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Justice Department Settles with Ohio Hospital Over HIV Discrimination

The Justice Department announced today that, as part of its Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, it has reached a settlement with Glenbeigh Hospital of Rock Creek, Ohio, under the Americans with Disabilities Act.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Initiative Announcement

"This morning, I’m proud to join Vice President Biden in unveiling the first-ever Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Demonstration Initiative grant awards – through which the Justice Department will distribute a total of $2.3 million to 12 cities and counties to support innovative programs dedicated to predicting potentially lethal behavior, stopping the escalation of violence, and saving lives," said Attorney General Holder.




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Office of Information Policy Director Melanie Ann Pustay Testifies Before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

"I am very pleased to report to you today that based on our initial review of both the 2013 Chief FOIA Officer Reports and agency Annual FOIA Reports for Fiscal Year 2012, agencies have continued to take concrete steps to improve their FOIA administration," said Director Pustay.




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Federal Court Permanently Bars Michigan Woman from Preparing Tax Returns Claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit

A federal court has permanently barred Crystal Ireland, of Detroit, who does business as Master Mind Preparation, from preparing federal tax returns that claim the earned income tax credit.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Teva Pharmaceuticals USA to Pay $2.25 Million Civil Penalty for Air, Water and Hazardous Waste Violations at Missouri Facility

Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. has agreed to pay a $2.25 million civil penalty to settle alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act (CAA), Clean Water Act (CWA), and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as well as the Missouri Air Conservation Law, Clean Water Law and Hazardous Waste Management Law at its facility in Mexico, Mo.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Web Producer Indicted in California for Conspiring with “Anonymous” Members to Attack Internet News Site

A former web producer for a Tribune Company-owned television station in Sacramento, Calif., was charged today in an indictment for allegedly conspiring with members of the hacker group “Anonymous” to hack into and alter a Tribune Company website.



  • OPA Press Releases

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U.S. and City of New Orleans to Hold Public Meetings to Select Consent Decree Monitor for the New Orleans Police Department

The United States and the city of New Orleans announced today that public meetings would be held regarding a consent decree court monitor for the New Orleans Police Department.



  • OPA Press Releases

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United States to Accept Concurrent Jurisdiction Over White Earth Reservation in Minnesota

The Department of Justice has granted a request by the White Earth Nation for the United States to assume concurrent criminal jurisdiction on the 1,300 square mile White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Two California Men Charged in Boston with Computer Hacking in Connection with Gift Card Fraud Scheme

Two California men have been charged in an indictment unsealed today in Boston with remotely hacking into merchants’ computerized cash registers in order to obtain fraudulent gift cards.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department to Monitor Elections in South Carolina and Port Chester, New York

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor elections on March 19, 2013, in Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Counties, S.C., and in the village of Port Chester, N.Y.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Security Contractors Plead Guilty in Virginia to Illegally Obtaining $31 Million from Contracts Intended for Disadvantaged Small Businesses

Executives at two Arlington, Va.-based businesses have pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining more than $31 million in government contract payments that should have gone to disadvantaged small businesses.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Acting Senior Counselor for the Access to Justice Initiative Deborah Leff Speaks at the Texas Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright

"Clarence Earl Gideon made a difference. Now it is up to every one of us to make his vision – and the words of the U.S. Supreme Court in his case – a reality. You have started on that path here in Texas," said Acting Senior Counselor Leff.




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Justice Department Settles with Georgia School District to Re-Zone Schools and Ensure Desegregation

The Department of Justice announced last week that it has entered into a settlement agreement with the McDuffie County Schools in Georgia to modify the zoning of the district’s elementary schools and ensure the school district complies with other obligations to desegregate its schools in the areas of student assignment, faculty recruiting and assignment and transportation.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Acting Assistant Attorney General Elana Tyrangiel Testifies Before the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations

"As technology continues to advance, ECPA’s importance to both criminal and civil law enforcement will only increase," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tyrangiel.




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Dual U.S.-Costa Rican Citizen Pleads Guilty in Connection with Costa Rica-based Business Opportunity Fraud Ventures

Sean Rosales pleaded guilty in Miami federal court to one count of an indictment pending against him, charging conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Hospice of Arizona and Related Entities Pay $12 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

Hospice of Arizona L.C., along with a related entity, American Hospice Management LLC, and their parent corporation, American Hospice Management Holdings LLC, have agreed to pay $12 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting or causing the submission of false claims to the Medicare program for ineligible hospice services.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Reaches Agreement with California City on Bailout Under the Voting Rights Act

The Justice Department announced that it has reached an agreement with the city of Wheatland, Calif., that, if approved by the court, will allow it to bail out from its status as a “covered jurisdiction” under the special provisions of the Voting Rights Act, and thereby exempt the city from the preclearance requirements of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.



  • OPA Press Releases

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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

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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

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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

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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.




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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Justice Department to Monitor Elections in Kansas and Nebraska

The Justice Department announced today that the Civil Rights Division will monitor elections on April 2, 2013, in Finney County, Kan., and Douglas County, Neb. The monitoring will ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other federal voting rights statutes.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Sheriff’s Deputy Indicted for Civil Rights, Bank Fraud, Computer Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft and Obstruction of Justice Violations

An indictment against former Jefferson Parish, La., Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Hebert, 48, was announced today by Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; Dana J. Boente, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana; Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI New Orleans Field Office; and Sheriff Newell Normand from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.



  • OPA Press Releases

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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

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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

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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

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Justice Department Announces the Successful Resolution of Its Agreement with the Orange County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office

The United States announced today that the Orange County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) has successfully implemented an agreement on the use of electronic control weapons, commonly referred to as Tasers.



  • OPA Press Releases

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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

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Doreen Alexander Extradited to the United States to Face Kidnapping Charges

Doreen Alexander has been extradited to the United States from Trinidad and Tobago to face charges related to her alleged role in the 2005 kidnapping of naturalized U.S. citizen Balram “Balo” Maharaj.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Detroit-Area Home Health Agency Owner and Physical Therapist Convicted in $2.3 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

A federal jury in Detroit today convicted a home health agency owner and a physical therapist for their participation in a $2.3 million Medicare fraud scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

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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

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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

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Two Former Roxbury Correctional Officers Plead Guilty in Connection with Assault of an Inmate

Walter Scott Steele, a former correctional officer at Roxbury Correctional Institution (RCI), and Lanny Harris, a former correction sergeant at RCI in Hagerstown, Md., pleaded guilty today in relation to assaults against an inmate on March 9, 2008.



  • OPA Press Releases

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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

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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

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Four Former Executives of Lufthansa Subsidiary Bizjet Charged with Foreign Bribery

Charges were unsealed today against four former executives of BizJet International Sales and Support Inc., the U.S.-based subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik AG, which provides aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, for their alleged participation in a scheme to pay bribes to government officials in Latin America.



  • OPA Press Releases

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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

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Former Federal Fugitive Pleads Guilty in California to Massive Fraud and Identity Theft Scheme in Connection with Nationwide Foreclosure Scam

A former Los Angeles resident, who fled to Canada and was a federal fugitive for 12 years, pleaded guilty today to aggravated identity theft and bankruptcy fraud in connection with leading a nearly 15-year foreclosure-rescue scam that fraudulently postponed foreclosure sales for more than 800 distressed homeowners.



  • OPA Press Releases

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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

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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.




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Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission Accountable Care Organization Working Group Issues Summary of Activities

The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission issued a joint summary of the activities of the Accountable Care Organization Working Group, which took place between October 2011 and March 31, 2013.



  • OPA Press Releases

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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

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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