As the Deepwater Horizon oil spill clean-up efforts continue and the Gulf Coast Claims Facility opens its doors, the Department of Justice is reminding members of the public to be aware of and report any instances of suspected fraudulent activity related to relief operations and funding for victims.

A federal district judge in Atlanta has permanently barred Saloum A. Njie and his company, MIAAS Associates LLC, from preparing federal tax returns for others.

A former U.S. Army staff sergeant was charged today with bribery, theft of government property and conspiracy in connection with a fuel theft scheme to solicit approximately $400,000 in bribes from a government contractor in Afghanistan.

Victor Manuel Amaya pleaded guilty this morning to one count of willfully filing a false tax return before U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga.

Hazim Gaber, 22, of Edmonton, Canada, was sentenced today in Phoenix by U.S. District Court Judge James A. Teilborg to 33 months in prison for selling counterfeit cancer drugs using the Internet.

Viorel Simon, Nodirbek Abdoollayev and Bakhrom Ikramov have all pleaded guilty to charges related to their roles in a criminal enterprise that engaged in numerous criminal activities including forced labor, fraud in foreign labor contracting, visa fraud, mail fraud, identity theft, tax evasion and money laundering.

Dorothy St. Laurent, 71, of Johnston, R.I., and her son Anthony St. Laurent Jr., 44, of Cranston, R.I., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I., to interstate extortion in violation of the Hobbs Act. 

Michael Bealonis and Kenneth Stiffey, Jr., of Robinson, Penn., and Michael Bracken, of Bolivar, Penn., were indicted this week by a federal grand jury on charges stemming from a cross burning in the yard of an African-American juvenile in November 2009.

The United States has asked a federal court to permanently bar a California man from promoting alleged sham pension-plan and welfare-benefit-plan tax fraud schemes.

Today Attorney General Eric Holder and U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius kicked off the second in a series of daylong summits bringing together a wide array of federal, state and local partners, beneficiaries, providers and other interested parties to discuss innovative ways to eliminate fraud within the U.S. health care system.

The civil injunction suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, seeks to permanently bar Christopher Musyoki and Samuel Nganga from preparing federal returns for others.

Bridges McRae, a former officer with the Memphis Police Department (MPD), pleaded guilty today in federal court to a felony civil rights charge related to the use of excessive force.

A Brooklyn, N.Y., grand jury returned an indictment today against two former executives of Asiana Airlines, Inc. for participating in a conspiracy to fix economy class airfares paid by passengers for travel from the United States to the Republic of Korea.

A jury in U.S. District Court in Newark, N.J., has returned a guilty verdict against Stephen A. Favato, a resident of Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., and a partner in BDO Seidman LLP’s Woodbridge, N.J., office.

Robert Morris of Crystal Springs, Miss., was sentenced today to 35 years in prison for production, distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography.

"This summit is an important step forward – an opportunity to build on what has been discussed, and achieved, since Secretary Sebelius and I convened the first “National Summit on Health Care Fraud” in Washington in January," said Attorney General Holder.

"These summits offer our agencies the opportunity to share our success stories, explain our innovative investigative approaches, and listen to and learn from your ideas and concerns," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer

According to an indictment dated June 24, 2010, and unsealed today, James Dale Brown, 27, is alleged to have used the Internet social networking website Facebook to communicate with a minor female identified as Jane Doe. 

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture today held the fourth of five joint public workshops to explore the appropriate role for antitrust and regulatory enforcement in American agriculture.

A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia has returned an indictment charging Stephen Jin-Woo Kim with unlawfully disclosing national defense information to a reporter for a national news organization and making false statements to the FBI.

The owner of a Detroit-area medical clinic, Juan De Oleo, and a doctor who helped falsify files at the clinic, Dr. Rosa Genao, were convicted today by a federal jury in Detroit for their roles in a $2.3 million Medicare fraud scheme.

"As much as today’s discussion is about cattle, hog, and other livestock industry issues, it is also about our nation’s founding ideals of fairness and equal opportunity," said Attorney General Holder.

A medical doctor, a clinic owner and four nurses, all South Florida residents, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan in U.S. District Court in Miami for their participation in a fraudulent Medicare home health care scheme, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.

A Natick, Mass., man was charged today in federal court in Boston with engaging in a scheme to conceal from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and from the public illegal campaign contributions made to federal campaign committees, and with witness tampering, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division

John McQueen, 33, a former sergeant and supervisor at the Lexington-Fayette County, Ky., Detention Center (FCDC), and Clarence McCoy, 31, a former corporal at FCDC, were sentenced today in federal court in Lexington, Ky., for their roles in the systematic abuse of detainees at FCDC, the Justice Department announced

Juan Javier Cardenas of Miami pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to traffic in and possess unauthorized credit card numbers with intent to defraud, and one count of trafficking in unauthorized credit card numbers, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Michael K. Fithen of the U.S. Secret Service, Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Kenneth T. Jenkins Jr., of the U.S. Secret Service, Criminal Investigative Division.

Hakimullah Mehsud, the self-proclaimed emir of the Pakistani Taliban, has been charged by criminal complaint for his alleged involvement in the murder of seven American citizens on Dec. 30, 2009, at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan.

"The pharmaceutical manufacturer Allergan has agreed to plead guilty and pay $600 million to resolve serious criminal and civil fraud allegations," announced Assistant Attorney General West.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), Maricopa County, and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for refusing full cooperation with the department’s investigation of alleged national origin discrimination in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

A former senior employee of a U.S. military contractor pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to pay $360,000 in bribes to U.S. Army contracting officials stationed at a U.S. military base in Kuwait, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.

U.S. District Court Judge Alexander Williams Jr. sentenced Andres Echevarria, aka “B-Boy” and “King B-Boy,” 23, of Brooklyn, N.Y., today to 228 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, in connection with his gang activities as a member of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings).

Harold Hutcheson, a former captain at the Northwest Correctional Complex (NCC), in Tiptonville, Tenn., and Joshua Ryan Jones and Roger Forrester, former officers at NCC, were sentenced today in federal court in Jackson, Tenn., for violating the civil rights of an inmate and then lying about it during the state and federal investigations.

A former U.S. Army contracting official based at Fort Carson, Colo., pleaded guilty to submitting a false statement to the U.S. Army.

A federal grand jury in Honolulu indicted Mordechai Orian, an Israeli national; Pranee Tubchumpol, Shane Germann and Sam Wongsesanit of Global Horizons Manpower Inc., located in Los Angeles; and Thai labor recruiters Ratawan Chunharutai and Podjanee Sinchai for engaging in a conspiracy to commit forced labor and document servitude.

Willoughby Farr of West Palm Beach, Fla., has been sentenced to 262 months in prison and three years of supervised release for perpetrating a “cramming scheme,” which was designed to place charges on consumers’ telephone bills for collect calls that were not made.

Cisco Systems and Westcon Group North America (formerly d.b.a. Comstor) have agreed to pay the United States $48 million to settle claims that they made misrepresentations to the General Services Administration (GSA) and other federal agencies in violation of the False Claims Act.

The Justice Department today announced that the Housing Authority for the city of Eastman, Ga., (EHA) has agreed to pay up to $320,000 to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of discriminating against applicants for housing and tenants based on race.

Jason Jewell, 31, of Frankfort, Ind., was sentenced today to six years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for possession and transportation of child pornography.

A former agent of a financial products and services company pleaded guilty today for his participation in fraud conspiracies related to contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts.

A former employee of a national bank pleaded guilty today for his participation in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies related to contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts.

Three principals of a group of businesses that acquired and marketed life settlements to investors were arrested and charged in an 18-count indictment for their alleged roles in a $100 million fraud scheme with more than 800 victims across the United States and Canada.

Eric Clawson, 28, of San Francisco, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Morrison C. England, Jr., for depriving the civil rights of an African-American man when he assaulted the victim in a bar.

A federal inmate was sentenced today in Kansas City, Mo., to 96 months in prison for obstructing justice by making false statements and creating false evidence in connection with another criminal case in which the inmate was charged.

The county of Kauai, Hawaii, has entered into a plea agreement to resolve alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).

A Raleigh, N.C., real estate speculator pleaded guilty to conspiring to rig bids for public real estate foreclosure auctions held in multiple counties in eastern North Carolina.

"When it comes to effectively preventing, reducing, and combating drug use – and, in particular, the abuse of opiate-based prescriptions – there is no one path to engagement," said Attorney General Holder.

"Today, as we read the names of these fallen heroes, we also reflect on their lives, their legacies, their courage, and their special calling – a calling to serve others; a calling that’s shared by every member of our nation’s law enforcement community; and a calling that’s firmly founded on the principles of self-sacrifice and personal bravery which were so vividly exemplified by each of these men and women whom we honor here this morning," said Attorney General Holder.

“Today’s report showing violent crime declined in 2009 is an encouraging sign that our nation continues to make progress in the fight against crime," said Attorney General Holder.

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the city of Walnut, Calif., alleging that the city violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), when, in 2008, it denied a conditional use permit to the Chung Tai Zen Center so that it could build and operate a Buddhist house of worship at property it then owned in the city.

Juan Carlos Moreira, aka “Stokey” and “Stocky,” was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Deborah K. Chasanow to life in prison for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as MS-13, conspiring to and committing murder in aid of racketeering, witness tampering murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering.