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Miami-Dade Agrees to $1.6 Billion Upgrade of Its Sewer System to Eliminate Sewage Overflows

Under a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today, Miami-Dade County in Florida has agreed to invest in major upgrades to its wastewater treatment plants and wastewater collection and transmission systems in order to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Seller of Golden Eagle and Hawk Feathers Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Violations of Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Lacey Act

Steven Patrick Garcia, Jr., 36, of San Jose, Calif., was sentenced today in federal court in Billings, Mont., to 24 months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release for selling and offering to sell migratory bird parts in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and the Lacey Act, the Department of Justice announced today. Garcia had pleaded guilty to the charge on January 16, 2013.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Three Georgia Residents Sentenced for Their Roles in Bribery Scheme Related to the Award of Government Contracts

A former employee at the Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany (MCLB-Albany) and two local businessmen were sentenced today for their roles in a bribery scheme related to the award of contracts for machine products that resulted in approximately $907,000 in fraudulent overcharges to the U.S. Marines.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Owner of Michigan Inventory Counting Businesss Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud

David P. Rowley, a resident of Jackson, Michigan, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood to filing a false individual income tax return.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Michigan Woman Arrested for Criminal Contempt

Doreen Hendrickson of Commerce Township, Mich., was arrested today following an indictment by a federal grand jury for criminal contempt.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Announces Plan for Advancing Crime Victims’ Rights and Services in the Twenty-first Century

The Justice Department today unveiled a plan calling for sweeping changes to advance crime victims’ rights and services in the 21st century.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Four Former Wellcare Executives Found Guilty in Florida

A federal jury in Tampa found four former executives of WellCare Health Plans Inc., a health maintenance organization (HMO) operator, guilty of various charges, including health care fraud, making false statements relating to health care matters and making false statements to a law enforcement officer, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Issues New Guidelines for Payment of Attorneys’ Fees, Expenses, in Large Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Cases

The Department of Justice today announced new guidelines for the payment of attorneys’ fees and expenses in large chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in order to enhance disclosure and transparency in the compensation process and to help ensure that attorneys’ fees and expenses are based on market rates.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Chief Executive of Mortgage Servicing Company Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud for Scheme to Withhold Funds from Wells Fargo Bank

The former president and chief executive officer of U.S. Mortgage, a loan servicing company in Nevada, pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to defraud Wells Fargo Bank out of more than $8 million.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Settles Sex Discrimination Lawsuit Against the Town of Griffith, Indiana

The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a consent decree with the town of Griffith, Ind. that, if approved by the court, will resolve allegations that the Griffith Police Department discriminated against Sergeant Marlene Starcevich based on her sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin, or religion and retaliation for engaging in protected activity.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Congressman Richard G. Renzi Convicted of Extortion and Bribery in Illegal Federal Land Swap

A former U.S. Congressman and a real-estate investor were convicted today by a federal jury in Tucson, Ariz., of conspiring together to extort and bribe individuals seeking a federal land exchange.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Settles with New Jersey Bus Company Over Unequal Treatment of Passengers with Disabilities

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement with DeCamp Bus Lines Inc., a New Jersey transportation company, to ensure that bus transportation is provided on equal terms to people with disabilities.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Chief Executive of Mortgage Servicing Company Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud for Scheme to Withhold Funds from Wells Fargo Bank

The former president and chief executive officer of U.S. Mortgage, a loan servicing company in Nevada, pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to defraud Wells Fargo Bank out of more than $8 million.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Managing Partner of U.S. Broker-Dealer Charged in Manhattan Federal Court with Participating in Massive International Bribery Scheme

A managing partner of a U.S. broker-dealer was arrested today on felony charges arising from a conspiracy to pay bribes to a senior official in Venezuela’s state economic development bank, Banco de Desarrollo Económico y Social de Venezuela (BANDES).



  • OPA Press Releases

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Department of Justice Reaches Landmark Settlement Agreement with Rhode Island and City of Providence Under the ADA

The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into an interim settlement agreement with the State of Rhode Island and the City of Providence that will resolve violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for approximately 200 Rhode Islanders with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).



  • OPA Press Releases

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United States and Arkansas File Joint Complaint Against ExxonMobil for Pegasus Pipeline Oil Spill in Mayflower, Arkansas

Today the United States and the state of Arkansas filed a joint enforcement action against ExxonMobil Pipeline Company and Mobil Pipe Line Company (ExxonMobil) in federal district court in Little Rock, Ark.



  • OPA Press Releases

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California Woman Charged with Aiding and Assisting the Preparation of False Tax Returns and Identity Fraud

Lanisha D. Applewhite of Richmond, Calif., was indicted by a federal grand jury in San Francisco, for aiding and assisting the preparation and presentation of false and fraudulent federal income tax returns as well as identity fraud.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Wyoming Couple Indicted for Tax Evasion

In an indictment unsealed on June 12, 2013, Robert and Judy Sathre, of Sheridan, Wyo. were charged by a federal grand jury in Cheyenne, Wyo., for conspiring to defraud the IRS and tax evasion relating to taxes owed by Robert Sathre for tax years 1995 and 1996. Judy Sathre was also charged with filing a false tax return for tax year 2007.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Utah Man Charged with Filing False Claims for Tax Refunds

A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City yesterday returned an indictment charging Dick Reid Jenkins, a resident of Heber City, Utah with eighteen counts of presenting false claims to the United States.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Senior Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Eve Hill Delivers Remarks on the Americans with Disabilities Act

Today’s agreement is about opportunity. It’s about growth. And it’s about human dignity. That’s because today’s agreement centers on integrating people with disabilities into the engine of the economic mainstream: the workplace.




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Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West Delivers Remarks at the American Constitution Society Annual Convention

It is an idea ACS strives to make real in the work this organization does in law schools, with law students, lawyers, policymakers and opinion leaders across the country. As the third-ranking official at the U.S. Department of Justice and one who oversees, among others, the Civil Rights Division, the Office of Justice Programs and the Access to Justice Initiative, I'm grateful for your commitment and honored by your invitation to contribute to today’s discussion about indigent defense.




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Former University Professor Charged in California with Engaging in Sexual Conduct with Minors and Producing Child Pornography

Walter Lee Williams, a former university professor, has been indicted for allegedly engaging in sexual conduct with minors and producing child pornography.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Owner of Louisiana-based Health Care Company Sentenced in Texas to 97 Months in Prison in Connection with $6.7 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

The owner and operator of a Louisiana-based durable medical equipment (DME) company was sentenced today to serve 97 months in prison for his role in a $6.7 million Medicare fraud scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Federal Court Shuts Down Florida Tax Preparer

A federal court in Orlando, Fla., permanently barred Carlos A. Cabrera from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

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U.S. Seeks to Shut Down Texas Tax Preparer Whose Customers Work Overseas for Defense Contractors

The United States sued a Southlake, Texas woman last night, seeking to bar her from preparing federal tax returns for others



  • OPA Press Releases

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Settlement with Ash Grove Cement Company to Reduce Thousands of Tons of Air Emissions

Ash Grove Cement Company has agreed to pay a $2.5 million penalty and invest approximately $30 million in pollution control technology at its nine Portland cement manufacturing plants to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act.



  • OPA Press Releases

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New York Landowner and New Jersey Solid Waste Company Sentenced for Illegally Dumping in Upstate, New York

Cross Nicastro, Dominick Mazza, and his company, Mazza & Sons Inc., were sentenced today and yesterday in federal court in Utica, N.Y., for conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act, Superfund statute, and to defraud the United States by illegally dumping thousands of tons of asbestos-contaminated construction debris on a 28-acre piece of property on the Mohawk River in upstate New York.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Statement of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division on Its Decision to Close Its Investigation of Delta Air Lines’ Acquisition of an Equity Interest in Virgin Atlantic Airways

After a thorough investigation of the competitive effects of the proposed equity investment and joint venture, the Antitrust Division concluded that the facts and circumstances did not warrant further investigation or action.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Macandrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. to Pay $720,000 Civil Penalty for Violating Antitrust Premerger Notification Requirements

MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. will pay a $720,000 civil penalty to settle charges that the company violated premerger reporting and waiting requirements when it acquired voting securities of Scientific Games Corporation.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Workers at Los Alamos National Laboratory Plead Guilty to Atomic Energy Act Violations

The Justice Department today announced that a scientist and his wife, who both previously worked as contractors at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, have pleaded guilty to charges under the Atomic Energy Act and other charges relating to their communication of classified nuclear weapons data to a person they believed to be a Venezuelan government official.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Alabama Woman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy in Tax Refund Identity Theft Scheme

Scottie Alice Johnson of Montgomery County, Ala., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States for her role in a Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Statement of Department of Justice Spokeswoman Nanda Chitre on Edward Snowden

We will continue to discuss this matter with Hong Kong and pursue relevant law enforcement cooperation with other countries where Mr. Snowden may be attempting to travel.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Reaches Agreement with Hanover County, Va., on Bailout Under the Voting Rights Act

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with Hanover County, Va., that will allow for the county, a covered jurisdiction under the special provisions of the Voting Rights Act, to bail out from coverage under these provisions. Bailout will exempt Hanover County, along with the town of Ashland, from the preclearance requirements of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The agreement is in the form of a consent decree filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and must be approved by the court.



  • OPA Press Releases

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United States Reaches Agreement with Suncoke Energy Resolving Clean Air Violations at Plants in Illinois and Ohio

SunCoke Energy Inc. and two of its subsidiaries have agreed to pay $1.995 million to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations of emission limits at the Gateway Energy and Coke plant in Granite City, Illinois, and the Haverhill Coke plant in Franklin Furnace, Ohio.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Two Florida Residents Arrested on Charges of Fraud

Two individuals were arrested on a federal warrant alleging that they operated a series of fraudulent businesses targeting Spanish-speaking consumers.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Utah Resident Charged with Submitting False Claims for Tax Refunds and Ficticious Financial Instruments

A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City today returned an indictment charging a resident of Sandy, Utah, with five counts of presenting false, fictitious and fraudulent claims to the United States, and three counts of passing fictitious obligations.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Utah Man Previously Charged with Filing False Claims for Tax Refunds Indicted for Additional Charge of Passing a Fictitious Financial Instrument

A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City today returned a superseding indictment charging a resident of Heber City, Utah, with 18 counts of presenting false, fictitious and fraudulent claims to the United States and one count of passing a fictitious obligation.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Statement on the Request to Hong Kong for Edward Snowden’s Provisional Arrest

The U.S. is disappointed and disagrees with the determination by Hong Kong authorities not to honor the U.S. request for the arrest of the fugitive, Edward J. Snowden.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Reaches Settlement with National Retailer to Resolve Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with Macy’s Retail Holdings and other Macy’s entities (Macy’s) resolving allegations that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against the Reading, Pa. Parking Authority for National Origin Discrimination and Retaliation

The Justice Department announced today the filing of a lawsuit against the Reading Parking Authority in the city of Reading, Pa., alleging that the Reading Parking Authority discriminated against former employee Henry Perez, as well as other current and former employees, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by subjecting them to harassment based upon their national origin.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Department of Health and Human Services Employee Sentenced to Prison for Wire Fraud Scheme

A former employee of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (HHS-ASPR) was sentenced today to serve six months in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud the United States by submitting fraudulent employment offers in order to claim retention bonuses totaling $138,875



  • OPA Press Releases

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Sinovel Corporation and Three Individuals Charged in Wisconsin with Theft of Amsc Trade Secrets

A manufacturer and exporter of wind turbines based in the People’s Republic of China, two employees of that manufacturer and a former employee of a subsidiary of AMSC, a United States-based company formerly known as American Superconductor Inc., were charged today with stealing trade secrets from AMSC causing an alleged loss of more than $800 million to the company.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Washington State Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime in Attack on Sikh Man

The Department of Justice today announced Jamie Larson, 49, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle to a federal hate crime relating to a racially-motivated assault of a 50-year-old Sikh man who works as a taxi cab driver.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Settles Race Discrimination Lawsuit Against Owners and Managers of Mobile Home Parks in Alabama and Georgia

The Justice Department announced today that Lawrence Properties Inc., Lawrence at Lakewood LLC, Michael Lawrence, and Williams Bounds have agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a lawsuit involving violations of the Fair Housing Act.



  • OPA Press Releases

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El Paso Man Convicted of Making False Statements to Law Enforcement in Reporting Threats to the President

A jury in El Paso, Texas, today convicted Keith Nicholas Aiken, 31, of making false statements to law enforcement while serving as a civilian military employee stationed in Afghanistan.



  • OPA Press Releases

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District Court Enters Permanent Injunction Against New Jersey-Based Pharmacy and Company’s Senior Executive

U.S. District Court Judge Peter G. Sheridan entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against Med Prep Consulting Inc., a Tinton Falls, N.J., pharmacy licensed by the state of New Jersey, the Justice Department announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

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United States and Tennessee Reach Agreement with King Pharmaceuticals LLC to Resolve Allegations of Clean Air Act Violations

King Pharmaceuticals LLC (King) will pay $2.2 million and take measures to comply with the Clean Air Act to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) at its pharmaceutical manufacturing facility located in Bristol, Tenn.



  • OPA Press Releases

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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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Owner of Landscaping Business in Freeport, N.Y. Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

The Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today that Lawrence Garafola, a resident of Poway, Calif., pleaded guilty to tax evasion.



  • OPA Press Releases