in

Missouri Woman Pleads Guilty for Role in the Vandalism and Arson of a Mobile Home

Teresa Witthar, 43, of Independence, Mo., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Kansas City to federal hate crime charges in connection with the vandalism and arson of a bi-racial man’s mobile home in 2006.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Four Individuals and Three Corporations Convicted for Roles in Wire Fraud Conspiracy at New York Presbyterian Hospital

A Manhattan jury today convicted four individuals and three corporations for their participation in an eight-year conspiracy, involving kickbacks in excess of $2 million, to defraud New York Presbyterian Hospital.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Rehabilitation Agency Owner in Detroit Found Guilty for Role in $2 Million Therapy Fraud Scheme

Detroit-area resident Tariq Mahmud, 55, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and six counts of health care fraud.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Las Vegas Real Estate Agent and Mortgage Broker Convicted for Their Roles in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

After a seven-day trial, a federal jury in Las Vegas found Jeannie Sutherland and Kelly Nunes guilty of one count of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Nine Indicted for Conspiring to Distribute, Receive and Possess Child Pornography

Nine men have been indicted in the Western District of Virginia for allegedly conspiring to receive, distribute, possess and access with intent to view child pornography/



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Former Soldier Pleads Guilty in Texas for Leading Role in Scheme to Illegally Obtain Military Recruiting Bonuses

A former soldier pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to obtain a total of at least approximately $240,000 in fraudulent recruiting bonuses from various U.S. military components and their contractor, and to one count of aggravated identity theft for unlawfully using the means of identification of a potential soldier.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Justice Department Announces Luke J. McCormack as New Chief Information Officer

The Department of Justice today announced that Luke J. McCormack will become its new chief information officer (CIO), arriving in late March.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Hungarian Citizen Sentenced in Maryland to 30 Months in Prison for Hacking into Marriott Computers to Extort Employment from the Company

Attila Nemeth, 26, a Hungarian citizen, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz to 30 months in prison for transmitting a malicious code to Marriott International Corporation computers and threatening to reveal confidential information obtained from the company’s computers if Marriott did not offer him a job.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Louisiana Medical Equipment Company Owner Pleads Guilty in $21 Million Fraud Scheme

Chikenna D. Jones, 36, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of the Middle District of Louisiana to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the American Bar Association’s National Summit on Indigent Defense

"Across the country, public defender offices and other indigent defense providers are underfunded and understaffed. Too often, when legal representation is available to the poor, it’s rendered less effective by insufficient resources, overwhelming caseloads, and inadequate oversight," said Attorney General Holder.




in

Medical Device Company Smith & Nephew Resolves Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Investigation

Smith & Nephew Inc. has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve improper payments by the company and certain affiliates in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Lee County, Florida, for Race and National Origin Discrimination

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers, Fla., alleges that Lee County discriminated against tradesworkers Marco Ferreira, Eduardo Rivera and Leonides Sepulveda by subjecting them to racial and ethnic harassment over a period of approximately two years beginning in 2007 and ending in 2009.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Former U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Sentenced to Prison for Role in Scheme to Steal Military Equipment in Iraq

A former U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) gunnery sergeant was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for conspiring to steal at least 55 electrical generators from USMC bases in Iraq in 2008.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Californian Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Evading More Than $150,000 in Taxes

William H. Nurick, of Camarillo, Cal., was sentenced to 60 months in prison and ordered to pay $286,443 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer in Los Angeles, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Louisiana Patient Recruiter Pleads Guilty in Health Care Fraud Scheme

Rodney D. Taylor, 45, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of the Middle District of Louisiana to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

California Seafood Corporation Sentenced to Pay $1 Million for False Labeling of Seafood Products

Seafood Solutions Inc., a California corporation, was sentenced in federal court in Los Angeles today to pay $1 million in fines and community service payments for its role in the false labeling of frozen fish fillets.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Nebraska Man Pleads Guilty for Fraudulently Seeking Corrupt Payments in Return for Promising to Obtain Reduction in Associate’s Prison Sentence

Austin Galvan, 30, was charged in a two-count indictment unsealed on Aug. 29, 2011, with wire fraud and obstruction of justice.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Dover Chemical Corporation in Ohio to Pay $1.4 Million for Unauthorized Production of Chemical Substances

Dover Chemical Corporation has agreed to pay $1.4 million in civil penalties for the unauthorized manufacture of chemical substances at facilities in Dover, Ohio, and Hammond, Ind.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Los Angeles Man Sentenced to 77 Months in Prison for Medicare Fraud Scheme Resulting in More Than $18.9 Million in Fraudulent Claims to Medicare

Eduard Aslanyan, 38, of Sherman Oaks, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall in the Central District of California.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Three Men Sentenced for Attempting to Intimidate African-American Students at a Louisiana Middle School

U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Hayes sentenced James Lee Wallis Jr. to eight months in prison, Tony L. Johnson to six months in prison and Brian Wallis to five months in prison.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

U.S. Court Bars Two in Alabama from Preparing Federal Tax Returns

A federal court has permanently barred Paul E. Foster Jr. and Sheree McDade, both of Montgomery, Ala., from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Florida Resident Sentenced to Year in Prison in Connection with Selling Fraudulent Business Opportunities to Consumers

James Cummings, a resident of Boca Raton, Fla., has been sentenced for committing fraud in connection with a coffee machine business opportunity scheme, the Justice Department and U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Florida Jury Holds Tax Preparer Liable for $135,000 in Penalties for False Tax Returns

An eight-member jury has unanimously found that a former Jackson Hewitt tax preparer, Frances Carlson of Bradenton, Fla., prepared 27 federal tax returns that she knew would understate her customers’ tax liabilities, the Justice Department announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

U.S. and Chinese Defendants Charged with Economic Espionage and Theft of Trade Secrets in Connection with Conspiracy to Sell Trade Secrets to Chinese Companies

A federal grand jury in San Francisco has charged five individuals and five companies with economic espionage and theft of trade secrets for their roles in a long-running effort to obtain U.S. trade secrets for the benefit of companies controlled by the government of the People’s Republic of China.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Assistant Administrator of Houston Hospital Indicted for Alleged Role in $116 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

An indictment filed in the Southern District of Texas and unsealed today charges Mohammed Khan, 62, of Houston, with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks and five counts of paying or offering to pay health care kickbacks.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Justice Department Dismisses Antitrust Lawsuit Against Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext

The Department of Justice today filed a notice with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to dismiss its antitrust lawsuit regarding the potential merger of Deutsche Börse AG and NYSE Euronext.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Federal Government and State Attorneys General Reach $25 Billion Agreement with Five Largest Mortgage Servicers to Address Mortgage Loan Servicing and Foreclosure Abuses

The federal government and 49 state attorneys general today have reached a landmark $25 billion agreement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers to address mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure abuses.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Food Storage and Processing Facility in Washington State Agrees to Resolve Seizure Action

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington has entered a consent decree against Dominguez Foods of Washington Inc. to resolve a food seizure action alleging violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), the Justice Department announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Former Owner of Illinois Technology Company Sentenced to Serve 30 Months in Prison for Role in Multi-State Scheme to Defraud Federal E-Rate Program

A former owner of two Illinois-based technology companies was sentenced today to serve 30 months in prison for her participation in a conspiracy to defraud the federal E-Rate program.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Three Northern California Real Estate Investors Agree to Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging at Public Foreclosure Auctions

Three Northern California real estate investors have agreed to plead guilty today for their roles in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Former IRS Employee from Texas Sentenced to Nearly Nine Years in Prison on Theft of Government Property and Aggravated Identity Theft Convictions

Thomas W. Richardson was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle in Dallas to 105 months in prison and ordered to pay $30,649 in restitution, following his guilty plea in August 2011 to one count of theft of government property and one count of aggravated identity theft, the Justice Department announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Justice Department Requires Mill Divestitures in International Paper’s Acquisition of Temple-Inland

The Department of Justice announced today that it will require International Paper Company and Temple-Inland Inc. to divest three containerboard mills in order to proceed with their $4.3 billion merger.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Florida Resident Convicted for Interfering with the IRS and Filing False Tax Returns

Roanne Eye, 57, of Plantation, Fla., was found guilty of tax charges late Thursday after a four-day jury trial, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Louisiana Hunting Outfitter Pleads Guilty to Illegally Killing Protected Alligator

Gregory K. Dupont, 38, of Plaquemine, La., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Baton Rouge, La., to one felony count of illegally guiding out-of-state sport hunters to unauthorized areas to hunt American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) in violation of the Lacey Act, the U.S. Endangered Species Act and Louisiana law.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Pennsylvania-based Lender to Pay U.S. $3.9 Million to Resolve False Claims Liability Related to Two Nursing Home Mortgages

Capmark Finance LLC in Horsham, Pa., has agreed to pay the United States $3.9 million, to settle a False Claims Act lawsuit, the Justice Department announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

U.S. Files Criminal Charges Against Dallas Company in Connection with Misbranded Drug Shipment That Led to Three Deaths

The Justice Department, at the request of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), has charged Gary D. Osborn and his corporation, ApothéCure Inc., with two misdemeanor criminal violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) in connection with their interstate shipment of two lots of misbranded colchicine injectable solution that led to the deaths of three people in the Pacific Northwest.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Attorney General Eric Holder Launches Consumer Protection Working Group to Combat Consumer Fraud

The Consumer Protection Working Group, formed under President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), convened its first meeting in Washington, D.C., today to address consumer fraud, which can financially cripple households and can cause extensive losses to our economy.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Justice Department Settles Allegations of Employment Discrimination at the Massachusetts Department of Correction

The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into a settlement that, if approved by the court, will resolve the department’s allegations that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Department of Correction violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against female applicants for entry-level correction officer and correction program officer positions at the Massachusetts Department of Correction.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez Speaks on Protections and Benefits for Military Families in Federal-state Mortgage Settlement Call

"The federal-state agreement contains provisions to ensure that our servicemembers receive the full protection of current law, as well as substantial new benefits," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.




in

Massachusetts Man Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Participating in International Child Pornography Ring

Joseph Tierney, 24, of Wellesley, Mass., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Two Individuals Arrested in Connection with Costa Rica-based Business Opportunity Fraud Ventures

A U.S. citizen and a Canadian citizen were arrested last week in Costa Rica in connection with the operation of a series of fraudulent business opportunities following their indictment by a federal grand jury in Miami on Nov. 29, 2011, the Justice Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Co-Owner of Two Los Angeles-Area Health Care Companies Sentenced to 96 Months in Prison for Health Care Fraud

The co-owner of two Los Angeles-area health care companies was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for his conviction stemming from a nine-year scheme to defraud Medicare.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Statement of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division on Its Decision to Close Its Investigations of Google Inc.’s Acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. and the Acquisitions of Certain Patents by Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Research in

The Antitrust Division closed its investigations into Google Inc.’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., the acquisitions by Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM) of certain Nortel Networks Corporation patents, and the acquisition by Apple of certain Novell Inc. patents.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

North Carolina Corporate Hog Farm and President Sentenced to Pay $1.5 Million for Violating the Clean Water Act

Freedman Farms Inc. was sentenced today in federal court to five years probation and ordered to pay $1.5 million in fines, restitution and community service payments for violating the Clean Water Act when they discharged hog waste into a stream that leads to the Waccamaw River.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at Event Honoring Barbara Jordan

"Exactly 60 years ago, before she became one of the most dedicated and effective champions of our nation’s Civil Rights movement – before she became the first African-American elected to the Texas State Senate, and the first African-American woman to represent the South in the United States Congress – Barbara Jordan was a senior at this school and, just like you, a proud Wheatley student," said Attorney General Holder.




in

Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Efforts Result in Record-breaking Recoveries Totaling Nearly $4.1 Billion

Attorney General Eric Holder and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released a new report showing that the government’s health care fraud prevention and enforcement efforts recovered nearly $4.1 billion in taxpayer dollars in Fiscal Year (FY) 2011.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Boca Raton, Florida-based CPA Indicted for Preparing False Tax Returns and Obstructing Internal Revenue Laws

John P. Miller, a Certified Public Accountant, was indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in the Southern District of Florida with obstructing the Internal Revenue laws and preparing false tax returns the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

U.S. Army Reserves Sergeant Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud the United States Related to Contracting in Support of Iraq War

Sergeant Amasha M. King, 33, of Forsyth, Ga., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell in Macon, Ga., to criminal information charging her with one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Department of Defense.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Two Houston-Area Nurses Sentenced to More Than Five Years in Prison for Roles in $5.2 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

Two Houston-area nurses and two of their co-conspirators have been sentenced in Houston for their participation in a $5.2 million Medicare fraud scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

in

Pennsylvania Dairy Farmer Operator Found in Violation of Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania awarded summary judgment to the government on a finding that Daniel Allgyer, dba Rainbow Acres Farm and Rainbow Valley Farms, violated the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the Public Health Services Act, the Justice Department announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases