Two patient recruiters for several Louisiana durable medical equipment (DME) companies were sentenced today for their roles in Medicare fraud schemes involving fraudulent claims and illegal kickback payments for unnecessary DME, announced the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the FBI and the Louisiana State Attorney General’s Office.

Universal Health Services Inc. (UHS) and two subsidiaries have reached a settlement in a False Claims Act lawsuit with the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Justice Department announced today.

Lazaro Acosta, 41, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz in Miami to one count of currency structuring to avoid reporting requirements.

A federal jury in Worcester, Mass., convicted William Scott Dion and Catherine Floyd, both of Sanbornville, N.H., and Charles Adams of Norwood, Mass., for conspiracies to defraud the United States through the promotion and use of multiple tax fraud schemes, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

The Department of Justice announced today that Gary Dodson, 33, of Waldron, Ark., was sentenced in Little Rock for his involvement in firebombing the residence of an interracial couple. On Dec. 7, 2011, Dodson pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the civil rights, criminal interference with housing rights due to race and possession of an unregistered firearm/destructive device. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson sentenced Dodson to 15 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release for the three counts of conviction.

The president of a Costa Rican company that sold reinsurance bonds to life settlement companies was found guilty by a federal jury in Richmond, Va., today for carrying out a half-billion-dollar fraud scheme that affected more than 2,000 victims throughout the United States and abroad.

An indictment filed in the Northern District of Alabama and unsealed today charges Robert E. Taylor Jr., 41, of Warrior, Ala., with conspiring to bribe and bribing a public official in order to protect his interest in an illegal gambling business.

Donald R. Megginson, a former resident of Alexandria, Va., pleaded guilty to corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the Internal Revenue laws, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

Markos Baghdasarian, the president of Delfin Group USA, was arrested on Saturday, May 19, 2012, at the Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta, just prior to boarding an international flight to the United Arab Emirates.

The Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) Working Group announced new resources today in the ongoing effort to investigate misconduct, including the launch of a RMBS website to report fraud and the creation of a coordination team to facilitate the various investigations underway around the country.

Hector Cuevas, 42, was also sentenced by Judge Kathleen Cardone in U.S. District Court in El Paso to three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $553,148 in restitution and $690,624 in forfeiture.

William Paul, a self-described “bishop,” was sentenced yesterday to 53 months in federal prison for tax evasion, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Paul was convicted on Dec. 1, 2011, after a four-day jury trial, of four counts of evasion of his wife’s 2004 through 2007 individual income taxes and of one count of failing to file a tax return. On Nov. 16, 2011, his wife, Donna Paul, a board-certified physician, pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and one count of filing a false individual income tax return. She was also sentenced yesterday to three years of probation, including six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service. U.S. District Judge Mark E. Fuller also ordered the Pauls to pay $85,396 in restitution to the IRS. Both William Paul and Donna Paul are former residents of Montgomery, Ala.

Leyanes Placeres, 32, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz in the Southern District of Florida.

Today in federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina, a jury found Anes Subasic, 35, guilty of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad.

David Edmonds, the former vice president of worldwide customer service at Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.-based valve company Control Components Inc., pleaded guilty today to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

Attorney General Eric Holder and European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding issued the following statement following the EU-U.S. Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial meeting in Copenhagen.

Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 22, a citizen of Saudi Arabia and resident of Lubbock, Texas, was convicted by a federal jury today on an indictment charging one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction in connection with his purchase of chemicals and equipment necessary to make an improvised explosive device (IED) and his research of potential U.S. targets, including persons and infrastructure.

Sarah Da Silva Keller, 27, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Serena Joslin, 31, a Licensed Psychological Associate, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

An indictment unsealed today in the Eastern District of Michigan charges 41 members and associates of the Devils Diciples Motorcycle Gang, including National President Jeff Garvin Smith and National Vice President Paul Anthony Darrah, for their alleged participation in a variety of criminal offenses.

John Bryan Villegas, 21, of Kittery, Maine, was arrested yesterday and made his initial appearance today in federal court in New Hampshire.

Port Arthur Chemical and Environmental Services LLC (PACES) and its former president Matthew L. Bowman have been charged with conspiracy to illegally transport hazardous materials, resulting in the deaths of two employees, in an indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in Beaumont, Texas.

Adean Wells, of Silver Spring, Md., pleaded guilty today to filing two false individual income tax returns before Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

David L. Johnson and Michael L. Putnam were sentenced today following their convictions for tax crimes related to their involvement in the Genesis Fund, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Both Johnson and Putnam had previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer in the Central District of California. According to the original indictment filed in this case, the Genesis Fund was a private investment fund that was marketed as investing in foreign currency trading, but that operated as a Ponzi scheme.

Gregory Lawrence, 54, of Detroit, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Court Judge Victoria A. Roberts in the Eastern District of Michigan to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Jawad Ahmad, 42, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen in Detroit to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Karen T. Rayburn, 47, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of the Middle District of Louisiana.

A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Ala., charged James Timothy Turner, also known as Tim Turner, with conspiracy to defraud the United States, attempting to pay taxes with fictitious financial instruments, attempting to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue Service, failing to file a 2009 federal income tax return and falsely testifying under oath in a bankruptcy proceeding.

The Residential Mortgage Backed Securities Working Group members today announced their first legal action since the working group formation earlier this year.

"While the Task Force’s goals are ambitious, its foundation is simple: Those in all levels of the government charged with protecting the public from fraud and abuse cannot work in compartmentalized silos. Instead, we must be cohesive, coordinated, and committed to a common purpose, because working together, we can achieve more than we can separately," said Acting Associate Attorney General West.

"As we promised when Attorney General Holder announced the Working Group back in January, we have worked closely together to share information and assess our respective investigations and, where appropriate, provide substantial resources in support of our partners," said U.S. Attorney Walsh.

Persons living around the CITGO refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, who suffered immediate negative health effects from emissions from two large tanks at the facility that were operated between January 1994 and May 2003 in violation of the federal Clean Air Act, may be crime victims in United States v. CITGO Petroleum Corporation et al.

Minor Vargas Calvo, 61, a citizen and resident of Costa Rica, is the majority owner of Provident Capital Indemnity (PCI) Ltd., an insurance and reinsurance company registered in the Commonwealth of Dominica and doing business in Costa Rica.

Lisa Wright, 46, and Cathy Saffer, 52, of Pompano Beach, Fla., were sentenced today to serve 66 and 60 months respectively for defrauding homeowners and mortgage lenders as part of a foreclosure rescue scheme, the Justice Department announced. The two women were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra in the Southern District of Florida.

The Department of Justice has forfeited a Manhattan condominium and a Virginia residence – with a combined value of approximately $ 2.1 million – purchased with the proceeds of alleged bribes paid to the family of the former President of Taiwan, Shui-Bian Chen, as part of the department’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative.

Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group Co-Chair New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today filed a Martin Act complaint against Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and its affiliates for making fraudulent misrepresentations and omissions to promote the sale of RMBS to investors.

The former director of accounting and the former outside auditor of Arizona-based residential mortgage loan originator American Mortgage Specialists Inc. pleaded guilty in Arizona to conspiracy to defraud BNC National Bank and obstruction of justice, respectively.

The founder and president of the National Association of Special Police and Security Officers (NASPSO) – which represents private security guards assigned to protect federal buildings in the metropolitan Washington area – was convicted yesterday in Washington federal court, following a jury trial, of 18 counts related to his theft of union treasury and pension funds.

A medical doctor and the president of two Brooklyn, N.Y., medical clinics pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme resulting in more than $11.7 million in fraudulent Medicare claims.

"This “new patriotism” should not countenance through procedural abuses – which are sadly found in our history, but nowhere in our founding documents – mechanisms that frustrate the desire of our fellow citizens to exercise their most fundamental, and uniquely American, rights," said Attorney General Holder.

April J. Rampton, 41, formerly of Heber City, Utah, was convicted yesterday in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City of nine counts of filing false claims for income tax refunds, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Rampton, who was indicted on Sept. 14, 2011, was released following the verdict. She is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Dee Benson on Feb. 27, 2013. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on six similar counts.

U.S. District Court Judge William P. Johnson entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against Sunland Inc., a Portales, N.M.-based producer of peanut butter, and Jimmie D. Shearer, president and chief executive officer of Sunland, the Justice Department announced today.

Mary and Christian Young and Octavious Reeves were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama on a variety of charges stemming from an identity theft and tax fraud conspiracy.

A federal grand jury in Macon, Ga., returned an indictment charging Kimberly Michelle Banks, a resident of Cordele, Ga., with crimes involving the use of stolen identities on false federal income tax returns in order to obtain refunds to which Banks was not entitled.

Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder today awarded the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor to 18 public safety officers who exhibited exceptional courage in saving and protecting others and whose heroic actions were above and beyond the call of duty.

Today President Barack Obama granted pardons to the following seventeen individuals.

Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder today announced grants to 12 programs across the country to target the urgent need to reduce domestic violence homicides.

"It has indeed changed – but it has not changed as much as we would like, or as indigent defendants need, to achieve justice," said Acting Senior Counselor Leff.

A federal jury in Montgomery, Ala., found James Timothy Turner, also known as Tim Turner, guilty late Friday of conspiracy to defraud the United States, attempting to pay taxes with fictitious financial instruments, attempting to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue Service, failing to file a 2009 federal income tax return and falsely testifying under oath in a bankruptcy proceeding.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and European Commission Vice President Viviane Reding met today in Washington, D.C. They had cordial discussions on a wide range of fields of collaboration between the Department of Justice and the European Commission.