se

New York Man Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for Mail Fraud and Attempting to Corruptly Influence a U.S. Attorney

A New York man was sentenced today in Buffalo to serve 11 years in prison for committing mail fraud and attempting to escape the charges by exerting pressure on a U.S. Attorney’s spouse and candidate for office, the Justice Department announced.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Brazilian Husband and Wife Sentenced in Florida for Alien Smuggling

Brazilian nationals Juliana Rose Tome-Froes and her husband, Fabio Rodrigues Froes, were sentenced today in Miami to 60 months and 46 months in prison, respectively, for smuggling undocumented migrants to the United States for profit.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Alabama Tax Preparer

The United States has asked a federal court in Montgomery, Ala., to bar Kenya Hendrix Adams from preparing tax returns for others.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Two Colorado Law Enforcement Agencies to Improve Communication with People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a cooperative settlement agreement with the Arapahoe, Colo., County Sheriff’s Office under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This agreement is a companion to one reached on March 8, 2013, with the city of Englewood, Colo.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Agreement Reached with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, to Improve Sewer and Stormwater Systems

The Unified Government of Wyandotte Co. and Kansas City, Kan., has agreed to a settlement to address unauthorized overflows of untreated raw sewage and to reduce pollution levels in urban stormwater.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Peruvian Woman Sentenced to 60 Months and Bahamian Woman Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for Alien Smuggling

Peruvian national Jessie Katherine Gonzales Urquizo and Bahamian national Irene Mildred Janette Burrows were sentenced today to serve 60 months and 36 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in smuggling undocumented migrants to the United States for private financial gain.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Former Shipping Executive Indicted for Role in Price-Fixing Conspiracy Involving Coastal Freight Services Between the Continental United States and Puerto Rico

A federal grand jury in San Juan, Puerto Rico, returned an indictment against Thomas Farmer, a former executive of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Crowley Liner Services, for participating in a conspiracy to fix rates and surcharges for freight transported by water between the continental United States and Puerto Rico.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Acting Senior Counselor for the Access to Justice Initiative Deborah Leff Speaks at the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy Convening, “Considering Gideon at 50: the History and Future of Indigent Defense”

"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.




se

Justice Department Files Consent Decree to Prevent and Address Racial Discrimination in Student Discipline in Meridian, Miss.

The Justice Department announced that, jointly with the Meridian Public School District in Meridian, Miss., and private plaintiffs, it has filed a landmark consent decree to prevent and address racial discrimination in student discipline in district schools.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Registered Nurse Pleads Guilty in Connection with Detroit Medicare Fraud Scheme

A registered nurse who fabricated nursing visit forms in connection with a $24 million home health care fraud conspiracy in Detroit pleaded guilty today for her role in the scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Former Oklahoma Sheriff’s Deputy Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements to the FBI

Dennis Frisbie Jr., 33, former deputy with the Muskogee County, Okla., Sheriff’s Office, who was assigned as a detention officer at the Muskogee County Jail, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma to one count of making material false statements to the FBI.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Self-Proclaimed “President” of Sovereign Citizen Nation Convicted in Alabama of Federal Tax Crimes

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Justice Department Files Motion to Dismiss Antitrust Lawsuit Against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan After Michigan Passes Law to Prohibit Health Insurers from Using Most Favored Nation Clauses in Provider Contracts

The Department of Justice today filed a motion to dismiss its antitrust lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan after the state of Michigan passed a law that prohibits health insurers from using most favored nation clauses in contracts with health care providers.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Caddell Construction Agrees to Pay $1,150,000 to Resolve False Claims Allegations

The Justice Department announced today that Alabama-based Caddell Construction has agreed to pay to the United States $1,150,000 to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by falsely reporting to the Army Corps of Engineers that it hired and mentored a Native American-owned company to work on construction projects at Fort Bragg, N.C., and Fort Campbell, Ky.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Georgia Company to Resolve Immigration-related Unfair Employment Practices

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Poulan Pecan, resolving allegations that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Inmate Sentenced for Filing False Tax Returns While in Alabama Federal Prison

David Marrero, a federal inmate in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for tax fraud committed while in prison.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Justice Department Settles Sex Discrimination Suit Against Summit County, Ohio

The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into a consent decree with Summit County, Ohio, and related parties, which if approved by the court, will resolve a sex discrimination lawsuit in which the United States intervened in June 2012.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Idaho Home Builder Sentenced for Tax Evasion

Justin D. Schoenauer, 41, also known as Corey J. Schoenauer, a resident of Twin Falls County, Idaho, was sentenced late yesterday in U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho to 27 months in prison for income tax evasion.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Justice Department Selects Three Domestic Violence Courts to Serve as Resources to Specialized Courts Nationwide

The Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women today announced a new Mentor Court Initiative to support criminal and civil domestic violence courts across the country.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Three Sentenced in Alabama Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Conspiracy

Mary Bennett, Narendrakumar Patel and Eugenia Burks, all residents of Elmore County, Ala., were sentenced for their roles in an identity theft and tax fraud scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Forsyth County, North Carolina Sheriff to Resolve Employment Rights Claim of a North Carolina Army National Guard Soldier

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Forsyth County, N.C., and Sheriff William T. Schatzman of Forsyth County to resolve allegations that they violated the employment rights of North Carolina Army National Guard soldier Michael Russell under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

CDW-Government to Pay U.S. $5,663,902 to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

CDW-Government LLC has agreed to pay $5.66 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims in connection with a U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) contract.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Settlement with Dominion Energy Reduces Harmful Pollution in Three States and Downwind Communities

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that Dominion Energy has agreed to pay a $3.4 million civil penalty and spend approximately $9.8 million on environmental mitigation projects to resolve Clean Air Act (CAA) violations.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Virginia Nurse Sentenced to Federal Prison for Tax Fraud

Jeffrey Charles, a resident of Grimstead, Va., was sentenced today to serve 46 months in federal prison for conspiring with his daughter and son-in-law to defraud the United States, aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns in his daughter’s name, and filing a false tax return in his own name.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Former U.S. Army Captain Sentenced in Oklahoma City to 23 Months in Prison for Conspiracy to Accept Illegal Gratuities

A former U.S. Army Captain was sentenced today in Oklahoma City to serve 23 months in prison for conspiracy to accept thousands of dollars in gratuities from contractors during his deployment to Baghdad, Iraq.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Patient Recruiter for Miami Home Health Company Sentenced to 36 Months in $20 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

A patient recruiter for a Miami health care company was sentenced today to serve 36 months in prison for his participation in a $20 million home health Medicare fraud scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Former Defense Department Contract Employee Sentenced to 35 Months in Prison for Participating in Corruption Scheme at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait

A former contract employee of the U.S. Defense Department (DoD) was sentenced today to serve 35 months in prison for his participation in a bribery and money laundering scheme arising from corruption in the award of defense contracts at Camp Arifjan, an Army base in Kuwait.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Intermountain Health Care Inc. Pays U.S. $25.5 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations

Intermountain Health Care Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $25.5 million to settle claims that it violated the Stark Statute and the False Claims Act by engaging in improper financial relationships with referring physicians.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Settlement with Tyson Foods to Address Multiple Releases of Anhydrous Ammonia

The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a Clean Air Act (CAA) settlement with Tyson Foods Inc. and several of its affiliate corporations to address threats of accidental chemical releases after anhydrous ammonia was released during incidents at facilities in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska, resulting in multiple injuries, property damage and one fatality.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Service Members to Receive $39 Million for Violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

The Justice Department announced today that under its 2011 settlements with BAC Home Loans Servicing LP, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation, and Saxon Mortgage Servicing Inc., a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, 316 service members whose homes were unlawfully foreclosed upon between 2006 and 2010 are due to receive over $39 million in monetary relief for alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Justice Department Reaches Multiple Settlements with Health Care Providers to Stop Discrimination Against Persons with Hearing Disabilities

The Justice Department announced today that, as part of its Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, over the past year it has reached seven settlements with eight health care providers from across the United States to ensure that they are providing effective communication to people who are deaf or have hearing disabilities.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

International Credit Card Trafficker Sentenced to 88 Months in Prison

Vladislav Anatolievich Horohorin, aka “BadB,” was sentenced today to serve 88 months in prison for trafficking in millions of stolen credit and debit cards and for his role in the theft of more than $9 million dollars from an Atlanta-based credit card processor.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Miami-Based Health Care Clinic and Its Owners and Operators Sentenced for $50 Million Fraud Scheme

The owners and operators of Biscayne Milieu, a Miami-based mental-health clinic, and the clinic itself were sentenced today for their participation in a Medicare fraud scheme involving the submission of more than $50 million in fraudulent billings to Medicare.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Chinese Business Executive Convicted for Illegal Trade in Rhino Horn

Shusen Wei, 45, a citizen of China, pleaded guilty today in Miami federal court to charges stemming from his involvement in the smuggling of a carved rhinoceros horn from the United States to China.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

District Court Enters Permanent Injunction Against Houston-Based Producer of Egg Rolls and Other Foods

U.S. District Court Judge Melinda Harmon entered an order of permanent injunction against Chung’s Products LP, a Houston-based producer of egg rolls and other foods, Charlie A. Kujawa, Chung’s president of operations, and Gregory S. Birdsell, Chung’s former director of quality assurance.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Justice Department Requires Divestiture in Merger of Ecolab Inc. and Permian Mud Service Inc.

The Department of Justice has reached a settlement that will require Ecolab Inc. and Permian Mud Service Inc. to divest assets used by Permian’s subsidiary, Champion Technologies Inc., to provide production chemical management services in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in order to proceed with their proposed merger.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Founder and President of Labor Union Sentenced to 76 Months for Stealing from Union’s Treasury and Pension Fund

The founder and president of the National Association of Special Police and Security Officers (NASPSO) was sentenced to 76 months in prison today for stealing union treasury and pension funds.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

New Jersey Return Preparer Pleads Guilty to Corruptly Endeavoring to Obstruct the IRS and Preparing False Tax Return

Eric Majette, 52, a tax return preparer and owner and operator of the Berrisford Group, located in Somerville, N.J., pleaded guilty today to corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue laws and to preparing a false tax return.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Justice Department Settles Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim Against Property Management Company

The Justice Department today reached an agreement with Milestone Management Company, a nationwide residential property management firm headquartered in Dallas, resolving claims that the staffing company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Former Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Indicted in Texas for Role in Records Falsification Scheme

A former U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS-OIG) special agent in charge and another special agent were indicted in the Southern District of Texas late yesterday for their roles in a scheme to falsify records and to obstruct an internal field office inspection.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the White House Gun Safety Event

"I recognize, as you do, that there’s no single prescription for addressing these challenges and confronting their underlying causes. But I also know that those whose lives have been impacted by gun violence – the victims and the survivors – are depending on us," said Attorney General Holder.




se

Justice Department Settles Race and National Origin Lawsuit Against Lee County, Florida

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement with Lee County, Fla. that, if approved by the district court, will resolve allegations that the county discriminated against three Hispanic employees on the basis of race and national origin in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Mo’ Money Taxes Return-Preparation Firm and Its Owners

The United States has filed a civil injunction lawsuit seeking to shut down Mo’ Money Taxes, a Memphis, Tenn., based tax-preparation chain that at one time operated as many as 300 offices in 18 states.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Fifty-Seven Charged with Operating Illegal Online Sports Gaming Business

Thirty-four individuals and 23 entities have been indicted and accused of operating an illegal sports bookmaking business that solicited more than $1 billion in illegal bets.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Member of Internet Piracy Group “IMAGiNE” Sentenced in Virginia to 23 Months in Prison for Criminal Copyright Conspiracy

A member of the Internet piracy group “IMAGiNE” was sentenced today to serve 23 months in prison.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Assistant Attorney General for Administration Lee J. Lofthus Testifies Before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations

"The Department of Justice continuously and rigorously seeks ways to operate more efficiently and cost effectively, so that our funds are available for the critical national security and law enforcement activities that impact the Nation," said Assistant Attorney General Lofthus.




se

Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division Kathryn Keneally Testifies Before the Senate Special Committee on Aging

"The prosecution of SIRF crimes is a national priority, and, together with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to look for the most effective ways to bring this conduct to an end and to punish these wrongdoers," said Assistant Attorney General Keneally.




se

Former Regional Director of Federal Protective Service Pleads Guilty to Accepting Bribes from Government Contractor

Derek Matthews, 46, of Harwood, Md., pleaded guilty today to accepting bribes from a government contracting company in exchange for using his position to help the company find and win contracts.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Canadian Citizen Pleads Guilty in Connection with Costa Rica-Based Business Opportunity Fraud Ventures

Kerry Michael Deevy pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami to 13 counts of an indictment pending against him, including one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, and nine counts of wire fraud.



  • OPA Press Releases

se

Former New Jersey Resident Convicted of Preparing False Tax Return

Ashraf Hassan-Gouda, a former resident of Mays Landing, N.J., pleaded guilty to one count of assisting in the preparation of a false federal individual income tax return.



  • OPA Press Releases