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Former Employee and Contractors of Florida Property Management Company Indicted in Illinois for Conspiracy to Commit Bribery and Wire Fraud

A Rockford, Ill., grand jury today indicted a former residential sales manager and two former contractors of a Florida property management company in connection with housing repair contracts for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.



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Justice Department Asks Federal Court to Shut Down Louisiana Tax Preparer

The United States has sued Larry Carnell Dixon Sr., seeking to bar him and his business, Dixon’s Tax Service, from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.



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Third Springfield, Massachusetts, Man Sentenced to Prison for Arson of African-American Church

Thomas Gleason, 24, was sentenced today in federal court for his role in the arson of the predominately African-American Macedonia Church of God in Christ just hours after the election of President Barack Obama.



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Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson Speaks at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Criminal and Social Justice Committee Meeting

"At the Department of Justice, we know protecting communities falls on your shoulders. Most crime, we know, is handled by local law enforcement, local prosecutors, and local judges, not to mention their local allies outside the justice system," said Assistant Attorney General Robinson.




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Co-Founder of NinjaVideo.net Website Sentenced in Virginia to 14 Months in Prison for Criminal Copyright Conspiracy

Matthew David Howard Smith, 24, of Raleigh, N.C., was sentenced today in Alexandria, Va., to 14 months in prison for his role in founding NinjaVideo.net, a website that provided millions of users with the ability to illegally download high-quality copies of copyright-protected movies and television programs.



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US Army Sergeant Major and Former Sergeant Sentenced to Prison for Bribery Conspiracy at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan

Former Sergeant Charles O. Finch, 45, of Milalani, Hawaii, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi in the District of Hawaii to 51 months in prison and three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution to the Department of Defense.



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Former CIA Officer John Kiriakou Charged with Disclosing Covert Officer’s Identity and Other Classified Information to Journalists and Lying to CIA’s Publications Review Board

A former CIA officer, John Kiriakou, was charged today with repeatedly disclosing classified information to journalists, including the name of a covert CIA officer and information revealing the role of another CIA employee in classified activities.



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Acting Assistant Attorney General Pozen Announces Departure from Antitrust Division

Acting Assistant Attorney General Sharis A. Pozen announced her resignation from the Department of Justice today, effective as of April 30, 2012.



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Michigan Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Participating in International Child Pornography Ring and Producing Child Pornography

Joshua Boras of Lapeer, Mich., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips.



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Owner of Alabama Tax Business Sentenced to More Than 15 Years in Prison for Identity Theft and Tax Fraud Scheme

Marsha Elmore of Wetumpka, Ala., the owner of a tax preparation business called Community Tax, was sentenced today to 184 months in prison, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.



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Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez Speaks at the East Haven Police Department Indictment Announcement

Police officers are supposed to protect and serve, and the indictment alleges that the officers abused their power, and then added insult to injury by intimidating witnesses and creating a climate of fear.




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Massachusetts Financial Advisor Convicted of Tax Crimes and Contempt

A jury convicted Attleboro, Mass., licensed stockbroker, insurance agent and financial advisor Kevin P. Mahoney today on tax and contempt of court charges, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.



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Justice Department Obtains Comprehensive ADA Agreement Regarding the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Developmental Disabilities System

The Justice Department today announced that it has entered into a comprehensive settlement agreement that will transform the Commonwealth of Virginia’s system for serving people with developmental disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, and will resolve violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.



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American Samoa Department of Education Official Convicted by Federal Jury in District of Columbia of Witness Tampering and Obstruction of Justice

The director of the school lunch program for the government of the U.S. Territory of American Samoa was convicted today in relation to his efforts to obstruct a federal grand jury and law enforcement investigation into a bribery scheme.



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Patient Recruiter Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison in Connection with $5.4 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

Santiago Villa-Restrepo, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow of the Eastern District of Michigan.



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Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez Speaks on Virginia ADA Settlement Call

"We expand opportunities in a wide range of areas, and today's agreement provides opportunity that will transform the Commonwealth of Virginia's system for delivering services to individuals with developmental disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, and improve the lives of thousands of Virginians with developmental disabilities," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.




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Former Owner of Florida-Based Airline Services Company Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Defraud Illinois-Based Ryan International Airlines

A former owner and operator of a Florida-based airline services company was sentenced today to serve 24 months in prison and to pay restitution for conspiring to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud in a kickback scheme to defraud Ryan International Airlines.



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Former United Nations Employee Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison

Jeffery K. Armstrong, 52, of South Riding, Va., was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for obtaining more than $100,000 in salary payments by fraudulently holding concurrent jobs at the United Nations (U.N.) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).



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Arkansas Man Sentenced for His Role in the Firebombing of Interracial Couple’s Home

Barnwell, 37, of Evening Shade, Ark., was sentenced in Little Rock, Ark., for his involvement in firebombing the residence of an interracial couple.



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Memphis Man Sentenced for Interstate Transportation for Purpose of Prostitution in Connection with Sex Trafficking Scheme

Charles Kizer, 53, from Memphis, Tenn., was sentenced late Friday by U.S. District Judge Samuel H. Mays, Jr. to 10 years in prison for violating the Mann Act.



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Former Suburban Massage Parlor Operator Convicted of Human Trafficking of Four Women in Illinois

A federal jury today convicted Alex Campbell, 45, a northwest Chicago suburban massage parlor owner, of various federal crimes including sex-trafficking, forced labor, harboring illegal aliens, confiscating passports to further forced labor and extortion involving four foreign women whom he mentally and physically abused while forcing them to work for him between July 2008 and January 2010.



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Ohio Man Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for His Participation in an Online Child Pornography Bulletin Board

Billy Wade Carroll of Dayton, Ohio, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips.



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Acting Assistant Attorney General Sharis A. Pozen Speaks at the Briefing on Department’s Enforcement Action in Auto Parts Industry

"The auto parts investigation is the largest criminal investigation the Antitrust Division has ever pursued, both in terms of its scope and the potential volume of commerce affected by the alleged illegal conduct," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Pozen.




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Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez Speaks at the National Association of Secretaries of State 2012 Conference

"Whether ensuring that our military voters and civilians serving overseas have the right to register and vote absentee, ensuring individuals are not denied the franchise because of their race or the language they speak, or ensuring that covered states are following federal requirements for providing opportunities to register to vote at designated offices and administering voter lists, our work to protect voting rights is among our most important," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.




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South San Francisco Food Processing Factory Will Pay Nearly $700,000 in Penalties, Spend $6 Million to Update Refrigeration System Safety

Columbus Manufacturing Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Columbus Foods LLC, has agreed to pay a penalty and make significant upgrades to settle Clean Air Act violations.



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Virginia Contractor Sentenced to Serve 37 Months in Prison for Kickback Scheme and Failure to File Tax Return

A Virginia contractor was sentenced today to serve 37 months in prison for participating in a scheme to steer contracts to him for repair, maintenance and renovation work at healthcare and nursing home facilities owned by Medical Facilities of America Inc.



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Justice Department Charges St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana for Limited Rental Housing Opportunities for African-Americans

The Department of Justice today filed a lawsuit against St. Bernard Parish, La., alleging that the parish violated the Fair Housing Act by engaging in a multi-year campaign to limit rental housing opportunities for African-Americans in the parish.



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Fort Lauderdale, Florida-Area Halfway House Owner Sentenced to 28 Months in Prison for Participating in Medicare Fraud Kickback Scheme

Natalie Evans, 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez in the Southern District of Florida.



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Patient Recruiter Pleads Guilty in Louisiana Health Care Fraud Scheme

Fred D. Belcher, 61, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of the Middle District of Louisiana to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.



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Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson Speaks at the International Conference of Community Courts

"And I want to thank all of you for your commitment to the ideals and principles represented by community courts. These principles – engaging the community, addressing offender behaviors, reducing crime, and ensuring fairness – these have become cardinal tenets of an effective system of justice," said Assistant Attorney General Robinson.




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Assistant Attorney General Tony West Speaks at the 25th Anniversary of the False Claims Act Amendments of 1986

"Our primary weapon for deterring and redressing fraud is the False Claims Act, which makes it illegal to submit fraudulent claims to the government," said Assistant Attorney General West.




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Department of Justice Reaches Settlement with Mercer County School District in West Virginia to Ensure Equal Opportunities for ELL Students

The three-year settlement agreement will ensure that this rural district takes appropriate action to serve its small but growing and widely dispersed ELL population.



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Justice Department Settles Americans with Disabilities Act Lawsuit with Michigan’s Henry Ford Health System

The Justice Department has reached a settlement with the Henry Ford Health System to ensure effective communication with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing in the provision of medical services.



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Swiss Bank Indicted on U.S. Tax Charges

Wegelin & Co., a Swiss private bank, was indicted today for conspiring with U.S. taxpayers and others to hide more than $1.2 billion in secret accounts and the income these accounts generated from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Justice Department announced today.



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Missouri Woman Pleads Guilty for Role in the Vandalism and Arson of a Mobile Home

Teresa Witthar, 43, of Independence, Mo., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Kansas City to federal hate crime charges in connection with the vandalism and arson of a bi-racial man’s mobile home in 2006.



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Nine Indicted for Conspiring to Distribute, Receive and Possess Child Pornography

Nine men have been indicted in the Western District of Virginia for allegedly conspiring to receive, distribute, possess and access with intent to view child pornography/



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Hungarian Citizen Sentenced in Maryland to 30 Months in Prison for Hacking into Marriott Computers to Extort Employment from the Company

Attila Nemeth, 26, a Hungarian citizen, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz to 30 months in prison for transmitting a malicious code to Marriott International Corporation computers and threatening to reveal confidential information obtained from the company’s computers if Marriott did not offer him a job.



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Louisiana Medical Equipment Company Owner Pleads Guilty in $21 Million Fraud Scheme

Chikenna D. Jones, 36, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of the Middle District of Louisiana to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks.



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Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Lee County, Florida, for Race and National Origin Discrimination

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers, Fla., alleges that Lee County discriminated against tradesworkers Marco Ferreira, Eduardo Rivera and Leonides Sepulveda by subjecting them to racial and ethnic harassment over a period of approximately two years beginning in 2007 and ending in 2009.



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Former U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Sentenced to Prison for Role in Scheme to Steal Military Equipment in Iraq

A former U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) gunnery sergeant was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for conspiring to steal at least 55 electrical generators from USMC bases in Iraq in 2008.



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Californian Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Evading More Than $150,000 in Taxes

William H. Nurick, of Camarillo, Cal., was sentenced to 60 months in prison and ordered to pay $286,443 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer in Los Angeles, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.



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Louisiana Patient Recruiter Pleads Guilty in Health Care Fraud Scheme

Rodney D. Taylor, 45, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of the Middle District of Louisiana to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks.



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Nebraska Man Pleads Guilty for Fraudulently Seeking Corrupt Payments in Return for Promising to Obtain Reduction in Associate’s Prison Sentence

Austin Galvan, 30, was charged in a two-count indictment unsealed on Aug. 29, 2011, with wire fraud and obstruction of justice.



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Los Angeles Man Sentenced to 77 Months in Prison for Medicare Fraud Scheme Resulting in More Than $18.9 Million in Fraudulent Claims to Medicare

Eduard Aslanyan, 38, of Sherman Oaks, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall in the Central District of California.



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Three Men Sentenced for Attempting to Intimidate African-American Students at a Louisiana Middle School

U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Hayes sentenced James Lee Wallis Jr. to eight months in prison, Tony L. Johnson to six months in prison and Brian Wallis to five months in prison.



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Assistant Attorney General Tony West Speaks at the American Constitution Society Southeast Symposium on State Immigration Laws

"In many ways, there is no better proof that comprehensive immigration reform is long overdue than these state statutes. People are understandably frustrated with our broken immigration system, and some states have turned to “self-help” measures like enacting these local statutes," said Assistant Attorney General West.




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Florida Resident Sentenced to Year in Prison in Connection with Selling Fraudulent Business Opportunities to Consumers

James Cummings, a resident of Boca Raton, Fla., has been sentenced for committing fraud in connection with a coffee machine business opportunity scheme, the Justice Department and U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced today.



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Assistant Administrator of Houston Hospital Indicted for Alleged Role in $116 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

An indictment filed in the Southern District of Texas and unsealed today charges Mohammed Khan, 62, of Houston, with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks and five counts of paying or offering to pay health care kickbacks.



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Justice Department Signs Agreement with the City of Humboldt, Kansas, to Ensure Civic Access for People with Disabilities

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the city of Humboldt, Kan., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for individuals with disabilities.



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Justice Department Dismisses Antitrust Lawsuit Against Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext

The Department of Justice today filed a notice with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to dismiss its antitrust lawsuit regarding the potential merger of Deutsche Börse AG and NYSE Euronext.



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