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Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra Soldier Sentenced to Serve 27 Months in Prison

Eric Esposito was sentenced today to serve 27 months in prison for conducting an illegal gambling business on behalf of the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra Family.



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Department of Justice Announces 48 States and Territories Have Committed to Ending Prison Rape

Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Justice Programs Mary Lou Leary announced today that the vast majority of U.S. states and territories have informed the Department of Justice that they intend to take steps to reduce sexual assaults in prisons, in accordance with federal law.



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Minnesota-Based Medtronic Inc. to Pay $9.9 Million to Resolve Claims That Company Paid Kickbacks to Physicians

Medtronic Inc., of Fridley, Minnesota, has agreed to pay the United States $9.9 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that the company used various types of payments to induce physicians to implant pacemakers and defibrillators manufactured and sold by Medtronic.



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Ex-Casino Owner, Nevada Businessman and Former National Football League Player Found Guilty in Massive Tax Fraud Scheme

A Las Vegas jury returned guilty verdicts yesterday against Alan Rodrigues, a former casino owner from Henderson, Nevada, Weston Coolidge, a former businessman from Las Vegas, and Joseph Prokop, a former National Football League punter from Upland, California, for conspiracy and fraud related to their promotion of a fraudulent tax product through the now-defunct National Audit Defense Network.



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Two Individuals Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Launder Bribes Received in Afghanistan

Two individuals have pleaded guilty for their roles in a scheme to launder approximately $250,000 in bribes received from Afghan contractors in Afghanistan.



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Connecticut Man Who Used Offshore Accounts Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion and Conspiracy

John Cote, formerly of Danielson, Connecticut, was sentenced today to serve 46 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service announced.



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Deputy Attorney General James Cole Speaks at Press Conference Updating States’ Efforts to Comply with Prison Rape Elimination Act

"These [PREA] standards, like the law mandating them, are intended to address a serious public safety, public health and human rights problem – the incidence of sexual violence in our nation’s confinement facilities."




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Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mary Lou Leary Speaks at Press Conference Updating States’ Efforts to Comply with Prison Rape Elimination Act

"It’s clear that our nation will no longer tolerate sexual violence in our prisons, jails and juvenile detention centers – and that’s something we should all be proud of."




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Puerto Rico Superior Court Judge and Local Businessman Indicted on Conspiracy and Federal Programs Bribery Charges

A current Puerto Rico Superior Court Judge and Puerto Rico businessman were charged with orchestrating a criminal scheme in which the businessman paid bribes to the judge presiding over the criminal case against the businessman according to an indictment unsealed today.



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Seattle Man Pleads Guilty to Voter Intimidation and Identification Fraud for Letters Sent to Florida Residents in Conjunction with the 2012 Federal Elections

James Webb Baker Jr., of Seattle, pleaded guilty to one count of voter intimidation and one count of identification fraud in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.



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Nevada Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Refund Fraud Using False Home Buyer Credits

Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada announced today that Damon Boswell of Las Vegas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to submit false federal income tax returns.



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Government Files Complaint Against CA Inc. for False Claims on GSA Contract

The government has filed a complaint against CA Inc. (CA) for violations of the False Claims Act in connection with a General Services Administration (GSA) contract, the Justice Department announced today.



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DEA Employee and Contractor Husband Plead Guilty to False Statements in Kidnapping Hoax

Nydia L. Perez and John A. Soto, both 44, of Haymarket, Virginia, pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to law enforcement officials in federal court on Friday.



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Federal Inmate Sentenced to Life in Prison for the Murder of a U.S. Correctional Officer

Federal inmate James Ninete Leon Guerrero, 48, of Guam, was sentenced today to serve life in prison for the murder of United States Correctional Officer Jose Rivera, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner of the Eastern District of California. Guerrero was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Phillip Pro of the District of Nevada.



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Deputy Attorney General, Federal Law Enforcement Officials to Hold News Conference on Cyber Fraud Announcement

Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for Western District of Pennsylvania David Hickton, FBI Executive Associate Director Robert Anderson and Deputy Under Secretary Dr. Phyllis Schneck of the Department of Homeland Security will hold a news conference to announce criminal charges and two global cyber fraud disruptions.



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U.S. Leads Multi-National Action Against “Gameover Zeus” Botnet and “Cryptolocker” Ransomware, Charges Botnet Administrator

The Justice Department today announced a multi-national effort to disrupt the Gameover Zeus Botnet – a global network of infected victim computers used by cyber criminals to steal millions of dollars from businesses and consumers – and unsealed criminal charges in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Omaha, Nebraska, against an administrator of the botnet.



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Massachusetts Man Charged with Computer Hacking and Credit Card Theft

A Massachusetts man was charged today with allegedly hacking into computer networks around the country – including networks belonging to law enforcement agencies, a local police department and a local college – to obtain highly sensitive law enforcement data and alter academic records.



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Justice Department to Monitor Elections in California and New Mexico

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor elections on June 3, 2014, in Alameda and Napa Counties, California, and Cibola County, N.M., to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting rights statutes.



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Former Utah Certified Public Accountant Convicted of Filing False Claims for Tax Refunds Totaling More Than $8 Million and Presenting a $300 Million Fictitious Financial Instrument

Dick Reid Jenkins, of Heber City, Utah, was convicted today, in U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, of eighteen counts of filing false claims for income tax refunds and one count of presenting a fictitious financial instrument, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.



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Former CEO and CFO of Arthrocare Corporation Convicted for Orchestrating $400 Million Securities Fraud Scheme

A federal jury today convicted the former chief executive officer and the former chief financial officer of ArthroCare Corporation, a publicly traded medical device company based in Austin, Texas, for orchestrating a fraud scheme that resulted in shareholder losses of over $400 million.



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Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell Delivers Remarks for the Gameover Zeus and Cryptolocker Operations and Related Criminal Charges

Evgeniy Bogachev and the members of his criminal network devised and implemented the kind of cyber crimes that you might not believe if you saw them in a science fiction movie. By secretly implanting viruses on computers around the world, they built a network of infected machines – or “bots” – that they could infiltrate, spy on, and even control, from anywhere they wished.




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Deputy Attorney General James Cole Delivers Remarks at Press Conference for Gameover Zeus and Cryptolocker Operations

Today, we are here to announce that, over the weekend, the Department disrupted two extremely damaging cyber threats – the financial botnet known as Gameover Zeus and the malicious software known as Cryptolocker.




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Two Federal Inmates Sentenced to Death for Murder

Two inmates of the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, who were convicted by a federal jury for murdering another inmate at the facility were sentenced to death late yesterday.



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Justice Department Announces Investigation of Detention Center in Hinds County, Mississippi

The Justice Department announced today that it is opening a pattern or practice investigation of Hinds County Detention Center including both the Hinds County facility in Raymond, Mississippi, and the Jackson Detention Center, in Jackson, Mississippi.



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Iowa Company and Top Executives Plead Guilty in Connection with Distribution of Adulterated Eggs

Quality Egg LLC (Quality Egg), Austin “Jack” DeCoster and Peter DeCoster pleaded guilty today in federal court in Sioux City, Iowa, in connection with the distribution of adulterated eggs in interstate commerce.



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John Charles Mccluskey Sentenced to Life in Prison for Carjacking and Murdering Oklahoma Couple

John Charles McCluskey, 49, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Judith C. Herrera of the District of New Mexico to serve life in prison followed by a consecutive term of 2,820 months (235 years) in prison for carjacking and murdering a retired couple from Oklahoma in August 2010.



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Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Importing and Selling Counterfeit Intergrated Circuits from China and Hong Kong

Peter Picone, 41, of Methuen, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Hartford, Connecticut to importing thousands of counterfeit integrated circuits (ICs) from China and Hong Kong and then reselling them to U.S. customers.



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Los Angeles Physician Indicted in $33 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

Robert A. Glazer, 67, of Los Angeles, California, was indicted in the Central District of California and charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Glazer allegedly billed Medicare for services that were not medically necessary, and at times were not provided to the Medicare beneficiaries.



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Former Alabama Corrections Officers Sentenced for Identity Theft and Tax Fraud

Bryant Thompson was sentenced today to serve 120 months in prison and Quincy Walton was sentenced to serve 84 months in prison for their roles in a stolen identity refund fraud scheme.



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Texas Woman Allegedly Prepares Tax Returns Claiming False Deductions and Credits

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in McAllen, Texas, permanently barred Maria I. Cantu from preparing federal tax returns for others.



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Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission Announce Agenda for June 23, 2014, Joint Agency Workshop on Conditional Pricing Practices

The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have issued the agenda for their joint public workshop, which will be held on June 23, 2014, to explore the economic and legal analysis of conditional pricing practices among firms in a supply chain.



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Conspiracy Charge Filed Against Former Convergex Trader

A former trader for ConvergEx Global Markets Limited (CGM Limited) — a former securities broker-dealer registered in Bermuda — has been charged in the District of New Jersey with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.



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Former Army National Guard Soldier Pleads Guilty to Bribery and Defrauding the U.S. Army National Guard Bureau

Former Specialist Christopher Renfro, 26, of Houston, Texas pleaded guilty today to two counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Previously, on March 24, 2014, Renfro pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of bribery in connection with the same scheme.



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Former Top Executive of Japanese Automotive Parts Manufacturer Indicted for Role in Conspiracy to Fix Prices

A Detroit federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment against a former top executive of a Japanese manufacturer of automotive parts for his participation in a conspiracy to fix prices of seatbelts.



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Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges for Discharging Waste into Potomac River

Patrick Brightwell, 48, of Bogart, Georgia, pleaded guilty today to federal charges that he orchestrated the discharge of waste into the Potomac River at East Potomac Park from 2009 through 2011.



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District Court Approves Selection of Arnaldo Claudio as Technical Compliance Advisor to Oversee Critical Reforms of Puerto Rico Police Department

Today, U.S. District Judge Gustavo A. Gelpí approved the selection of Arnaldo Claudio to serve as Technical Compliance Advisor (TCA), overseeing the implementation of sweeping civil rights reforms under the Agreement for Sustainable Reform of the Puerto Rico Police Department.



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Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Florida State University

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement with the Florida State University Board of Trustees, acting for and on behalf of Florida State University (FSU), in Tallahassee, Florida.



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Detroit Tax Preparer, Previously Convicted on Tax Charges, Found Guilty of Failing to Appear at 2013 Bond Hearing

The Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration announced that Matthew Bender, of Detroit, was convicted yesterday following a jury trial of failing to appear at a bond hearing on July 2, 2013.



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Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Fourth Annual Tribal Consultation Conference Hosted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of North Dakota

"And as I look around this crowd – of colleagues, friends, and distinguished tribal leaders – despite the wrongs and injustices of our troubled past and the obstacles that undoubtedly lie ahead, I can’t help but feel confident in our ability to move forward together – speaking with one voice, standing as one people, and building on the legacies of those who have gone before."




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Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole Testifies Before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

"We support the USA Freedom Act as an effective means of addressing some of the concerns that have been raised about the impact of our intelligence collection activities on privacy while preserving the authorities we need for national security," said Deputy Attorney General Cooe.




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Associate Attorney General Tony West to Visit Alaska

Associate Attorney General Tony West will visit Alaska next week to discuss the Department of Justice’s efforts to protect civil rights and strengthen public safety in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.



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Justice Department and CNCS Announce New Partnership to Enhance Immigration Courts and Provide Critical Legal Assistance to Unaccompanied Minors

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which administers AmeriCorps, and the Department of Justice today announced “justice AmeriCorps,” a strategic partnership to increase national service opportunities while enhancing the effective and efficient adjudication of immigration proceedings involving certain children who have crossed the U.S. border without a parent or legal guardian.



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Justice Department Concludes That Los Angeles County Jails System Has Made Progress, but Serious Deficiencies Continue

The Justice Department today released its latest compliance assessment of mental health services at the Los Angeles County Jails based on a memorandum of agreement designed to protect the constitutional rights of prisoners with serious mental illness at the jails.



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Campaign Worker Pleads Guilty to Buying Votes in a Donna, Texas School Board Election

Guadalupe Escamilla, 72, of Weslaco, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of vote-buying before Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa in the Southern District of Texas, McAllen Division.



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Reputed Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Gang Leader Pleads Guilty to Federal Racketeering Charges

Terry Ross Blake, aka “Big Terry,” 56, of Corpus Christi, Texas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake in the Southern District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity.



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Attorney General Holder Suggests New Proposal to Boost Voting Access for American Indians and Alaska Natives

"As a nation, we cannot, and we will not, simply stand by as the voices of Native Americans are shut out of the democratic process. I am personally committed to working with tribal authorities – and with Congress – to confront disparities and end misguided voting practices once and for all.”



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Owner of New York Construction Companies Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud

Eric Anderson, of Dix Hills, New York, pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York to the willful failure to collect and pay over employment taxes, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced



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Justice Department Settles Employment Discrimination Allegations Against City of Austin

The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into and filed a consent decree that, if approved by the court, will resolve the department’s allegations that the city of Austin violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against African-American and Hispanic applicants for entry-level firefighter positions at the Austin Fire Department (AFD).



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Justice Department and Montana Officials to Hold Press Conference Announcing Negotiated Agreements Regarding the Handling of Sexual Assault Cases

Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Michael Cotter, Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, Missoula County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg and Missoula County Commissioner Bill Carey will hold a press conference TOMORROW, TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. EDT (11:00 a.m. MDT), to announce negotiated agreements regarding the handling of sexual assault cases



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Justice Department Officials to Hold Press Call Announcing Negotiated Agreements Regarding the Handling of Sexual Assault Cases

Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels and U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Michael Cotter will hold a press call TOMORROW, TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014 at 1:45 p.m. EDT (11:45 a.m. MDT), for reporters who are unable to attend in person the 1:00 p.m. EDT (11:00 a.m. MDT), press conference announcing negotiated agreements regarding the handling of sexual assault cases



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