A federal court has permanently barred Atlanta-area financial planner T. Michael Haney from promoting the use of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Forms 1099-OID to support false tax withholdings.

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today to block the proposed acquisition by VeriFone Systems Inc. of Hypercom Corp.

A federal court has permanently barred Houston-area tax preparers Christopher Helton and Marcia Johnson from preparing federal tax returns for others.

A federal court has permanently barred two men from promoting an alleged tax fraud scheme involving interests in purported oil and gas wells.

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today to block the proposed acquisition by H&R Block Inc. of TaxACT, a digital do-it-yourself tax preparation software provider.

"We are blocking this transaction because the proposed merger would substantially lessen competition in the tax preparation software market, resulting in higher prices, lower quality and reduced innovation," said Assistant Attorney General Varney.

A public service announcement (PSA) featuring Attorney General Eric Holder began airing this week on the Investigation Discovery network.

The court’s preliminary injunction order against Shelia Young, Deane Young and Kennith Defoor will remain in effect while a related criminal case against the defendants proceeds in court.

A federal court has permanently barred Martha A. Jones of Chicago from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today the launch of a public awareness campaign at a Federal Interagency Drug Endangered Children (DEC) Task Force event to bring attention to the challenges faced by children and families affected by drug abuse and highlight the work being done across the country to address these issues.

A federal court in Ft. Meyers, Fla., has barred Gregory Boone of Riverview, Fla., from promoting an alleged tax fraud scheme

Friday James, who according to the government complaint is from Landsdowne, Pa., and his business agreed to the permanent injunction order without admitting the allegations against them.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

The Justice Department announced that it has reached an agreement with the city of Manassas Park, Va., that, if approved by the court, will allow for the city 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.

A former U.S. Army sergeant pleaded guilty today to conspiring to steal U.S. Army equipment related to his work as a non-commissioned officer helping to train Iraqi army personnel in Mosul, Iraq, in 2008.

The United States has sued an Orange County, Calif., man to stop him from selling bogus tax credits.

A federal court has permanently barred Aurelia Sanderson Johnson from preparing federal tax returns for others.

The United States has sued a Seattle-area man to stop him from promoting an alleged tax fraud scheme.

A federal court has permanently barred Tracey R. Randolph from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Christine Varney, Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division, announced her resignation from the Department of Justice today, effective as of Aug. 5, 2011.

The Justice Department announced that it has reached an agreement with Rappahannock County, Va., that will allow for the county and its two political subdivisions to bail out from their status as “covered jurisdictions” under the special provisions of the Voting Rights Act.

A federal court has permanently barred Charles Klink, Caleb Grodsky and Steven Block from promoting abusive tax shelters known as “intermediary transactions” and “distressed asset trusts.”

A federal court has permanently barred Penny Jones from preparing federal tax returns for others and from promoting the use of false tax forms.

A District of Columbia federal court has entered a permanent injunction order against Steven McClain and the Trust for Architectural Easements Inc. (formerly known as the National Architectural Trust).

A federal court has permanently barred Cecil A. Collier from preparing federal tax returns for others.

One hundred and seventy five young men and women from nearly 50 tribal communities across the country have convened at the week-long 2011 National Intertribal Youth Summit in Santa Fe, N.M., which runs from July 24-28, 2011.

A former U.S. Army lieutenant colonel was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for accepting illegal gratuities from multiple Iraqi contractors and for stealing from Iraqi fuel reserves, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

A federal court in Los Angeles has permanently barred Benjamin Aparicio from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Eric Scott Hamilton, 40, of Pelzer, S.C., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs in the District of South Carolina to a criminal information charging him with two counts of conspiracy to steal public property.

The United States has reached agreement with the owners and a former operator of an inks and paint products manufacturing facility in Danvers, Mass., that exploded and burned in 2006 the day before Thanksgiving.

The United States has filed a lawsuit in an Iowa federal court against a Des Moines, Iowa, metro area company, Advanced Underground Construction LLC and its principal, William David Ward II, the Justice Department announced today.

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a stipulated order of dismissal to resolve its lawsuit concerning conditions of confinement at the Erie County Holding Center, a pre-trial detention center in Buffalo, N.Y., and the Erie County Correctional Facility, a correctional facility in Alden, N.Y.

Rodger Dale DeVries, 73, a resident of Jenison, Mich., has pleaded guilty to illegally importing a polar bear trophy mount in 2007 from Canada into Michigan in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Miguel Angel Nevarez, aka “Lentes” and “94,” a member of the Barrio Azteca (BA) gang, has been extradited to the United States from Mexico to face a variety of charges including those related to his alleged participation in the March 13, 2010, murders of three individuals with ties to the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

The former campaign treasurer for Representative Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for embezzling more than $450,000 from the congressman’s election and re-election campaign accounts.

A federal court in California has permanently barred Gwenn Wycoff and Frank Ozak from forming trusts for others.

A federal court in Beaumont, Texas, has permanently barred two men from promoting an alleged tax fraud scheme involving bogus tax credits for the production of methane gas from landfills.

BP Amoco Corp., Amoco Production Company, BP Exploration & Oil Inc., BP America Inc., Atlantic Richfield Company and Vastar have agreed to pay the United States $20.5 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.

Thomas Aram Manok, 50, of Chantilly, Va., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga in the Eastern District of Virginia.

A Detroit federal grand jury returned an indictment today against three former executives from Panasonic Corporation, a Whirlpool Corporation subsidiary and a Tecumseh Products Company subsidiary for their role in an international conspiracy to fix the prices of refrigerant compressors.

A federal court has permanently barred Dennis Giroud from preparing federal tax returns for others.

The United States has filed a lawsuit against Annie P. Williams to bar her from preparing federal tax returns for others.

The Department of Justice today reached a settlement with Morgan Stanley that requires Morgan to pay $4.8 million for violating the antitrust laws by entering into an agreement with KeySpan Corporation that restrained competition in the New York City electricity capacity market.

A federal court has permanently barred John E. Rogers and two of his companies, Sugarloaf Fund LLC and Jetstream Business Limited, from promoting tax shelters that allegedly use distressed Brazilian debt to lower customers’ reported income improperly.

The United States has sued Judy Grace Sellers to bar her from promoting an alleged scheme involving fraudulent tax refund claims.

Bidemi Bello, 42, formerly of Suwanee, Ga., was sentenced today in Atlanta by U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey Jr. on human trafficking charges including forced labor, trafficking with respect to forced labor, document servitude, harboring for financial gain and procurement of naturalization unlawfully.