cl Justice Department Files Lawsuit Alleging Racial Discrimination at Apartment Complex in Clanton, Alabama By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:07:51 EDT The Department filed a lawsuit against the owner and employees of Rolling Oaks Apartments, a 72-unit complex in Clanton, Ala., for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating on the basis of race or color in the rental of apartments. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, alleges that the employees, Kenneth R. Scott and Frankie L. Roberson, told white testers that a selling point of Rolling Oaks Apartments was the lack of African American tenants and that they had adopted rental policies intended to discourage African American rental applicants. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl New York State and New York City to Pay Record $540 Million to Settle Allegations of False Claims for Medicaid Funds By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:45:16 EDT The state of New York and New York City have agreed to pay $540 million to settle allegations that they knowingly submitted, or caused to be submitted, false claims for reimbursement for school-based health care services, primarily speech therapy and transportation, provided to Medicaid eligible children from 1990 to 2001. The settlement is a record federal recovery by the Justice Department for the Medicaid Program. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Colorado Interstate Gas Agrees to Resolve Clean Air Act Violations in Utah By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:25:15 EDT Colorado Interstate Gas Company (CIG), the operator of the Natural Buttes Compressor Station located on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation near Vernal, Utah, has agreed to pay more than $1 million and install environmental controls at its facility as part of a consent decree that resolves violations of the Clean Air Act. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Used Motor Vehicle Dealers Indicted by Federal Grand Jury in Casper, Wyoming for Odometer Tampering By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 24 Jul 2009 11:24:38 EDT A federal grand jury in Casper, Wyo., Thursday returned an indictment charging Randy Lee (a/k/a Jimmy Lee) and Jay Lee (a/k/a John Marks, a/k/a Anthony Romero) of Cheyenne, Wyo., with odometer tampering, title fraud, securities fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy to commit these offenses. The indictment alleges that the defendants worked as used car dealers at Lee’s RV’s, Inc., a dealership in Cheyenne. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl UBS Client Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax Return, Hid $8 Million in Secret Swiss Bank Accounts By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:05:23 EDT Jeffrey P. Chernick, of Stanfordville, N.Y., pleaded guilty today to charges of filing a false tax return. Chernick, who owns a corporation which represents toy manufacturers in China and Hong Kong, appeared today before Judge James I. Cohn in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and accepted responsibility for concealing more than $8 million in Swiss bank accounts. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Fourteen Motorcycle Gang Leaders and Members Plead Guilty in Detroit to Violent Crime, Drug and Firearms Charges By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:55:36 EDT Fourteen members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club have pleaded guilty in Detroit to charges including violent crimes in aid of racketeering, illegal drug distribution and firearms violations. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl New Mexico-based Computer Assets Inc. Agrees to Settle False Claims Allegations Involving the E-Rate Program By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:58:21 EDT Computer Assets Inc. and its principals, Abraham Salazar and Damon Salazar, have agreed to pay $350,000 over three years and surrender up to $35 million in pending E-Rate applications to settle allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act in connection with the Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate program. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Aluminum Recycler Agrees to Resolve Clean Air Act Violations By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 4 Aug 2009 11:42:57 EDT Aleris International Inc., one of the nation’s largest aluminum recyclers, and 13 of its subsidiaries have committed to implementing environmental improvements and controls projected to cost $4.2 million at 15 plants located in 11 states. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Boston-Based Bus Company Agrees to $650,000 Penalty for Violating the Clean Air Act and Anti-Idling Regulations By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 4 Aug 2009 13:46:14 EDT Paul Revere Transportation LLC, a bus company based in Boston, has agreed to pay a $650,000 civil penalty after being found liable by a jury in June for violating federal and state clean air laws for idling their buses for extended periods of time. The company was found liable on June 8, 2009, after a six-day trial in U.S. District Court in Boston, for 234 separate violations of the Clean Air Act and a Massachusetts anti-idling regulation. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Business Owner Sentenced to 100 Years for His Role in Scheme to Defraud Clients of Funds Allegedly Held in Trust By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 4 Aug 2009 16:46:15 EDT Edward H. Okun, the former owner of The 1031 Tax Group LLP (1031TG), was sentenced today to 100 years in prison for his leading role in a scheme to defraud and obtain approximately $126 million in client funds held by 1031TG. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Ready-Mix Concrete Producer Agrees to Resolve Clean Water Act Violations By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 6 Aug 2009 12:20:49 EDT Aggregate Industries - Northeast Region Inc., will pay a $2.75 million civil penalty and implement a regional evaluation and compliance program to resolve numerous violations of the Clean Water Act at 23 facilities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Union Pacific Railroad Company Agrees to Settle Clean Water Act Violations in Nevada By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 6 Aug 2009 18:23:11 EDT Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) has agreed to settle alleged violations of the Clean Water Act in Nevada by restoring 122 acres of mountain-desert streams and wetlands, implementing storm water controls at its construction sites, and paying a civil penalty. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Dynamics Research Corporation to Pay $15 Million to Resolve Allegations of Kickbacks and False Claims Related to Air Force Contracts By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:54:17 EDT 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. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Two Virginia Residents Sentenced for Their Role in Scheme to Defraud Clients of Funds Allegedly Held in Trust By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:55:31 EDT Two former employees of Edward H. Okun, who was sentenced to 100 years in prison on Aug. 4, 2009, after a three-week jury trial, were sentenced today before U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne for their roles in a scheme to defraud and obtain approximately $126 million in client funds held by The 1031 Tax Group LLP (1031TG). Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Pipeline Firms to Pay $3.65 Million to Settle Claims Related to 2004 Ammonia Spills in Nebraska and Kansas By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:53:52 EDT 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. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Consortium of 49 Massachusetts Law Enforcement Agencies to Pay U.S. $200,000 for Alleged False Claims By www.justice.gov Published On :: Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:53:26 EDT 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. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Detroit Clinic Owner and Patient Recruiter Plead Guilty in $15 Million Fraud Scheme By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:59:38 EDT 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. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Home Development Company Agrees to Settle Federal Lawsuit for Clean Water Act Violations By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:02:00 EDT 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. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl U.S. Discloses Terms of Agreement with Swiss Government Regarding UBS By www.justice.gov Published On :: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:35:11 EDT The Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today announced that the agreement with the Swiss government has been finalized. As a result of the agreement, the United States will receive substantially all of the accounts of interest when it initiated the John Doe summons against UBS on June 30, 2008. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Two Manufacturers Agree to Settle Clean Air Act Claims Resulting from Explosions at Plants in Kentucky and Mississippi By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:26:03 EDT 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. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Covenant Medical Center to Pay U.S. $4.5 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:16:12 EDT 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. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Tennessee Demolition and Salvage Companies Indicted for Clean Air Act Violations and Defrauding the United States By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:25:05 EDT 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. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Spokane, Washington, Man Indicted on Civil Rights Charges Related to Threats to Reproductive Health Services Clinic By www.justice.gov Published On :: Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:26:22 EDT 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. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl United States & Illinois File Clean Air Act Lawsuit Against Midwest Generation By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:01:24 EDT 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. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Detroit Clinic Manager Pleads Guilty in Medicare Fraud Scheme By www.justice.gov Published On :: Wed, 2 Sep 2009 16:47:47 EDT Denver resident Lil Vargas-Arias pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Detroit to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Brooklyn Resident Sentenced to Prison for Conspiracy to File False Claims for Tax Refunds By www.justice.gov Published On :: Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:13:21 EDT Odell Folks, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was sentenced to prison today by District Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the Eastern District of New York for his participation in a false tax return scheme. Folks, who pleaded guilty in March 2009 to mail fraud, a false claims conspiracy, and making and subscribing a false return, was sentenced to 77 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $489,292. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl City of Jeffersonville, Indiana, Agrees to Upgrade Sewer Systems to Comply with Clean Water Act By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:41:03 EDT The city of Jeffersonville, Ind., has agreed to make extensive improvements to its sewer systems that will significantly reduce the city’s longstanding sewage overflows into the Ohio River in a comprehensive Clean Water Act settlement with federal and state government. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Detroit Clinic Owner and Manager Plead Guilty to Medicare Fraud Charges By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:22:24 EDT Clinic owners and operators Jose Martinez and Denisse Martinez pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Detroit to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl UBS Client Pleads Guilty to Failing to Report $6.1 Million in Swiss Bank Accounts By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:11:00 EDT A Saddle River, N.J., man pleaded guilty today to failure to file a Report of Foreign Bank or Financial Accounts (F-BAR. Juergen Homann appeared today before Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark, N.J., and accepted responsibility for concealing more than $5 million in Swiss bank accounts. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Jury Convicts Defense Department Official of Unlawful Communication of Classified Information and Making False Statements By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:49:01 EDT James Wilbur Fondren Jr., was convicted by a federal jury today on charges involving providing classified information to a man working with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and lying to the FBI about it. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Hampton Roads Sanitation District, Virginia, Agrees to Settle Clean Water Act Violations in Chesapeake Bay Area By www.justice.gov Published On :: Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:58:57 EDT Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD), based in Virginia Beach, Va., has agreed to pay a $900,000 civil penalty and to take corrective actions to reduce alleged sanitary sewer overflows from its collection system and nine sewage treatment plants that have polluted the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl New Jersey Hospital to Pay $8.3 Million for Alleged Kickbacks and Causing Submission of False Claims to Medicare By www.justice.gov Published On :: Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:04:08 EDT “Today’s settlement reflects the Justice Department’s ongoing commitment to protect the integrity of the doctor-patient relationship,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Seattle Area UBS Client Pleads Guilty to Filing a False Tax Return By www.justice.gov Published On :: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 14:59:07 EDT According to court documents and statements made in court, Cittadini, a retired sales manager for Boeing, failed to report income from bank accounts under his control at UBS AG in Switzerland on his individual income tax returns from 2001 through 2003. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Sulfuric Acid Manufacturer Agrees to Resolve Clean Air Violations By www.justice.gov Published On :: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 16:23:31 EDT Mosaic Fertilizer will spend approximately $30 million on air pollution controls that are expected to eliminate harmful emissions from its sulfuric acid production plant in Uncle Sam, La. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Detroit Clinic Owner, Doctor and Office Manager Indicted in Medicare Infusion Fraud Scheme By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 9 Oct 2009 14:40:07 EDT Three Miami-Dade County, Fla., residents have been indicted in connection with an alleged $2.3 million Medicare fraud scheme operated out of X-Press Center, a Detroit-area clinic that purported to specialize in providing injection and infusion therapies. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl AT&T Missouri Agrees to Settle False Claims Act Lawsuit Involving E-Rate Program By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:28:24 EDT AT&T Missouri (formerly known as Southwestern Bell Telephone L.P.) has agreed to pay the United States $1.4 million as part of a settlement of a civil lawsuit alleging that the company violated the False Claims Act in connection with the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate program. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Maryland Tax Preparer Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison for Preparing False Tax Returns for Clients By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:22:51 EDT Marcel J. Toto-Ngosso of Silver Spring, Md., was sentenced to 70 months in prison today for preparing and filing false tax returns in connection with a scheme to generate fraudulent tax refunds for his clients. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl BASF Corporation Agrees to Clean Air Act Upgrades to Protect Stratospheric Ozone By www.justice.gov Published On :: Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:57:42 EDT BASF Corporation has agreed, under a Clean Air Act settlement filed today in federal court in Beaumont, Texas, to reduce the use of refrigerant chemicals that destroy the earth’s stratospheric ozone layer. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Four Pharmaceutical Companies Pay $124 Million for Submission of False Claims to Medicaid By www.justice.gov Published On :: Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:24:36 EDT Mylan Pharmaceuticals, UDL Laboratories, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals and Ortho McNeil Pharmaceutical have entered into settlement agreements for a total of $124 million to resolve claims that they violated the False Claims Act by failing to pay appropriate rebates to state Medicaid programs for drugs paid for by those programs. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Indiana Home Health Agency Pays Nearly $2 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:36:36 EDT “With the nation’s focus on health care, this settlement demonstrates the Justice Department’s commitment to ensuring that federal health care dollars are spent appropriately,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl New York Man Indicted for Clean Air Act Violations By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:52:28 EDT A federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment charging David Vega and Francis Rowe with committing violations of the Clean Air Act while they were project managers for Gordon-Smith Contracting, Inc., an asbestos removal company owned by Keith Gordon-Smith Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Government Files Seven Lawsuits Nationwide to Block Alleged Scheme Involving Fraudulent Tax-Refund Claims By www.justice.gov Published On :: Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:13:08 EDT The federal suits – filed in Los Angeles; Panama City, Fla.; Salt Lake City; Nashville, Tenn.; and Pocatello, Idaho – allege that the defendants promote a tax fraud scheme designed to siphon hundreds of millions of dollars from the U.S. Treasury through fraudulent tax refund claims. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Alabama Grease Haulers Charged with Clean Water Act Violations for Dumping into Mobile Area Sewers By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:22:28 EDT A Mobile, Ala., grand jury has indicted a waste disposal company, its president and top manager for offenses involving the illegal disposal of waste into the sewage treatment systems of Mobile and of neighboring municipalities. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl U.S. Sues Canadian Company and U.S. Subsidiary for False Claims Act Allegations By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:19:56 EDT The United States today sued Lincoln Fabrics Ltd., a Canadian company, and Lincoln Fabrics Inc., aka Lincoln Textiles Inc., its American subsidiary, under the False Claims Act in connection with the companies’ weaving and sale of defective Zylon fabric which was used as the key ballistic material in bullet-proof vests. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Texas Hospital Group Pays U.S. $27.5 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:28:31 EDT A hospital group based in McAllen, Texas, has agreed to pay the United States $27.5 million to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Statute between 1999 and 2006, by paying illegal compensation to doctors in order to induce them to refer patients to hospitals within the group Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Detroit Clinic Owner Pleads Guilty in Medicare Fraud Scheme By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:34:18 EDT Miami resident Daisy Martinez pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Detroit to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Michigan Attorney and Client Sentenced for Tax Crimes in Connection with a Fraudulent Insurance Tax Shelter By www.justice.gov Published On :: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 15:51:15 EST John A. Campbell, a resident of Portage, Mich., was sentenced to 60 months in prison today by the Honorable Janet T. Neff of the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Michigan for conspiring to defraud the United States. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Nation’s Largest Nursing Home Pharmacy and Drug Manufacturer to Pay $112 Million to Settle False Claims Act Cases By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 13:03:14 EST The nation’s largest nursing home pharmacy, Omnicare Inc. of Covington, Kentucky, will pay $98 million, and drug manufacturer, IVAX Pharmaceuticals of Weston, Florida, will pay $14 million to resolve allegations that Omnicare engaged in kickback schemes with several parties, including IVAX. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl United States Intervenes in False Claims Act Suit Against Virginia Medicaid Providers By www.justice.gov Published On :: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 16:58:00 EST The United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia have intervened in a False Claims Act suit in the Western District of Virginia against the Medicaid providers Universal Health Services Inc., Keystone Marion LLC and Keystone Education and Youth Services LLC. Full Article OPA Press Releases
cl Regional Home Builder Agrees to Clean Water Act Settlement By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 16:57:12 EST John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods Inc., and John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods of the Carolinas Inc., based in Atlanta, Ga., have agreed to pay a $350,000 civil penalty to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. Full Article OPA Press Releases