b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Five Virginia Charter Fishing Boat Captains Sentenced for Lacey Act Violations

Nolan L. Agner, the last of five Virginia Beach charter fishing boat captains convicted of poaching Atlantic striped bass was sentenced today in federal court in Norfolk, Va. All five captains – including Agner, Jeffery S. Adams, Raymond Carroll Webb, David Dwayne Scott, and William W. “Duby” Lowery IV – were sentenced for violating the Lacey Act by selling illegally-harvested striped bass, the Justice Department announced.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Justice Department Obtains $167,500 in Discrimination Settlement with Reno, Nev., Apartment Complex

The Justice Department announced today that the U.S. District Court of Nevada has approved a settlement in which the owners and operators of Rosewood Park Apartments, a 902 unit apartment complex in Reno, Nev., will pay $167,000 to resolve a lawsuit alleging discrimination against persons with disabilities who use assistance animals.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Attorney General Eric Holder Delivers Remarks at the Arab Forum on Asset Recovery

We come together this year at a time of reflection and renewal – in a moment of progress and possibility; of challenge as well as opportunity. It was 14 years ago, in Washington, D.C., when then-Vice President of the United States Al Gore convened the very first Global Forum on Fighting Corruption and Safeguarding Integrity – an initiative that reflected a growing international willingness to acknowledge corruption as a problem that every country must face. Since that time, international leaders have repeatedly come together – in a variety of ways – to foster widespread consensus on the need for collective action in the face of shared challenges. And our nations have together accomplished a great deal.




b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Sex Trafficker Terrence “T-Rex” Yarbrough Sentenced to Serve 536 Months in Prison

U.S. District Court Judge S. Thomas Anderson sentenced Terrence Yarbrough, aka “T-Rex,” 38, of Memphis, Tenn., to serve 536 months in prison, the Justice Department announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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).



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Owner of Texas-based Ambulance Service Convicted of Health Care Fraud

A federal jury in Houston has convicted Gwendolyn Climmons-Johnson, 53, of multiple counts of health care fraud for submitting false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for ambulance services.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Jamaican Citizen Pleads Guilty in Connection with International Lottery Scheme Based in Jamaica

Oneike Mickhale Barnett pleaded guilty today in connection with a lottery scheme based in Jamaica that fraudulently induced elderly victims in the U.S. to send Barnett and his co-conspirators thousands of dollars to cover fees for lottery winnings that victims had not won.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Debt Collection Employee and Son-in-Law Sent to Prison for Identity Theft Tax Scheme

Quentin Collick of Montgomery, Ala., and Deatrice Williams of Duluth, Ga., were sentenced Nov. 1, 2013, to serve 85 and 51 months in prison, respectively, 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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Alabama Husband and Wife Plead Guilty to Identity Theft Scheme

Mary Young and Christian Young each pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aggravated identity theft for their 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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Patient Broker of South Florida Psychiatric Hospital Sentenced for Role in $67 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

A patient broker of a South Florida psychiatric hospital was sentenced today to serve 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for her participation in a $67 million Medicare fraud scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

New Hampshire Man Charged with Passing Fraudulent Documents in Connection with His Sale of Black Rhinoceros Horns for $35,000

Ari B. Goldenberg, 46, of Milton, N.H., was charged today with trafficking in and making a false record for illegally selling a black rhinoceros head mount to an undercover U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) special agent.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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



  • OPA Press Releases

b

North Carolina Paving Contractor Pleads Guilty to Tax and Bank Fraud

Tommy Edward Clack pleaded guilty in federal court in Greensboro, N.C., to one count of willfully filing a false federal income tax return and one count of knowingly making a false statement to a federally-insured bank in order to obtain a mortgage loan, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Brooklyn Clinic Owner Sentenced for Role in $77 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

The owner of a Brooklyn medical clinic was sentenced today to serve 15 years in prison for her leading role in a $77 million Medicare fraud scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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



  • OPA Press Releases

b

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




b

Attorney General Eric Holder Announces First Public Hearing of Task Force to Examine Impact of Violence on American Indian and Alaska Native Children

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the first public hearing of a new task force to examine the impact of exposure to violence on American Indian and Alaska Native children. Joining President Obama and other officials at the Department of the Interior for the White House Tribal Nations Conference, Attorney General Holder shared the announcement with leaders from the 566 federally recognized tribes and emphasized the Justice Department’s long-standing collaboration with leaders in American Indian and Alaska Native communities to improve public safety.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Internet Pharmacy Website Affiliate Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax Return

Pamela B. Reid pleaded guilty last night to one count of filing a false individual income tax return for the 2006 tax year, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Attorney General Eric Holder Delivers Remarks at the White House Tribal Nations Conference

As we gather for this year’s Tribal Nations Conference – here in our nation’s capital, during American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month – it’s appropriate that we celebrate these and other momentous achievements.




b

Justice Department Announces More Than $62 Million to Strengthen Reentry, Probation and Parole Programs

The Justice Department has awarded more than $62 million in grants to strengthen efforts to help people returning from prison rejoin their communities and become productive, law-abiding citizens.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Attorney General Eric Holder Calls on Congress to Pass Bipartisan Second Chance Act

Attorney General Eric Holder today endorsed the reauthorization of the Second Chance Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy and Rob Portman and its companion legislation by Representatives Danny Davis and F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. that provides resources and support to people reintegrating into their communities after being incarcerated.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Department of Defense Employee Pleads Guilty to Submitting False Claim for Housing Allowance

A Department of Defense (DOD) employee has pleaded guilty to filing a false claim with the DOD while stationed in the Republic of Korea (ROK) to fraudulently obtain $64,000 in housing allowance, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Alabama Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Role in Identity Theft and Tax Refund Scheme

Kevin Jackson of Montgomery, Ala., was sentenced to serve 102 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release, along with an order to pay $150,840.49 in restitution, for his role in a stolen identity refund fraud 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.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Ohio-Based Basco Manufacturing Co. to Pay $1.1 Million for Allegedly Falsifying Customs Documents to Evade Import Duties on Chinese Products

Ohio-based Basco Manufacturing Co. (Basco) has agreed to pay $1.1 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by making false customs declarations to avoid paying duties on products imported from a Chinese manufacturer, and that it has filed a complaint against four other companies and two individuals based on similar allegations.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Associate Attorney General Tony West Delivers Remarks at the Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation

Now perpetrators of domestic and dating violence will be held accountable, whether they’re Indian or non-Indian, and countless Indian women will enjoy safer lives as a result. Section 904 of VAWA 2013 recognizes the inherent power of “participating tribes” to exercise “special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction” over certain defendants, regardless of their Indian or non-Indian status, who commit acts of domestic violence or dating violence or violate certain protection orders in Indian country.




b

Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer and Assistant Director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division Ronald T. Hosko Testify Before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights on Cartel Prosecution

Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer and FBI Assistant Director Ronald T. Hosko testify on cartel prosecution before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights




b

Former Miami Mortgage Broker and Real Estate Agent Sentenced for Role in Multimillion-Dollar Mortgage Fraud Scheme

A former Florida-licensed real estate associate and mortgage broker was sentenced to serve 135 months in prison for his role in a $2.4 million mortgage fraud scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Pittsburgh Repeat Offender Sentenced to Prison for Tax Obstruction

Michael Carlow, a resident of Pittsburgh, Pa., was sentenced today to serve 35 months in prison for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Justice Department and IRS announced.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

High-Ranking Bank Official at Venezuelan State Development Bank Pleads Guilty to Participating in Bribery Scheme

A senior official in Venezuela’s state economic development bank has pleaded guilty in New York federal court to accepting bribes from agents and employees of a New York-based broker-dealer (Broker-Dealer) in exchange for directing her bank’s security-trading business to the Broker-Dealer.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Statement of Mythili Raman Acting Assistant Attorney General U.s. Justice Department Criminal Division Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs United States Senate for a Hearing Entitled “Beyond the Silk Road: Potential Risks, T

Chairman Carper, Ranking Member Coburn, and distinguished Members of the Committee: Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the Committee today to discuss the Department of Justice’s work regarding virtual currencies.



  • OPA Press Releases

b

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman Testifies Before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

"Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the Committee today to discuss the Department of Justice’s work regarding virtual currencies. I am honored to represent the Department at this hearing and to describe for you our approach to virtual currencies"