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Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges

A Bedford, Va., man pleaded guilty today to transporting, receiving and possessing child pornography.



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United States Takes Action to Reduce Hazards from Fertilizer Manufacturing Plant in Florida

CF Industries Inc. has agreed to spend approximately $12 million to implement facility-wide operational changes to reduce and properly manage hazardous wastes generated at its Plant City, Fla., phosphoric acid and ammoniated fertilizer manufacturing facility.



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Alliance One International Inc. and Universal Corporation Resolve Related FCPA Matters Involving Bribes Paid to Foreign Government Officials

Two foreign subsidiaries of Alliance One International Inc., a global tobacco leaf merchant headquartered in Morrisville, N.C., pleaded guilty today to violating various provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).



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Court Shuts Down Los Angeles-area Tax Preparer

A federal judge in Santa Ana, Calif., has permanently barred Thanh Viet Jeremy Cao and his business, Phoenix Financial Management Group, from preparing federal tax returns.



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Estonian Hacker Extradited to the United States to Face Computer Hacking Charges

Sergei Tšurikov, 26, of Tallinn, Estonia, has been extradited to the United States to face charges of hacking into a computer network operated by an Atlanta-based credit card processing company.



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New York Merchant Bank Pleads Guilty to FCPA Violation; Bank Chairman Pleads Guilty to Failing to Disclose Control of Foreign Bank Account

– The Mercator Corporation, a merchant bank with offices in New York, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Manhattan, N.Y., to one count of making an unlawful payment to a senior government official of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).



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New Jersey Landfill Owners Agree to Comply with Clean Air Act

The second of two agreements to resolve longstanding problems with landfill gas emissions and their negative impacts on air quality at the Middlesex County and Edgeboro landfills in New Jersey has been reached to bring them into compliance with the Clean Air Act.



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Hawaii Man Convicted of Providing Defense Information and Services to People’s Republic of China

A federal jury in U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii today found Noshir S. Gowadia guilty of five criminal offenses relating to his design for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) of a low signature cruise missile exhaust system capable of rendering a PRC cruise missile resistant to detection by infrared missiles.



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Houston-based Plains Pipeline to Spend More Than $44 Million to Resolve Clean Water Act Violations

Plains All American Pipeline L.P. and several of its operating subsidiaries will spend approximately $41 million over the next three years to prevent and remediate corrosion, improve leak detection practices and capabilities, and enhance pipeline oversight on 10,420 miles of crude oil pipeline operated in the United States.



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Settlement Reached with City and County of Honolulu to Address Wastewater Collection & Treatment Systems

A comprehensive settlement has been reached with the City and County of Honolulu that will address Clean Water Act compliance at Honolulu’s wastewater collection and treatment systems.



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Alleged International Credit Card Trafficker Arrested in France on U.S. Charges Related to Sale of Stolen Card Data

Vladislav Anatolievich Horohorin, 27, aka “BadB” of Moscow, Russia, was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2009 on charges of access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.



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Former Defense Department Contract Employee Pleads Guilty to Bribery and Money Laundering Scheme Related to Contracts in Support of Iraqi War

A former contract employee of the U.S. Defense Department (DoD) pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to bribe U.S. Army contracting officials stationed at Camp Arifjan, an Army base in Kuwait, and to money laundering conspiracy.



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Arizona Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

David Ralph Garcia Jr., 38, of Mesa, Ariz., was sentenced on Tuesday to 10 years in prison for possessing images of child pornography.



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New Congressional Funding to Enhance Department of Justice Southwest Border Strategy

Today’s passage by Congress of the Border Security Appropriations Bill provides $196 million for the Department of Justice to surge federal law enforcement efforts in high crime areas in the Southwest Border region.



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Justice Department Resolves Discrimination Case Against Flushing, N.Y., Restaurant That Ejected Patrons Because of Religion

The Justice Department filed a consent decree today resolving claims of religious discrimination against the Lucky Joy restaurant, located in Flushing, N.Y. In the consent decree, the restaurant’s owner, Lucky Joy Restaurant Inc., and its president, Xiao Rong Wu, admit that the restaurant engaged in a pattern or practice of wrongfully ejecting Falun Gong practitioners from the premises.



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Former Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Financial Products and Services Firm Pleads Guilty for Role in Fraud Conspiracies Involving Proceeds of Municipal Bonds

The former owner and chief executive officer of a financial products and services firm pleaded guilty today for his participation in fraud conspiracies related to contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other related municipal finance contracts.



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Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Charges

Ilkham Fazilov pleaded guilty today to racketeering conspiracy for his role 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.



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Justice Department Issues Guidance Letter to State Courts Regarding Their Obligation to Provide Language Access

The Justice Department today issued a letter to chief justices and administrators of state courts clarifying the obligation of courts that receive federal financial assistance to provide oral interpretation, written translation and other language services to people who are limited English proficient.



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Georgia Manufacturer of Food Service Equipment Hardware Pays $3.3 Million Fine for Role in Customer Allocation Conspiracy

A New York corporation, whose principal place of business is Newnan, Ga., was sentenced to pay a $3.3 million criminal fine for conspiring to allocate customers in the food service equipment hardware market, including walk-in refrigeration equipment.



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Cheese Manufacturer Sorrento Lactalis to Pay U.S. $315,000 for Exceeding Discharge Levels into Idaho’s Mason Creek

Cheese manufacturer Sorrento Lactalis Inc. will pay the United States a $315,000 penalty for excess discharges in violation of its wastewater permit levels, according to an agreement between the company.



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Barclays Bank PLC Agrees to Forfeit $298 Million in Connection with Violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act

Barclays Bank PLC, a United Kingdom corporation headquartered in London, has agreed to forfeit $298 million to the United States and to the New York County District Attorney’s Office in connection with violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act.



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Missouri Man Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy and Fraud in Foreign Labor Contracting Charges

Andrew Cole pleaded guilty today to racketeering conspiracy and fraud in foreign labor contracting charges arising from his role 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.



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Two Defendants Sentenced to Prison in International Child Pornography Conspiracy Case

Two defendants were sentenced today to prison in connection with a series of superseding indictments charging 26 individuals for their participation in an online child pornography conspiracy.



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Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission Issue Revised Horizontal Merger Guidelines

The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued today revised Horizontal Merger Guidelines that outline how the federal antitrust agencies evaluate the likely competitive impact of mergers and whether those mergers comply with U.S. antitrust law.



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Los Angeles Men Arrested for Clean Air Act Asbestos Worker Protection Violations

Charles Yi and John Bostick were arrested Wednesday for violations of the Clean Air Act’s asbestos work practice standards committed during the renovation of a 204-unit apartment building in Winnetka, Calif., in January through February of 2006.



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Former U.S. Army Sergeant Pleads Guilty to Bribery in Afghanistan Fuel Theft Scheme

A former U.S. Army Sergeant pleaded guilty today to bribery in connection with a fuel theft scheme to solicit more than $400,000 in bribes from a government contractor in Afghanistan.



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Dominion & Marathon Oil to Pay $6.9 Million to Resolve Allegations of Royalty Underpayments from American Indian and Federal Lands

Dominion Oklahoma Texas Exploration & Production Inc. and Marathon Oil Company have agreed to pay the United States $2,219,974.98 and $4,697,476.57, respectively, to resolve claims that the two companies separately violated the False Claims Act by knowingly underpaying royalties owed on natural gas produced from federal and Indian leases.



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Department of Justice and USDA Announce Agenda for August 27 Livestock Workshop in Colorado

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today the agenda and panelists for the Aug. 27, 2010, joint public workshop in Fort Collins, Colo., on competition in the livestock industry.



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Natchez, Mississippi, Police Officers Indicted for Civil Rights Offenses, Conspiracy to Commit Identity Theft and Fraud, and False Statements

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Natchez, Miss., Police Department Officers Elvis Prater, 35, and Dewayne Johnson, 32, with civil rights offenses and other offenses related to the beating of two men in custody, the theft of an arrestee’s credit and debit cards, and the officers’ false statements to federal investigators.



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Two Individuals Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Traffic in Counterfeit Slot Machines and Computer Programs

Rodolfo Rodriguez Cabrera, 43, a Cuban national, and Henry Mantilla, 35, of Cape Coral, Fla., were sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Philip M. Pro in Las Vegas to two years in prison each for conspiring to produce and sell counterfeit International Game Technology (IGT) video gaming machines, commonly known as slot machines, and counterfeit IGT computer programs.



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Tennessee Man Charged in Connection with Sex Trafficking Scheme

A federal grand jury in the Western District of Tennessee indicted Terrence Arnett Yarbrough, aka “T-Rex,” on four counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion against minor and adult female victims.



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Justice Department to Monitor Elections in Apache and Navajo Counties, Arizona

The Justice Department today announced that it will monitor the primary elections on Aug. 24, 2010, in Apache and Navajo Counties, Ariz., to ensure compliance with the minority language requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other federal voting rights statutes.



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Georgia Man Convicted of Child Sex Abuse Offenses

Dwain D. Williams was convicted Thursday by a federal jury in Valdosta, Ga., on child sex abuse offenses.



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California Man Sentenced to Serve 295 Months in Prison in Child Pornography Case

David Grummer of San Diego was sentenced late Friday to 295 months in prison following his conviction on 18 counts of receipt of child pornography and five counts of possession of child pornography.



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Federal Court Permanently Bars Georgia Tax Preparers from Preparing Taxes for Others

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.



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Former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Charged with Bribery and Related Crimes in Afghanistan Fuel Theft Scheme

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.



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Canadian Man Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Selling Counterfeit Cancer Drugs Using the Internet

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.



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Two Uzbek Men and One Moldovan Man Plead Guilty to Charges for Their Involvement in a Racketeering Enterprise That Engaged in Forced Labor

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.



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Rhode Island Mother and Son Plead Guilty to Interstate Extortion Related to Organized Crime

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. 



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Texas Chemical Plant to Pay Nearly $1.5 Million to Resolve Violations in the Transferring of Acid Waste

Air Products LLC has agreed to pay $1.485 million in civil penalties to resolve hazardous waste mismanagement violations at its Pasadena, Texas, chemical manufacturing facility.



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Three Pennsylvania Men Indicted for Cross Burning

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.



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Justice Department Sues California Man to Stop Tax Schemes That Allegedly Cost the Treasury at Least $30 Million

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.



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Attorney General Holder and HHS Secretary Sebelius Host Second Regional Health Care Fraud Prevention Summit in Los Angeles

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.



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Former Memphis Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Using Excessive Force on an Arrestee

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.



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Former Airline Executives Indicted in Conspiracy to Fix Fares on Flights Between the United States and the Republic of Korea

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.



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Mississippi Man Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Production, Distribution, Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography

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



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Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Los Angeles Health Care Fraud Prevention Summit

"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.




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Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer Speaks at the Los Angeles Health Care Fraud Prevention Summit

"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




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California Man Charged with Attempting to Extort Sexually Explicit Images from Minor

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. 



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Department of Justice and USDA Hold Workshop Focused on Competition Issues in the Livestock Industry

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.



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