]
Former Bristol woman sentenced for stealing Social Security funds
PROVIDENCE — A former Bristol woman who fraudulently collected more than $42,000 in Social Security Supplemental Security Income was sentenced Monday to three years of federal probation. Sonia Pimentel, 44, now residing in Norwich, Connecticut, pleaded guilty on Dec. 1, 2022, to a charge of theft of public funds. Pimentel admitted that, from December 2011 […]
Texas judge’s abortion pill ruling supported by 69 Republicans in Congress
WASHINGTON — A group of 69 congressional Republicans is backing a federal judge’s ruling that would overturn the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s two-decade-old approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. The 11 GOP senators and 58 House lawmakers, who filed a brief in the appeals case, broke the relative silence from Republicans in Congress on […]