A Just Cause contends that the theft and cover-up surrounding Inslaw was perpetuated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) using similar tactics against the IRP6 in efforts to illegally obtain their CILC software
DENVER, Dec. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- A Just Cause (AJC) has insisted upon an independent investigation into the IRP6 case for several years, highlighting the striking similarities with Inslaw and its PROMIS investigative software, whose creators were ultimately victims of software piracy resulting in multiple federal trials and congressional hearings.
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Inslaw, Inc. was a Washington, D.C. based business specializing in information technology, owned by a husband and wife team, William Anthony Hamilton and Nancy Burke Hamilton. The company developed a people tracking software application called the Prosecutor's Management Information System (PROMIS), which tracked documents generated by the courts and law enforcement agencies. PROMIS was a platform agnostic program with the ability to integrate multiple disparate databases, assisting with the long-standing issue of standardizing case management. Inslaw sold the product to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and it was installed in 44 U.S. Attorney's offices across the nation. According to testimony by Hamilton, as contract details were modified, offers to buy the company were followed by threats, as the owners found themselves being coerced to submit to DOJ's commands. The DOJ subsequently refused to pay for the application, pushing Inslaw into Chapter 11 bankruptcy and later highly suspicious government actions led to Chapter 7 liquidation.
Inslaw filed suit and the ensuing bankruptcy proved the Justice Department "took, converted and stole…through trickery, fraud, and deceit" then endeavored to "unlawfully and without justification" forcing Inslaw out of business, so they could not pursue restitution in the courts. The subsequent three-year investigation by the House Judiciary Committed confirmed the theft of PROMIS, and uncovered enhanced versions of the PROMIS software were sold for personal gain domestically and overseas. Inslaw was never paid for any of the unauthorized uses of PROMIS.
"The similarities with Inslaw and the attempts by the Justice Department to steal the IRP6's Case Investigative Life Cycle (CILC) software are uncanny, aside from the fact that the government failed to steal the CILC software during the baseless FBI raid on IRP Solutions in 2005. CILC is light years ahead of PROMIS as a web-based case management tool to assist law enforcement agencies with inter-agency communication and intelligence tracking. It was fully customizable to the needs of each agency," says Lamont Banks, Executive Director of A Just Cause. "The executives of IRP Solutions had conducted multiple face-to-face meetings and demos of the CILC software. They had even begun customizations as requested by the Department of Homeland Security and New York Police Department," states Banks.
Court records show that after a demo with the DOJ's CIO, Vance Hitch, now retired and Price Roe, special assistant to Hitch who testified in the IRP6 case, the FBI raided the business in February 2005, imaging all computers. "The warrant stated they were seeking financial records, but every computer in the business was imaged. We believe it was for the express purpose of stealing the CILC source code," recounts Cliff Stewart, an executive of A Just Cause. "The FBI had been working on Virtual Case Files, which was not finalized, over budget, and not meeting requirements. IRP Solutions had what the government was looking for, but all signs point to the fact that the government wasn't willing to pay for it, so they went about attempting to obtain it illegally, much like what happened to Inslaw," suggests Stewart.
"IRP Solutions had received offers to buy the CILC software outright as well as strong suggestions to team with larger contractors, like IBM. However, the IRP executives refused. A representative from Motorola even asked an IRP executive, 'what are you going to do when the big boys come?' But, despite warnings and threats, IRP continued development and customization of the CILC product. For IRP Solutions, the Justice Department employed a different tactic. Instead of bankrupting them, the business was raided in efforts to steal the source code. When that was unsuccessful, false criminal charges were brought against the executives and impeded sales of the CILC product. They even blackballed the IRP6 executives, making it impossible for them to find employment elsewhere as means to support their families and fight the impending legal battles," adds Banks.
The conspiracy within the Justice Department ran even deeper when the IRP6 reached out to US Attorney John Walsh with extensive proffer documentation of innocence and IRP6 and their business dealings, meetings and motives. He refused to meet with them. Though the IRP6 never denied owing debts to staffing companies, their intent was to pay once they secured a sale of the CILC software, to which staffing companies agreed. Multiple agencies agreed that they would be paid upon the sale of the software. The collusion ran deep into the Tenth Circuit courts when criminal charges were brought resulting in the wrongful convictions of six IRP Solutions executives, followed by the disgraceful and unjust ruling of seven to ten year federal prison sentences on felony conspiracy, mail and wire fraud.
"The most significant difference between the IRP6 case and Inslaw is that the government was not successful in obtaining the CILC software. There is no doubt that if the FBI was able to obtain the CILC source code, the picture would be entirely different. Instead, we have innocent men languishing in prison: All of which never had a criminal record or committed a crime of any sort. Instead, their much-needed software is not in use, but remains available, with enhancements that make it more robust than when the IRP6 initially demonstrated to federal agencies. The CILC software was even cited in a Criminal Investigation textbook. The tragedy of it all is that CILC remains the best tool on the market! There is nothing else like CILC in terms of standardizing case management across government agencies and tracking terrorist threats around the globe," insists Stewart.
"The corruption of this nation's government agencies continues and it seems no lessons were learned from the Inslaw affair. The Justice Department's actions still suggests it is above the law, and ordinary citizens are at its mercy. A Just Cause implores Congress to open an investigation into the IRP6 case to uncover the truth concerning their innocence and hold accountable the perpetrators involved in sending innocent businessmen to prison, ensuring this type of gross injustice never happens again," concludes Banks.
For more information about the IRP6 story: http://www.freetheirp6.org.
Related press releases: http://www.a-justcause.com/#!2015-press-releases/cl69
CONTACT INFORMATION
Lamont Banks, Executive Director
A Just Cause
(855) 529-4252, extension 710
SOURCE A Just Cause
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