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Security Contractor Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Role as Figurehead Owner in $31 Million Small Business Fraud Scheme

The chief executive officer of a Virginia-based security contracting firm was sentenced today to serve four years in prison for serving as a figurehead owner of a front company created to obtain more than $31 million intended for disadvantaged small businesses through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Section 8(a) program, which allows qualified small businesses to receive sole-source and competitive-bid contracts set aside for minority-owned and disadvantaged small businesses.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Statement of Attorney General Eric Holder on the Implementation of the Supreme Court’s Decision in United States v. Windsor

Attorney General Eric Holder today issued the following statement regarding the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance to Federal agencies.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Executives from Miami-Area Mental Health Care Hospital Convicted for Participating in $70 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

A federal jury today convicted four individuals for their participation in a Medicare fraud scheme involving nearly $70 million in fraudulent billings by Hollywood Pavilion (HP), a mental health care hospital.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Los Angeles-Area Doctor and Patient Recruiter Plead Guilty to Participating in a Power Wheelchair Scheme That Defrauded Medicare of Over $10.1 Million

A Los Angeles-area doctor and a patient recruiter pleaded guilty today for their roles in a power wheelchair fraud scheme that defrauded Medicare of over $10.1 million.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Files Fair Housing Lawsuit Against Owners and Managers of Rental Homes in Washington State for Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the owners and managers of rental homes in and near Kelso and Longview, Wash., for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against persons with disabilities.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Fifty-Five Hospitals to Pay U.S. More Than $34 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Related to Kyphoplasty

Fifty-five hospitals located throughout twenty-one states have agreed to pay the United States a total of more than $34 million to settle allegations that the health care facilities submitted false claims to Medicare for kyphoplasty procedures.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Barry Diller to Pay $480,000 Civil Penalty for Violating Antitrust Premerger Notification Requirements

Corporate investor Barry Diller will pay a $480,000 civil penalty to settle charges that he violated premerger reporting and waiting requirements when he acquired voting securities of The Coca Cola Company.



  • OPA Press Releases

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

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with Vincent Porcaro Inc. (VPI) resolving allegations that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).



  • OPA Press Releases

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U.S.Postal Service Mail Carrier Convicted for Involvement with Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Conspiracy

A jury found Vernon Harrison, of Montgomery, Ala., guilty of one count of conspiring to file false claims, eight counts of mail fraud, eight counts of aggravated identity theft and six counts of embezzlement from the U.S. mail.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Enters into Memorandum of Understanding with National Labor Relations Board

The Justice Department announced today that the Civil Rights Division’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Labor Relations Board.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Statement on Meeting with European Union

This morning the Department of Justice hosted the initial meeting in the U.S.-E.U./E.U. Member State dialogue on intelligence practices.



  • OPA Press Releases

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US Joins False Claims Act Lawsuit Alleging Illegal Physician Compensation by Mobile, Ala., Health Firm

The government has intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit against Infirmary Health System Inc. and its related entities: IMC-Diagnostic and Medical Clinic P.C., Diagnostic Physicians Group P.C. and Infirmary Medical Clinics P.C.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Releases Investigative Findings on the City of Miami Police Department and Officer-involved Shootings

Following a comprehensive investigation, the Justice Department today released its letter of findings determining that the city of Miami Police Department (MPD) has engaged in a pattern or practice of excessive use of force through officer-involved shootings in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Iraqi Company Business Manager Pleads Guilty in Texas to Illegal Gratuities Scheme

A business manager for an Iraqi company pleaded guilty today to giving thousands of dollars in illegal gratuities to a U.S. pay agent from contractors while the business manager was in Iraq, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Issues Statement on U.S. District Court Ruling That Apple Violated Antitrust Laws

"After carefully weighing the evidence, the court agreed with the Justice Department and 33 state attorneys general that executives at the highest levels of Apple orchestrated a conspiracy with five major publishers – Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & to raise e-book prices."



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Against Erie County, N.Y., Over Disability Discrimination

The Justice Department today announced it filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York against Erie County, N.Y., alleging that the county discriminated against an employee with a disability.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Releases Educational Video About Discrimination in Employment Eligibility Verification

The Justice Department announced today the launch of a new educational video to assist employers in avoiding charges of discrimination in the employment eligibility verification form I-9 process and in the use of E-Verify.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for Sex Discrimination

The Department of Justice announced today the filing of a lawsuit, against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), alleging that CDCR discriminated against Joe B. Cummings on the basis of his sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Massachusetts Man Charged with Selling Counterfeit Semiconductors Intended for Use on Nuclear Submarines

Peter Picone, 40, of Methuen, Mass., has been charged with importing counterfeit semiconductors from China for sale in the United States.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Pennsylvania Man Sentenced for Terrorist Solicitation and Firearms Offense

Emerson Winfield Begolly, 22, of New Bethlehem, Penn., was sentenced today in Pittsburgh to 102 months in prison for soliciting others to engage in acts of terrorism within the United States and for using a firearm during and in relation to an assault on FBI agents.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Seven Defendants in Mortgage Origination Fraud Scheme Indicted for Bank Fraud Conspiracy Along with Other Charges

The Justice Department announced that seven defendants were arrested and arraigned today for their roles in a mortgage fraud conspiracy that operated in Detroit.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Enters into Far-reaching Agreement with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to Reform the Puerto Rico Police Department

he Justice Department today entered into a sweeping civil rights agreement with the commonwealth of Puerto Rico to modernize and reform the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD).



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former CEO and Former CFO of ArthroCare Corp. Charged with Orchestrating $400 Million Securities Fraud Scheme

The former chief executive officer and former chief financial officer of ArthroCare Corp., a publicly traded medical device company based in Austin, Texas, were charged for their alleged leading roles in a $400 million scheme to defraud the company’s shareholders and members of the investing public by falsely inflating ArthroCare’s earnings by tens of millions of dollars, announced Acting Assistant Attorney Mythili Raman of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman of the Western District of Texas.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer and Four Associates Sentenced for Carrying out Bribery and Alien Smuggling Activities Along Mexican Border

A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer, his girlfriend, his nephew and two of their associates were sentenced today in federal court for their participation in bribery and alien smuggling activities along the U.S./Mexico border spanning approximately two years, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.



  • OPA Press Releases

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United States Reaches an Agreement with XTO Energy to Prevent Waste Spills from Natural Gas Exploration and Production

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement with XTO Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation, to resolve an alleged violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) related to the discharge of wastewater from XTO’s Penn Township, Lycoming County, Pa. facility used for the storage of wastewater generated by natural gas exploration, commonly known as fracking, and production.



  • OPA Press Releases

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US Army Sergeant Pleads Guilty in Georgia to Stealing Identity Information from US Army Computer System

Ammie Brothers, 29, of Columbus, Ga., a sergeant in the U.S. Army, pleaded guilty today to unlawfully obtaining personal information from the U.S. Army’s Army Knowledge Online computer system.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Six Colombian Nationals Charged with Murder of DEA Agent

Six Colombian nationals were indicted today by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia for the kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent James Terry Watson.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Louisiana Stolen Identity Tax Refund Fraud Defendant Sentenced to Federal Prison

The Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that Angela Myers, a resident of Baton Rouge, La., was sentenced today in the Middle District of Louisiana to 132 months in federal prison for wire fraud, making false claims, subscribing to false tax returns and aggravated identity theft.



  • OPA Press Releases

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U.S. Intervenes in False Claims Act Lawsuit Against Fla. Home Health Care Company and Its Owner

The government has intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit against A Plus Home Health Care, Inc., a home health care company in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and its owner, Tracy Nemerofsky.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Signs Agreement with the Town of Poestenkill, N.Y., to Ensure Civic Access for People with Disabilities

The Justice Department announced today an agreement with the town of Poestenkill, N.Y., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against the State of Florida for Unnecessarily Segregating Children with Disabilities

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the state of Florida alleging the state is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in its administration of its service system for children with significant medical needs, resulting in nearly 200 children with disabilities being unnecessarily segregated in nursing facilities when they could be served in their family homes or other community-based settings.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against the Puerto Rico Police Department for Race, Color and Religious Discrimination

The Department of Justice announced today the filing of a lawsuit against the Puerto Rico Police Department PRPD) alleging that the PRPD discriminated against Yolanda Carrasquillo on the basis of race, color and religion in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (Title VII).



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Senior Executive of ArthroCare Corp. Pleads Guilty in $400 Million Securities Fraud Scheme

A former senior executive of ArthroCare Corp., a publicly traded medical device company based in Austin, Texas, pleaded guilty for his role in a scheme to defraud the company’s shareholders and members of the investing public by falsely inflating ArthroCare’s earnings, announced Acting Assistant Attorney Mythili Raman of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman of the Western District of Texas. The plea was taken under seal on June 24, 2013, and unsealed late yesterday.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Obtains Comprehensive Agreement to Ensure New York City Adult Home Residents with Mental Illness Are Afforded Opportunities to Live in the Community

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced today that they, along with plaintiff adult home residents, entered into a comprehensive settlement agreement with the state of New York under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Settles with Louisiana Tech University Over Inaccessible Course Materials

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement with Louisiana Tech University and the Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System to remedy alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).



  • OPA Press Releases

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San Antonio Agrees to $1.1 Billion Upgrade of Sewer Systems to Comply with Clean Water Act

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) has agreed to make significant upgrades to reduce overflows from its sewer system and pay a $2.6 million civil penalty to resolve Clean Water Act (CWA) violations stemming from illegal discharges of raw sewage. The state of Texas is a co-plaintiff in this case and will receive half of the civil penalty.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Government Seizes Dietary Supplements Containing Unsafe Food Additive in Three States

The Department of Justice has favorably resolved three actions it filed in Arizona, Pennsylvania and South Carolina, to seize and condemn dietary supplements containing the unsafe food additive 1,3-dimethylamylamine, commonly known as DMAA, an amphetamine-like stimulant that has been linked to at least 86 adverse health events.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Philadelphia Money Launderer Pleads Guilty in Connection with Brooklyn Medicare Fraud Scheme

A Philadelphia resident pleaded guilty today for his role as a money launderer in a $13 million health care fraud scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

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United States Reaches Agreement with Arcadia, California, School District to Resolve Sex Discrimination Allegations

The United States entered into a settlement agreement with the Arcadia Unified School District in Arcadia, Calif., to resolve an investigation into allegations of discrimination against a transgender student based on the student’s sex.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Attorney General Eric Holder Welcomes the Confirmation of Tony West as the Associate Attorney General of the United States

Attorney General Eric Holder today welcomed the confirmation by the U.S. Senate of Tony West as the Department of Justice’s Associate Attorney General.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Halliburton Agrees to Plead Guilty to Destruction of Evidence in Connection with Deepwater Horizon Tragedy

Halliburton Energy Services Inc. has agreed to plead guilty to destroying evidence in connection with the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Department of Justice announced today. A criminal information charging Halliburton with one count of destruction of evidence was filed today in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Dubuis Health System and Southern Crescent Hospital for Specialty Care, Inc. to Pay U.S. $8 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

Dubuis Health System and Southern Crescent Hospital for Specialty Care, Inc. (Southern Crescent) have agreed to pay the United States $8,000,000 to settle allegations that they submitted false claims to Medicare, the Justice Department announced today. Dubuis Health System manages long-term acute care hospitals in multiple states, including Southern Crescent. Southern Crescent is a long-term acute care hospital located in Riverdale, GA and is part of the CHRISTUS Health System.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Settles with Bariatric Clinic in Michigan and Pennsylvania Over HIV Discrimination

The Justice Department announced today that, as part of its Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, it has reached a settlement with Barix Clinics under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).



  • OPA Press Releases

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Two Louisiana Men Indicted for Threatening to Retaliate Against a Witness in a Federal Tax Trial

The Justice Department announced today that a federal grand jury in Baton Rouge, La., returned an indictment yesterday charging Anthony Williams and Bobby Riley with conspiring to threaten to retaliate against a witness in a federal trial, threatening to retaliate against a witness in a federal trial and making false statements to federal agents.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Vermont Man Charged with Obtaining U.S. Citizenship by Failing to Disclose Violent Crimes Committed During the Bosnian Conflict

Edin Sakoc, 54, of Burlington, Vt., was arrested today on charges that he obtained his naturalized citizenship through fraud by failing to disclose his prior acts of persecution and crimes committed during the Bosnian conflict, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Tristram J. Coffin of the District of Vermont, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge in Boston Bruce M. Foucart and Special Agent in Charge Andrew W. Vale of the FBI’s Albany, N.Y., Field Office.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Federal Courts Authorize Service of John Doe Summonses Seeking Identities of Persons Using Payment Cards in Norway

The Justice Department announced that federal courts in Minnesota, Texas, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Virginia and California have entered orders over the past week authorizing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to serve John Doe summonses on certain U.S. banks and financial institutions, seeking information about persons who have used specific credit or debit cards in Norway.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Vero Beach, Fla. Doctor and Medical Practice for Retaliating Against Deaf Couple

The Department of Justice announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Dr. Hal Brown and Primary Care of the Treasure Coast of Vero Beach, Fla. (PCTC), alleging that the doctor and the medical practice violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by discriminating against Susan and James Liese, who are deaf.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Department of Justice Announces Agreement with Liechtenstein Bank to Pay $23.8 Million to Resolve Criminal Tax Investigation

Kathryn Keneally, the Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division of the Department of Justice, Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and Richard Weber, the Chief of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announced today that Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG, a bank based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein (LLB-Vaduz), has agreed to pay more than $23.8 million to the United States and entered into a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Senior Executive of French Power Company Charged in Connection with Foreign Bribery Scheme

A former senior executive of a French power and transportation company has been charged in a second superseding indictment for his alleged participation in a scheme to pay bribes to foreign government officials.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Brooklyn Clinic Employee Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison in Connection with $77 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

Yuri Khandrius, 50, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was sentenced today to eight years in prison for his role in a $77 million Medicare fraud scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases