Thanh Viet Jeremy Cao of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., pleaded guilty today in Las Vegas before Judge Kent J. Dawson to six counts of filing false liens against employees and officers of the federal government.

A ship management company headquartered in Greece that operated a 29,414 - ton cargo ship that made calls in multiple ports in Texas pleaded guilty and was sentenced late yesterday in federal court in Corpus Christi for deliberately concealing pollution discharges from the ship directly into the sea and for failing to notify the U. S. Coast Guard of numerous safety hazards on board the vessel.

Midtown Imaging LLC, a radiology clinic, and its former owners Midtown Imaging P.A. and PBC Medical Imaging have agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that the clinic violated the False Claims Act.

Daniel B. Birkbeck, 46, of North Stonington, Conn., was charged today in federal court with trafficking in and falsifying records for illegally harvested Atlantic Striped Bass.

A federal grand jury in Greenbelt, Md., indicted Alfred Edwards and Gloria Edwards, both of Upper Marlboro, Md., on charges arising from a scheme to compel the labor and domestic service of a Filipina national.

Daniel B. Birkbeck, 46, of North Stonington, Conn., was charged today in federal court with trafficking in and falsifying records for illegally harvested Atlantic Striped Bass.

The Justice Department has reached an agreement with the city of Bedford, Va., that, if approved by the court, will allow for the city’s bailout from its status as a “covered jurisdiction” under the special provisions of Voting Rights Act, and thereby exempt the city from the preclearance requirements of Section 5 of the act.

This initiative targets immigration scams involving the unauthorized practice of immigration law (UPIL), which occurs when legal advice and/or representation regarding immigration matters is provided by an individual who is not an attorney or accredited representative.

Charles Hollie, a resident of Tyler, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Schneider to 24 months in prison for filing false tax returns.

An owner of an Illinois-based technology company was sentenced today to serve one year and a day in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to defraud the federal E-Rate program.

Inuka Rhaheed, owner of First Premium Financial Services and a former detective with the Fort Pierce, Fla., Police Department, and Wilens Bertrand, a tax preparer at First Premium, on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

A Detroit grand jury has returned a superseding indictment charging Karl Herrington, of Parma, Mich., with being a felon in possession of six different firearms.

Former National Security Agency (NSA) senior executive Thomas A. Drake pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to a one-count criminal information charging him with unauthorized access of an NSA computer.

The former treasurer and the former president of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW) were sentenced today to 72 months in prison and 30 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in a more than $2.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failures of TBW and Colonial Bank.

South Florida Reception Center (SFRC) officers Alexander McQueen, 30; Guruba Griffin 31; Scott Butler, 32; and Steven Dawkins, 30, were indicted on charges of conspiring to violate the civil rights of inmates at SFRC. McQueen and Dawkins are also charged with obstruction of justice.

Two Miami-area residents who were officers of a fraudulent physical therapy company in Lakeland, Fla., pleaded guilty today for their roles in a scheme to defraud Medicare.

Adley H. Abdulwahab, 35, of Houston, was convicted by a federal jury today for his role in a $100 million fraud scheme with more than 800 victims across the United States and Canada.

Bidemi Bello, 41, a former resident of Suwanee, Ga., and a citizen of Nigeria, was convicted on eight counts by a federal jury late on Friday on charges of two counts of forced labor, two counts of trafficking for forced labor, one count of document servitude, one count of alien harboring and two counts of making false statements in an application to become a U.S. citizen.

A former U.S. Army major pleaded guilty today to bribery related to his work as a contracting officer’s representative in Kuwait from 2004 to 2006.

Christopher Drotleff, 31, of Virginia Beach, Va., was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for his role in shooting and killing an Afghan national while on an unauthorized convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 5, 2009.

The United States has filed a complaint under the False Claims Act (FCA) against Bay Area Sleep Associates LLC, dba SomnoMedics LLC, and its owner, Edward Killmer Jr.

"As members of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and participants in this conference – whether you come from the private sector; a university; federal, state, or local government; or elsewhere – I know at least one thing about you: You care about rooting out, and preventing, financial fraud."

Bruce Schwartz, 53, Sam Wongsesanit, 40, and Shane Germann, 42, have pleaded guilty to human trafficking violations involving the Los Angeles based recruiting company Global Horizons.

A federal jury in New Haven, Conn., today voted unanimously to impose the federal death penalty against Azibo Aquart for his role in the murder of three individuals.

A former vice president of an Illinois refuse disposal container repair company was sentenced today to serve 16 months in prison and to pay a $40,000 criminal fine for his role in a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with bids on a contract with the city of Chicago.

According to court findings, HedgeLender, which maintained offices in Philadelphia and Reston, Va., promoted a scheme purportedly allowing owners of appreciated stock to obtain cash through purported loans without reporting or paying tax on capital gains.

James E. Moss, who owned and operated “Flash Tax,” was charged with four of his employees by a grand jury sitting in Montgomery, Ala.

The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance today announced the Building Neighborhood Capacity Program Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator Solicitation, part of an innovative approach to build capacity in distressed neighborhoods.

Midwest BankCentre will open a full-service branch in an African-American neighborhood and invest approximately $1.45 million in majority African-American areas of the St. Louis metropolitan area as part of a settlement to resolve allegations that they engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race and color.

Betty Washington, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., was sentenced today to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,440,632 for conspiring to file false claims for refunds.

Dimitrios Grifakis, 57, of Kallithea, Greece, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis to six months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for obstructing a Coast Guard inspection that took place in May 2010 aboard a Liberian-operated cargo ship M/V Capitola at the Port of Baltimore.

The United States, the California Department of Fish and Game and the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Coast Region, filed a civil complaint today in federal court against Greka Oil & Gas Inc. alleging that the company violated federal and state water laws.

The Department of Justice today released an updated version of the Antitrust Division’s Policy Guide to Merger Remedies.

Ibrahim Diallo, 27, of Atlanta, was sentenced to 38 months in prison today by U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey Jr., in Atlanta for his involvement in a counterfeit DVD and CD ring.

Fluor Hanford Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fluor Federal Services Inc. and Fluor Corporation, has agreed to pay the United States $4 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted false claims, and paid and received kickbacks.

A former senior vice president and head of Colonial Bank’s Mortgage Warehouse Lending Division was sentenced today to eight years in prison for her role in a more than $2.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failures of Colonial Bank and Taylor, Bean & Whitaker.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Kerr-McGee Corporation and their affiliates have agreed to pay the United States more than $17 million to resolve claims that the companies violated the False Claims Act by knowingly underpaying royalties owed on natural gas produced from federal and Indian leases, and numerous additional administrative claims.

An owner of a Houston health care company pleaded guilty today in connection with a $654,227 Medicare fraud scheme.

A Nashville, Tenn., man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to participate in racketeering activity related to his membership in the Bloods criminal enterprise.

The former chief executive officer (CEO) of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW) was sentenced today to 40 months in prison for his role in a more than $2.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failure of TBW.

A former co-owner of an Illinois-based technology company, Global Networking Technologies Inc. (GNT), was sentenced today to serve one year and a day in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to defraud the federal E-Rate program.

A Texas man was sentenced today in federal court in Wichita on felony charges of conspiracy, wildlife trafficking and obstruction of justice related to the illegal sale of guided deer hunts in southern Kansas.

An 11-count indictment unsealed today in federal court in Wheeling, W.V., charges an Army sergeant first class and his associate for their alleged roles in a bribery and money laundering scheme at Camp Arifjan, a U.S. military base in Kuwait.

George H. Lunt, 27, of Plymouth, Mass., was sentenced today to 96 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release for his transportation and possession of child pornography.

An owner of a Detroit-area medical clinic was sentenced today to 15 months in prison for her role in a $1.12 million Medicare fraud scheme.

A Nacogdoches, Texas, man has been sentenced to life in federal prison for his role in a double homicide that took place in Nacogdoches in August 2007, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney John M. Bales for the Eastern District of Texas.

Bobby Joe Knapp, the former owner and operator of the Equitable Building in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge James E. Gritzner to 41 months in prison for conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act and the Clean Air Act’s asbestos work practice standards for his role during the renovation of more than 10 floors of the building between 2005 and 2008.

Kenneth H. Nix and Velma I. Salinas-Nix, both of Boerne, Texas, were indicted by a federal grand jury in San Antonio on a multi-count indictment alleging tax fraud and false statements to the U.S. government.

An owner of a Houston health care company pleaded guilty today to committing health care fraud and making false statements relating to health care matters.

Two owners of a Houston health care company pleaded guilty for their roles in a scheme to defraud Medicare of more than $800,000.