at

Fifth Cooperating New Orleans Police Officer Sentenced in Danziger Bridge Case

A former New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officer was sentenced today to serve five years in prison for his role in covering up a police-involved shooting that occurred on the Danziger Bridge in the days after Hurricane Katrina.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Former White Mountain Apache Tribal Police Officer Pleads Guilty in Arizona to Civil Rights Violations

Former White Mountain Apache Tribal police officer, Glenn Cromwell, 35, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Phoenix to two counts of violating civil rights while acting under color of law for detaining, transporting, and then abandoning two adult males in extreme weather conditions on different occurrences in December 2008.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez Speaks at the American Constitution Society

"Since the beginning of their tenure, President Obama and Attorney General Holder have repeatedly made clear their commitment to robust civil rights enforcement that is vigorous, fair, and evenhanded," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.




at

Statement of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division on Its Decision to Close Its Investigation of Google Inc.'s Acquisition of Admeld Inc.

The Antitrust Division obtained extensive information from Google, Admeld and a wide range of market participants in connection with its merger investigation of the proposed transaction. After a thorough review of the evidence, the division concluded that the transaction is not likely to substantially lessen competition in the sale of display advertising.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Member Convicted of Federal Racketeering and Firearms Charges Related to Jefferson County, Texas, Shooting

John Oliver Manning, aka “Fish,” 52, of Pasadena, Texas, was charged by a federal grand jury on Mar. 17, 2011, with violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

New Guidance Supports Voluntary Efforts to Promote Diversity and Reduce Racial Isolation in Education

Today, the Departments of Justice and Education released two new guidance documents ¨C one for school districts and one for colleges and universities ¨C detailing the flexibility that the Supreme Court has provided to educational institutions to promote diversity and, in the case of elementary and secondary schools, reduce racial isolation among students within the confines of the law.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Alabama Real Estate Investor Agrees to Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Rig Bids for the Purchase of Real Estate at Public Foreclosure Auctions

A Mobile, Ala., real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty today for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in southern Alabama.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Former Chicago Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Racketeering and Related Charges for Involvement with Latin Kings Gang

Antonio C. Martinez Jr., 40, a former Chicago police officer, pleaded guilty today to racketeering conspiracy and related charges, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David Capp of the Northern District of Indiana.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Department of Justice Releases Investigative Findings on the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys and the Jackson Juvenile Offender Center in Florida

Following a comprehensive investigation, the Justice Department today announced its findings that the state of Florida’s oversight system failed to detect and sufficiently address harmful practices at both the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys and the Jackson Juvenile Offender Center.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks to Law Students in Paris

"Over the last two days, I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside Ambassador Rivkin, and with my French counterparts – and our fellow G-6 ministers – in discussing the shared concerns, goals, and priorities that bind our nations to one another, and to our allies across Europe," said Attorney General Holder.




at

Alpha Natural Resources Inc. and Department of Justice Reach $209 Million Agreement Related to Upper Big Branch Mine Explosion

“The tragedy at Upper Big Branch will never be forgotten, and the families affected by it will never be made completely whole again. Today’s agreement represents the largest-ever resolution in a criminal investigation of a mine disaster and will ensure appropriate steps are taken to improve mine safety now and will fund research to enhance mine safety in the future,” said Attorney General Holder.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Justice Department Files Lawsuit Alleging Immigration-Related Employment Discrimination by University of California, San Diego Medical Center

The Department of Justice today filed a lawsuit against the University of California, San Diego Medical Center, alleging that the medical center discriminated in the employment eligibility verification process against people who are authorized to work in the United States.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

St. Louis-Based KV Pharmaceutical to Pay $17 Million to Settle False Claims Allegations

KV Pharmaceutical Company, which was the St. Louis-based parent company of now-defunct Ethex Corporation, will pay $17 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that Ethex failed to advise the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that two unapproved products did not qualify for coverage under federal health care programs, the Justice Department announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Thirteen Alleged Latin Kings Members in North Carolina Indicted on Federal Racketeering Charges

“The indictment unsealed today alleges a pattern of violent criminal activity by Latin Kings members in North Carolina,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Seven Charged in in Florida in $120 Million National Tax Fraud Scheme

Penny Jones, a resident of Rigby, Idaho; Christopher Marrero of Davie, Fla.; Michael D. Beiter, Jr., formerly a resident of Coral Springs, Fla.; David Clum Jr. of Whites Creek, Tenn.; Dale Peters, a resident of San Mateo, Calif., Laura Barel, a resident of Lauderhill, Fla.; and John Michael Smith, Jr. of Hidden Hills, Calif., have been charged with participating in the scheme to file false tax returns.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Justice Department Settles with Kentucky Apartment Complex Involving Allegations of Disability-based Housing Discrimination

The Justice Department today announced a settlement of its lawsuit against the owners, developers, architect and civil engineers of Park Place Apartments, a 276-unit complex in Louisville, Ky., resolving allegations that those involved in the design and construction of the complex discriminated against people with disabilities.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Attorney General Holder Announces Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force Executive Director

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the appointment of Michael J. Bresnick as the new executive director of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Operator of Detroit School and Day Care Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

Robert G. Murdock, 64, of Southfield, Mich., pleaded guilty today to tax evasion.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Louisiana Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Operating Coffee Vending Business Fraud in Florida

Manuel Rodriguez, 47, of Lafayette, La., was sentenced today to 120 months in prison and three years supervised release for committing fraud in connection with a coffee machine business opportunity scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Statement of Acting Assistant Attorney General Sharis A. Pozen Before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet

"The pillars of the division’s work are civil merger and non-merger enforcement, criminal enforcement, competition advocacy, and international activities and we have been active in all those areas," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Pozen.




at

Wachovia Bank N.A. Admits to Anticompetitive Conduct by Former Employees in the Municipal Bond Investments Market and Agrees to Pay $148 Million to Federal and State Agencies

Wachovia Bank N.A., which is now known as Wells Fargo Bank N.A., has entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve the company’s role in anticompetitive activity in the municipal bond investments market and has agreed to pay a total of $148 million in restitution, penalties and disgorgement to federal and state agencies.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Four Romanian Nationals Charged with Allegedly Participating in Multimillion Dollar Scheme to Hack into and Steal Credit Card Data from U.S. Merchants

Adrian-Tiberiu Oprea, 27, of Constanta, Romania; Iulian Dolan, 27, of Craiova, Romania; Cezar Iulian Butu, 26, of Ploiesti, Romania; and Florin Radu, 23, of Rimnicu Vilcea, Romania, were charged in a four-count indictment filed in the District of New Hampshire with conspiracy to commit computer fraud, wire fraud and access device fraud.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Former Los Angeles Resident Pleads Guilty in Plot to Attack Seattle Military Processing Center

Walli Mujahidh, aka “Frederick Domingue, Jr.,” 32, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder officers and agents of the United States, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and unlawful possession of a firearm.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Cargolux Airlines International Executives Plead Guilty for Fixing Surcharge Rates on Air Cargo Shipments

Two executives of Luxembourg-based Cargolux Airlines International S.A. have each pleaded guilty and agreed to serve 13 months in prison for participating in a conspiracy to fix cargo rates for international air shipments.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Owner of Miami-Area Mental Health Company Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Orchestrating $205 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

Judith Negron, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King in the Southern District of Florida. Judge King ordered Negron to pay more than $87 million in restitution, jointly and severally with her co-defendants.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Peruvian Artifact Repatriated

A gold Moche monkey head was returned to the government of Peru today in a repatriation ceremony at the Peruvian Embassy in Washington, D.C., announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly III for the District of Delaware.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Justice Department and States Address Prisoner Recidivism

The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) today sponsored a forum of policymakers from all 50 states to focus on improving success rates for people released from prison.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Former U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Sentenced to 40 Months in Prison for Receiving Bribes in Return for the Award of Contracts at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan

Patrick W. Boyd, 44, of Gainesville, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Iowa Insurance Agent to Pay US to Resolve False Claims Allegations on the Federal Crop Insurance Program

Russell Hawley and Hawley Insurance Inc. of Vail, Iowa, have agreed to pay the United States $834,897.50 to settle allegations that they caused false claims to be submitted to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the National Legal Aid & Defender Association Awards Luncheon & 100th Anniversary Celebration

"You and your team – as well as NLADA’s board members and network of partners and supporters – have had an extraordinary, and transformative, impact on our country," said Attorney General Holder.




at

Tennessee Construction Company and Georgia Department of Transportation Agree to Pay $1.5 Million Penalty to Resolve Clean Water Act Violations

Wright Brothers Construction Co., of Charleston, Tenn., and the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) have agreed to pay a $1.5 million penalty and spend more than $1.3 million to offset environmental damages to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Longtime Associate of the New England La Cosa Nostra Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Extortion and Racketeering Conspiracy

Thomas Iafrate, 70, of Johnston, R.I., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I., to 30 months in prison for participating in an extortion and racketeering conspiracy involving “protection” payments from several Rhode Island businesses.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Minnesota-Based Medtronic Inc. Pays US $23.5 Million to Settle Claims That Company Paid Kickbacks to Physicians

Medtronic Inc. of Fridley, Minn., has agreed to pay the United States $23.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claim Act by using physician payments related to post-market studies and device registries as kickbacks to induce doctors to implant the company’s pacemakers and defibrillators.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Assistant Attorney General Breuer Recognizes Criminal Division Employees and Others at Annual Criminal Division Awards Ceremony

“The dedicated public servants we are recognizing today have each made significant achievements in furthering the mission of the Justice Department,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Former US Army National Guard Captain Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Receiving Bribes at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan

John Mihalczo, 47, of Homosassa, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Three Hitachi-LG Data Storage Executives Agree to Plead Guilty for Participating in Bid-Rigging and Price-Fixing Conspiracies Involving Optical Disk Drives

Three Korean Hitachi-LG Data Storage Inc. (HLDS) executives have agreed to plead guilty and to serve prison time in the United States for their participation in a series of conspiracies to rig bids and fix prices for the sale of optical disk drives.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Retired Army Major Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison for Engaging in Money Laundering Related to Contracting in Support of Iraq War

Charles Joseph Bowie Jr., 45, of Georgetown, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez in the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Justice Department Resolves Citizenship Status Discrimination Charge Against Pennsylvania Employer Sernak Farms

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with S.W.J.J. Inc., or Sernak Farms, based in Weatherly, Penn., to settle allegations that Sernak engaged in discrimination on the basis of citizenship status by preferring to hire temporary visa holders over U.S. citizen applicants and adversely treating its U.S. citizen employees.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole Speaks on a Press Conference Call Regarding the Campaign to Cut Waste

"The fraud recoveries that make up that $5.6 billion run the gamut – from healthcare fraud to grant fraud, from mortgage fraud to procurement fraud," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.




at

Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library & Museum

"Nearly half a century has passed since a national tragedy catapulted Lyndon Johnson to the Presidency, and at the same time 'launched a new chapter in America’s story. Those of us who lived through those painful days will never forget LBJ’s first Presidential speech – to a nation in mourning, and in desperate need of strong and steady leadership," said Attorney General Holder.




at

Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds Settle with Justice Department Over Tobacco-Industry Document Databases

The country’s two biggest tobacco companies have agreed to improve public access to internal tobacco-industry documents and to pay $6.25 million into a court fund that will go to support the country’s largest online collection of tobacco documents.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

US Clean Water Act Settlement in Chicago to Reduce Sewage Overflows

The Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office today announced a Clean Water Act (CWA) settlement with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) to resolve claims that untreated sewer discharges were released into Chicago area waterways during flood and wet weather events.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

CD and DVD Counterfeiter and Supplier Both Sentenced in Atlanta to Prison

Charles Ndhlovu, 34, was sentenced on Dec. 12, 2011, by U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey Jr. to 51 months in prison and Scott Ahn, 42, was sentenced yesterday by Judge Duffey to 19 months in prison.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Attorney General Holder Appoints Eight New U.S. Attorneys to Advisory Committee

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today the appointments of eight new U.S. Attorneys to serve two-year terms on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Three Patient Recruiters for Miami Home Health Companies Sentenced to Prison in $25 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard in Miami sentenced Oscar Martinez, 54, to 18 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered Martinez to pay $390,000 in restitution. Judge Lenard sentenced Lesder Casanova, 40, to 12 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered Casanova to pay $195,000 in restitution.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Federal Court Bars Operator of New Jersey Tax Firm from Preparing Federal Tax Returns

A federal court has permanently barred Carmen Gonzalez from preparing federal tax returns for others.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Department of Justice Releases Investigative Findings on the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office

Following a comprehensive investigation, the Justice Department today announced its findings in the ongoing civil rights investigation of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

California Building Materials Manufacturer Agrees to Pay $1.4 Million to Settle Clean Air Act Violations

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that CalPortland Company (CPC), a major producer of Portland cement and building materials in the United States, has agreed to pay a $1.425 million penalty to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at its cement plant in Mojave, Calif.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Court Enters Consent Decree Resolving Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act Allegations Against Idaho Dairy

The government’s action results from a series of inspections by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of G&s farms from 2009 to 2011.



  • OPA Press Releases

at

Former America’s Most Wanted Fugitive Sentenced in Virginia to 105 Years in Prison for Leading International Conspiracy to Defraud the Military

Roger Charles Day Jr., a former America’s Most Wanted fugitive, was sentenced today to 105 years in prison for his role in leading an international conspiracy to defraud the Department of Defense (DOD) of more than $11.2 million by supplying nonconforming and defective parts for military aircraft, vehicles and weapons systems.



  • OPA Press Releases