U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009, to foster increased communication between participating agencies at the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Fusion Center and the International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2).

Ohio Edison Company, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., has agreed in a consent decree to repower one of its coal-fired power plants using primarily renewable biomass fuels.

Robert Jeffery, 55, was convicted today by a federal jury in Alexandria, Va., for his role in a scheme to steal fuel worth approximately $39.6 million from the U.S. Army in Iraq.

Charles Brown, 54, of Mesa, Ariz., was sentenced today to five years in prison and lifetime supervised release following his prison term for receiving child pornography.

Exxon-Mobil Corporation, the world’s largest publicly traded oil and gas company, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Denver to violating the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) in five states during the past five years.

The Boeing Company will pay the United States $25 million to resolve allegations that the company performed defective work on the entire KC-10 Extender fleet. The KC-10 Extender is a mainstay of the Air Force’s aerial refueling fleet in the Iraq and Afghanistan war theaters.

The operator and manager of the Rathbone Retirement Community in Evansville, Ind., has agreed to pay up to $116,000 to resolve a housing discrimination lawsuit. The November 2008 lawsuit alleged that the defendants violated the Fair Housing Act by prohibiting the use of motorized wheelchairs and scooters in residents’ apartments and in the home’s common dining room during meals.

Dynamics Research Corporation (DRC), a defense contractor based in Andover, Mass., has agreed to pay the United States $15 million plus interest to settle allegations that two of its former executives engaged in a fraudulent kickback scheme in connection with two technical services contracts with the Air Force.

Mohammad Shabbir Khan, the former director of operations in Kuwait and Iraq for Tamimi Global Company, a Saudi Arabian company, has been convicted of witness tampering and conspiracy to commit witness tampering.

A federal jury in San Juan, Puerto Rico, found four San Juan Municipal Police Officers guilty today of felony federal civil rights charges related to the fatal beating of Jose Antonio Rivera Robles.

On Aug.11, 2009, two individuals were sentenced in connection with South Florida business opportunity scams. Stewart Pope was sentenced in connection with his participation in fraudulent business opportunity sales at a Miami firm called Global Resources (“Global”).

A pipeline company and two of its former operating firms will jointly pay a civil penalty of $3.65 million to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act resulting from anhydrous ammonia spills in Nebraska and Kansas, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today. The spills which occurred in 2004 resulted in significant fish kills in surrounding waterways.

The North Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC) will pay the United States $200,000 to settle allegations that it made false claims related to the use of Justice Department grant funds. Based in Boston, NEMLEC is a non-profit corporation and a law enforcement council. It is comprised of a consortium of 47 police departments in Middlesex and Essex Counties, as well as two county sheriff’s departments.

A fifth individual pleaded guilty today to illegally accessing numerous confidential passport application files. Kevin M. Young, 42, of Temple Hills, Md., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay in the District of Columbia to a one-count criminal information charging him with unauthorized computer access. Young is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 9, 2009.

Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, Fla., was indicted today for conspiring to hack into computer networks supporting major American retail and financial organizations, and stealing data relating to more than 130 million credit and debit cards. Among the corporate victims named in the indictment are Heartland Payment Systems, a New Jersey-based card payment processor; 7-Eleven Inc., a Texas-based nationwide convenience store chain; and Hannaford Brothers Co. Inc., a Maine-based supermarket chain.

Miami residents Jose and Arnaldo Rosario pleaded guilty today to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program of approximately $15.3 million. Both defendants pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen.

Cooper Land Development, Inc., a luxury home development company headquartered in Rogers, Ark., has agreed to pay a civil penalty and implement a storm water compliance program at its construction sites to settle allegations that it violated the Clean Water Act.

A federal grand jury in San Francisco has returned an indictment against a former executive of a large Taiwanese color display tube (CDT) manufacturing company for participating in a global conspiracy to fix prices of CDTs, a type of cathode ray tube used in computer monitors and other specialized applications.

A former member of the U.S. armed services was sentenced today to 28 months in prison for his role in a widespread bribery and extortion conspiracy that operated from January 2002 through March 2004.

Fe S. Garrett, a resident of National City, Calif., was convicted today of filing false individual tax returns, failure to pay taxes, and multiple counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. A federal jury convicted Garrett of 28 counts of the superseding indictment following a nine-day trial before U.S. Judge M. James Lorenz in San Diego.

Hansruedi Schumacher and Matthias Rickenbach, both of Switzerland, were indicted today for conspiring to defraud the United States. According to the indictment, Schumacher worked as an executive manager at Neue Zuercher Bank (NZB), a Swiss private bank located in Zurich, Switzerland. Rickenbach worked as a Swiss attorney who provided legal advice and services to U.S. clients.

Two manufacturing companies, in separate settlements, have agreed to pay civil penalties and take corrective measures to settle Clean Air Act violations resulting from explosions at two plants in 2002 and 2003 in Louisville, Ky., and Pascagoula, Miss.

Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., the world’s largest supplier of premium beef and pork, has agreed to pay a $2,026,500 civil penalty to settle allegations that it violated terms of a 2002 consent decree and a federally-issued pollution discharge permit at its meat processing facility in Dakota City, Neb.

A federal grand jury in Houston has returned an indictment charging two crewmembers of the oil tanker Georgios M with making false statements, violating federal law designed to prevent pollution from ships and obstruction of justice.

“We are extremely disappointed with the Scottish Executive's decision to release Abdel Basset Mohamed al-Megrahi. The interests of justice have not been served by this decision. There is simply no justification for releasing this convicted terrorist whose actions took the lives of 270 individuals, including 189 Americans. Megrahi did not show and has not shown compassion for innocent human life, and as we communicated to the Scottish authorities and the UK government, it continues to be our position that he should have been required to serve the entire sentence handed down for his crimes. Our deepest sympathies go out to the families of those whose loved ones were killed in 1988 due to Megrahi's vicious actions.”

Former UBS banker, Bradley Birkenfeld of Weymouth, Mass., has been sentenced to 40 months incarceration by Judge William J. Zloch in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. On June 19, 2008, Birkenfeld pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States.

Raschad L. “Sean” Lewis, a former fuel section employee of Kellogg Brown and Root Inc. (KBR) assigned to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for his role in a bribery and a fuel diversion scheme. U.S. District Court Judge Leonie M. Brinkema also ordered Lewis to pay $891,000 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release.

Donald Platten of Boca Raton, Fla., was convicted today of conspiracy, securities fraud and tax charges following a jury trial before Judge Donald Middlebrooks in West Palm Beach, Fla. In December 2008, Platten was indicted on 17 charges, including conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and impeding the internal revenue laws.

A former Congressional staffer and chief of staff in two federal agencies was indicted today by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia on public corruption charges, the Justice Department announced. The five-count indictment charges Horace M. Cooper, 44, of Lorton, Va., with one count of conspiracy, one count of fraudulent concealment, two counts of false statements, and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding. U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay today issued a criminal summons directing Cooper to make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, at 1:45 p.m.

Attorney General Eric Holder has appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota B. Todd Jones to chair the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC) of U.S. Attorneys.

Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, Iowa has agreed to pay the United States $4.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act. This settlement resolves allegations that Covenant submitted false claims to Medicare by having financial relationships with five physicians that violated the Stark Law.

Japanese electronics manufacturer Epson Imaging Devices Corporation (Epson) agreed to plead guilty and pay a $26 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the sale of Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display panels (TFT-LCD) sold to Motorola Inc.

Lee William Dubois, a former Department of Defense contractor, was sentenced today to three years in prison for his participation in a scheme to steal fuel worth approximately $39.6 million from the U.S. Army in Iraq.

Four men and one woman have been arrested on charges of conspiracy and sex trafficking of children, as well as forcing and coercing adults to engage in commercial sex acts.

Two demolition and salvage companies and three of their respective owners and supervisors were indicted today by a federal grand jury in Chattanooga, Tenn. The indictment describes a year-long scheme in which the former Standard Coosa Thatcher plant in Chattanooga was illegally demolished while still containing large amounts of asbestos.

A sixth individual pleaded guilty today to illegally accessing numerous confidential passport application files. Karal Busch, 28, of District Heights, Md., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay in the District of Columbia to a one-count criminal information charging her with unauthorized computer access.

A federal grand jury in Denver has charged Donald Hertz with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce and with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for allegedly threatening an employee of a Colorado abortion clinic.

Eugene Morris, a former correctional officer with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, was sentenced today in federal court in Houston for providing a false statement related to a federal civil rights investigation. Morris was sentenced to two years in prison and two years of supervised release.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the developer of the Riverwalk Condominiums, a condominium apartment complex in Post Falls, Idaho, for violating the Fair Housing Act by constructing apartments that do not have required accessibility for individuals with disabilities.

A former sand and gravel subcontractor was sentenced today to serve five years in prison and to pay a $5,000 criminal fine by U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier after being convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy and bribery in connection with a $16 million hurricane protection project for the reconstruction a New Orleans levee.

Detroit area physical therapist Jay Jha, 45, pleaded guilty today to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program of approximately $18.3 million.

"Senator Kennedy’s accomplished life came to a close last night but in the struggle to provide justice and equality for all Americans we will work every day to ensure that his cause endures and that his dreams for a better America never die."

The United States and the state of Illinois have filed a civil complaint against Midwest Generation LLC, alleging that the company violated, and continues to violate, the Clean Air Act, announced the Justice Department, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Illinois Attorney General’s office.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the owner of College Square Apartments, in Davie, Fla., to settle allegations of discrimination against African Americans. Under the consent decree, approved today in U.S. District Court in Miami, the defendants must pay a total of up to $140,000 to victims of discrimination and a civil penalty of $74,000 to the government.

Rodney K. Justin, a medical doctor from Woodleaf, N.C., was convicted yesterday of obstructing the internal revenue laws and of failing to file tax returns for several years. After trial in Winston-Salem, N.C., a federal jury convicted Justin of four felony counts of corruptly obstructing the administration of the internal revenue laws by sending fake financial instruments called “Bills of Exchange” to the Secretary of the Treasury in Washington, D.C., in purported payment of over $350,000 in taxes.

James M. Davis, 60, the former chief financial officer of Houston-based Stanford Financial Group (SFG), pleaded guilty today to fraud and obstruction charges related to a $7 billion scheme to defraud investors.

Former New York State Supreme Court Justice Thomas J. Spargo was convicted today by a federal jury in Albany, N.Y., of attempted extortion and soliciting a bribe.

Nathaniel James Nicholson, 25, of Eugene, Oregon, appeared before U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown and pled guilty to the crimes of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The Justice Department announced the indictment of Alec Souphone Sou and Mike Mankone Sou, owners of Aloun Farm in Hawaii, and Thai labor recruiter William Khoo late yesterday for engaging in a conspiracy to commit forced labor and visa fraud.

Three members of the violent gang known as the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN) were sentenced today for their participation in narcotics and weapons trafficking.