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Justice Department Sues to Stop Maui, Hawaii Tax Return Preparer

The United States filed a civil complaint yesterday asking a federal court in Honolulu to enjoin James A. Ericson from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.



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Former Owner of Salt Lake City Medical Equipment Supply Company Indicted and Three Company Employees Plead Guilty for Roles in Medicare Fraud Scheme

A former owner of a Salt Lake City medical equipment supply company has been indicted and three former company employees have pleaded guilty for allegedly engaging in a $20 million Medicare fraud scheme.



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Indictment Unsealed and “Wanted” Posters Issued for Fugitives Charged with Multimillion Dollar International Cyber Fraud Scheme

Earlier today, charges were unsealed against Romanian fugitive Nicolae Popescu, the leader of an international organized crime syndicate that ran a multimillion dollar cyber fraud scheme, and six other fugitives charged with participating in the same scheme. Interpol has issued red notices to foreign law enforcement partners seeking assistance in the apprehension of these fugitives, and the FBI has also released “Wanted” posters to facilitate their arrests.



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Florida Doctor Convicted of Federal Tax Crimes

Dr. Patricia Lynn Hough, of Englewood, Fla., was convicted today by a jury in Fort Myers, Fla., of conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by concealing millions of dollars in assets and income in offshore bank accounts at UBS and other foreign banks, and of filing false individual income tax returns which failed to report the existence of those foreign accounts or the income earned in those accounts



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Former USAID Senior Official to Pay Civil Penalty for Alleged Conflict of Interest Violation

David Ostermeyer, who retired from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2012, will pay the government a $30,000 penalty to settle allegations that he participated in a matter in which he had a financial interest that conflicted with his duties when he was Chief Financial Officer of the agency.



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Alabama Man Pleads Guilty to His Involvement in an Identity Theft Scheme Using Stolen Prisoner Names and a Corrupt Postal Employee

Harvey James pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft for his role in a Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (“SIRF”) scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama George L. Beck Jr.



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Indiana Physician Pleads Guilty to Failure to Pay Employment Taxes

Dr. Ronald Eugene Jamerson of Schererville, Ind., entered a guilty plea to one count of willfully failing to truthfully account for, collect and pay over employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Department of Justice and IRS announced today.



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Former Brokerage Firm Operations Head Indicted for Tax Crimes

An indictment was unsealed today charging Dominick Pannitti, formerly of North Bellmore, N.Y., with tax crimes, the Justice Department announced.



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Justice Department Charges California Apartment Owner and Staff with Discrimination Against Families with Children

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the owner and operators of a Fremont, Calif., apartment complex, alleging that they had discriminated against families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act by prohibiting children from playing in the common grassy areas of the complex.



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Justice Department Announces Settlement Agreement with Everett, Wash., Battery Company to Protect Employment Rights of Returning Military Reservist

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement with All Battery Sales and Service (ABS) of Everett, Wash., to resolve a lawsuit it filed on behalf of Curtis Kirk, a U.S. Army reservist.



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Former Congressman Richard G. Renzi Sentenced for Extortion and Bribery in Illegal Federal Land Swap

Former U.S. Congressman Rick Renzi was sentenced today to serve 36 months in prison following his June conviction by a federal jury in Tucson, Ariz., for extortion, bribery, insurance fraud, money laundering and racketeering. Renzi’s co-defendant, James Sandlin, was also sentenced today to serve 18 months in prison for his role in the extortion, bribery and money laundering scheme.



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Former President of Port Arthur, Texas, Chemical Company Sentenced for Federal Crimes Related to Employee Deaths

The former president of Port Arthur Chemical and Environmental Services LLC (PACES) has been sentenced for occupational safety crimes which resulted in the death of an employee, announced Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and John M. Bales, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas.



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Rabobank Admits Wrongdoing in Libor Investigation, Agrees to Pay $325 Million Criminal Penalty

Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. (Rabobank) has entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to pay a $325 million penalty to resolve violations arising from Rabobank’s submissions for the London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor), which are leading benchmark interest rates around the world, the Justice Department announced today.



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Owners and Supervisor of Ambulance Transportation Company Plead Guilty in Los Angeles for Role in Ambulance Fraud Scheme

The owners and supervisor of Alpha Ambulance Inc. (Alpha), a now-defunct Los Angeles-area ambulance transportation company, have pleaded guilty in connection with an ambulance fraud scheme.



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Army Soldier and Civilian Sentenced on Bribery Charges for Facilitating Thefts of Fuel in Afghanistan

A former U.S. Army Sergeant and a co-conspirator have been sentenced in the District of Colorado for their roles in stealing fuel at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Fenty, Afghanistan, Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced.



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Illinois Man Arrested for Alleged Role in $12 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

A Rockford, Ill., man was arrested today in connection with an indictment charging three Chicago-area residents for their roles in an alleged $12 million health care fraud scheme.



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Massachusetts Man Sentenced to 30 Months for Making Hoax Emergency Services Calls

A Massachusetts man was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison today for engaging in an illegal practice known as “swatting,” in which he made hoax emergency telephone calls reporting an ongoing, dangerous crime to elicit an armed police response from a SWAT team to a specific location, typically in order to harass someone he believed was at the location.



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Justice Department Files Lawsuit in Massachusetts Against Iron Workers Union Trustees and Pension Fund to Enforce the Employment Rights of Navy Reserve Member

The Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz announced today the filing of a complaint alleging that the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Local 7 (the union) and Iron Workers District Council of New England Pension Fund (the Pension Fund) willfully violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by failing to credit U.S. Navy Reserve Member Thomas Shea with service time while he was serving in the armed forces in Afghanistan.



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Attorney General Holder Announces $6.7 Million to Improve Legal Defense Services for the Poor

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced a total of $6.7 million in grants to state and local criminal and civil legal services organizations across the country that provide legal defense services for the poor.



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US Government Intervenes in False Claims Lawsuit Against United States Investigations Services for Failing to Perform Required Quality Reviews of Background Investigations

The government has intervened in a lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act against United States Investigations Services LLC (USIS) in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, alleging that USIS, located in Falls Church, Va., failed to perform quality control reviews in connection with its background investigations for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM).



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Louisiana Man Pleads Guilty to Threatening a Witness in a Federal Criminal Tax Trial

The Justice Department announced today that Anthony Williams, a resident of Baton Rouge, La., pleaded guilty today to one count of threatening to retaliate against a witness in a federal criminal tax trial.



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Utah Man Indicted on Federal Hate Crime and Gun Charges Related to Religious-Motivated Attack on Synogogue

The Department of Justice announced today that a federal grand jury sitting in Salt Lake City returned a superseding indictment charging Macon Openshaw, 21, of Salt Lake City, on gun possession charges and a federal hate crime charge relating to a bias-motivated attack at a local synagogue.



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Co-founder of Liberty Reserve Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering in Manhattan Federal Court

Vladimir Kats, 41, of Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty today in federal court before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote to money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. The charges stem from his role in running Liberty Reserve, a company that operated one of the world’s most widely used digital currency services and allegedly laundered more than $6 billion in suspected proceeds of crimes.



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Owner and Marketer of Louisiana Medical Equipment Supply Company Indicted for Roles in $3 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

The owner of a Louisiana medical equipment supply company and a marketer who worked for the company have been indicted for allegedly engaging in a $3 million Medicare fraud scheme.



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APCO Liquidating Trust to Pay United States $14 Million in Cost Recoveries to Settle Longstanding Bankruptcy Litigation

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved a settlement agreement today between the United States and the APCO Liquidating Trust (a successor in interest to APCO Oil Corporation). The settlement follows seven years of litigation concerning the APCO Liquidating Trust’s liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or “Superfund”) for costs incurred by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the ongoing cleanup of the Oklahoma Refining Company (ORC) Superfund Site located in Cyril, Okla.



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Justice Department Sues to Stop Georgia Tax Return Preparer

Return Preparer Allegedly Overstated Refunds Through False First-Time Homebuyer Credits



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Johnson & Johnson to Pay More Than $2.2 Billion to Resolve Criminal and Civil Investigations

Global health care giant Johnson &s largest long-term care pharmacy provider.



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Two Florida Residents Arrested in Connection with International Lottery Scam

Two individuals charged in connection with the operation of a fraudulent lottery scheme were arrested today in south Florida following their indictment by a federal grand jury in Miami on Oct. 31, 2013.



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Former Corrections Officers Sentenced for Federal Civil Rights Offenses and Obstruction of Justice for Beating Death of an Inmate at Ventress Correctional Facility in Alabama

The Justice Department announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Myron H. Thompson sentenced four former corrections officers of the Alabama Department of Corrections – Michael Smith, Matthew Davidson, Joseph Sanders and Scottie Glenn – in connection with the beating death of former inmate Rocrast Mack.



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Northern California Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging at Public Foreclosure Auctions

Northern California real estate investor pleaded guilty today for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.



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Los Angeles Businessman Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Defraud the United States by Concealing Israeli Bank Accounts

David Raminfard of Los Angeles pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to conspiracy to defraud the United States, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) announced.



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Attorney General Eric Holder Delivers Remarks at the Johnson & Johnson Press Conference

We are here to announce that Johnson & and that they paid kickbacks to both physicians and pharmacies for prescribing and promoting these drugs.




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Orlando, Fla., Area Hospice to Pay $3 Million to Resolve Allegations That It Billed Medicare for Patients Not Terminally Ill

Hospice of the Comforter Inc. (HOTCI) has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to the Medicare program for hospice services provided to patients who were not eligible for the Medicare hospice benefit.



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New York Check Cashing Company and Owner Plead Guilty for Roles in $19 Million Scheme

Belair Payroll Services Inc. (Belair), a multi-branch check cashing company in Flushing, N.Y., and its owner, Craig Panzera, 47, pleaded guilty today for failing to follow reporting and anti-money laundering requirements for more than $19 million in transactions, in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).



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Irish National Pleads Guilty in New York to Crimes Relating to Illegal Trafficking of Endangered Rhinoceros Horns

Michael Slattery Jr., 25, an Irish national, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., to conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act in relation to illegal rhinoceros horn trafficking, announced Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice, and Loretta E. Lynch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.



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Former Tennessee Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Handcuffed Arrestee

Christopher Eugene Reynolds, 39, a former police officer of the Selmer, Tenn., Police Department (SPD), pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee to violating the civil rights of an arrestee, the Justice Department announced.



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Navy Commander Charged with Accepting $100,000 Cash and Prostitutes in Widening International Bribery Scheme

A third senior U.S. Navy official has been charged in a complaint unsealed today with accepting prostitutes, luxury travel and $100,000 cash from a foreign defense contractor in exchange for classified and internal U.S. Navy information, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy of the Southern District of California.



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Lutz, Fla., Man Convicted on Drug Distribution and Sex Trafficking Charges

Acting U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III and Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels of the Civil Rights Division today announced the conviction of Andrew Blane Fields, 62, of Lutz, Fla., in the Middle District of Florida on charges of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, namely Oxycodone, Dilaudid and Morphine, and sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion.



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Northern California Real Estate Investor Agrees to Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging at Public Foreclosure Auctions

A Northern California real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.



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Federal Court in Ohio Shuts Down Nation’s Fourth-Largest Tax-Preparation Firm and Bars CEO from Tax-Preparation Business

Judge Finds that Instant Tax Service Franchisor Defrauded Customers, Obstructed the IRS and Violated Court Orders on Lending Practices



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AT&T Agrees to Settle Allegations Involving IP Relay Services Provided to Hearing- and Speech-Impaired Persons

AT&T has agreed to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act in connection with a program administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).



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Chicago Lawyer Permanently Barred from Promoting Tax-Fraud Schemes and Preparing Related Tax Returns

A federal court has permanently barred Gary J. Stern from promoting tax fraud schemes and from preparing related tax returns, the Justice Department announced today.



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Former Belen, N.M., Police Department Detective Indicted for Using Excessive Force Against Arrestee

A federal grand jury in Albuquerque, N.M., has returned a one-count indictment charging former Belen Police Department Detective John Lytle with unlawfully assaulting a victim, identified in the indictment as R.A., during an investigative stop and arrest on March 15, 2012.



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Attorney General Eric Holder Selects Ronald Davis to Lead Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced Ronald L. Davis as the director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.



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Justice Department Requires US Airways and American Airlines to Divest Facilities at Seven Key Airports to Enhance System-wide Competition and Settle Merger Challenge

The Department of Justice today announced that it is requiring US Airways Group Inc. and American Airlines’ parent corporation, AMR Corp. to divest slots and gates at key constrained airports across the country to low cost carrier airlines (LCCs) in order to enhance system-wide competition in the airline industry resulting in more choices and more competitive airfares for consumers.



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Justice Department Selects Four Courts to Identify Promising Practices in Custody and Visitation Decisions in Domestic Violence Cases

The Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), in partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), announces the selection of four courts to participate in the Family Court Enhancement Project (FCEP) to improve custody and visitation decision-making for families who have experienced domestic violence.



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Former Defense Contractor Employee and Wife Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Defraud Millions in Scheme Involving Supplies to Afghan National Army

Keith Johnson, 46, and his wife, Angela Johnson, 44, of Maryville, Tenn., pleaded guilty today to their roles in a $9.7 million procurement fraud scheme.



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Justice Department Sues to Stop Louisiana Tax Return Preparer

The United States has asked a federal court in New Orleans to permanently bar Shawanda Nevers (aka Shawanda Bryant, aka Shawanda Hawkins, aka Shawanda Johnson) of La Place, La., from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.



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Court Authorizes IRS to Issue Summonses for Records Relating to U.S. Taxpayers with Offshore Bank Accounts

Five Banks Directed to Produce Records for Accounts at Zurcher Kantonalbank, The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited and Affiliates



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Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer Delivers Remarks at the Conference Call Regarding the Justice Department’s Proposed Settlement with US Airways and American Airlines

The Department of Justice filed a proposed settlement with US Airways and American Airlines that, if approved by the court, would resolve our lawsuit challenging their proposed merger. Under the agreement, we are requiring US Airways and American Airlines to divest critically important facilities at seven key airports across the country