The United States has sued Rodney Chestnut and Nafeesah Hines to bar them from promoting an alleged tax fraud scheme.

The Department of Justice today reached a settlement with Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V., BBU Inc. and the Sara Lee Corporation that requires them to divest brands of sliced fresh bread and associated assets, in order to proceed with Grupo Bimbo and BBU’s acquisition of Sara Lee’s North American Fresh Bakery business.

Sheena Flores, 34, of Manassas, Va., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee in the Eastern District of Virginia.

A Las Vegas woman pleaded guilty today for her role in a scheme to fraudulently gain control of condominium homeowners’ associations (HOAs) in the Las Vegas area so that the HOAs would direct business to a certain law firm and construction company.

Jeffery K. Armstrong was found guilty today by a federal jury on nine counts of wire fraud for obtaining more than $100,000 in salary payments by fraudulently holding concurrent jobs at the United Nations (U.N.) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

A General Services Administration (GSA) customer service manager was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for his role in a bribery scheme related to payments he received for awarding GSA contracts to various government contractors.

Jose Mendez, 50, of Farr West, Utah, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and procurement fraud, one count of bribery and one count of procurement fraud.

David Amesbury, 57, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan in the District of Nevada to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Henry Clay Glaspell, 34, of Arlington, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to 14 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in February 2011 to a hate crime charge stemming from an arson of a children’s playground at the Dar El-Eman Islamic Center in Arlington in July 2010.

"The Access to Justice office represents an unprecedented commitment by this Administration to addressing our indigent defense system, to growing pro bono service opportunities, and – ultimately – to strengthening our entire legal system," said Senior Counselor Mark Childress.

Five individuals and four of their companies have been indicted as part of a conspiracy to defraud the United States that allegedly caused thousands of radio frequency modules to be illegally exported from the United States to Iran, at least 16 of which were later found in unexploded improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Iraq.

Joshua David Evans, 34, of North Bend, Wash., and Jeremy Lynn Andrew, 33, of Eugene, Ore., pleaded guilty today for their roles in NinjaVideo.net, a website that provided millions of users with the ability to illegally download infringing copies of copyright-protected movies and television programs in high-quality formats.

The U.S. government has filed civil forfeiture complaints against approximately $70.8 million in real and personal property, which the government alleges is the proceeds of foreign corruption offenses and was laundered in the United States.

Joel Esquenazi, 52, of Miami, and Carlos Rodriguez, 55, of Davie, Fla., were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez in the Southern District of Florida.

"Pro bono work must be seen by all lawyers as nothing more than an essential part of their professional lives," said Attorney General Holder.

DFine Inc. of San Jose, Calif., has agreed to pay the United States $2.39 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that the company paid kickbacks to induce physicians to use certain of the company’s devices that are used in treating spinal fractures.

On July 15, 2011, GEM Manufacturing LLC, headquartered in St. Thomas, pleaded guilty to seven counts of violations of both the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act.

Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole today announced the results of an anti-violence initiative launched in May 2011 to combat violent crime throughout the city of Denver.

Michael Edward Todd, a U.S. national who is president of The Parts Guys LLC, a company in Port Orange, Fla., that maintains a warehouse at the Middle Georgia Municipal Airport in Macon, was sentenced this morning in federal court in the Middle District of Georgia.

Kevin A. Ring, a former lobbyist who worked with Jack A. Abramoff, was sentenced today to 20 months in prison for his role in a scheme to corrupt public officials by providing an illegal stream of things of value, including vacations, employment for a congressman’s wife, meals, drinks, and high-priced tickets to exclusive concerts and sporting events.

The Justice Department announced today a lawsuit against the manager and owner of the Geneva Terrace Apartments in La Crosse, Wisc., alleging discrimination against African-Americans who were seeking to rent apartments at the complex.

Thanh Viet Jeremy Cao of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., was sentenced today in Las Vegas before Judge Kent J. Dawson to 41 months in prison for six counts of filing false liens against employees and officers of the federal government.

"To see the results of this law enforcement initiative – arresting 80 defendants with firearms, most of whom have gang affiliations – is impressive," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit today against the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections alleging that it violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act by failing to retroactively promote a U.S. Army Reservist based on his successful performance on a make-up promotional examination after he returned from a military deployment.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement with James J. Williams Bulk Service Transport Inc. (JJW), its parent company Trans-System Inc. and System TWT Transportation Inc. alleging that the companies violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) by failing to promptly and properly reemploy U.S. Air Force reservist Dave Axtell in April 2009 when he returned from military service in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement of its lawsuit alleging that Equity Homes Inc, PBR LLC, BBR LLC and Shane Hartung violated the Fair Housing Act (FHA) by failing to provide features that would make their multi-family housing developments in Sioux Falls accessible to people with disabilities as required by the Fair Housing Act.

“This settlement allows the Department of Agriculture and African-American farmers to focus on the future, and brings us one step closer to giving these farmers a chance to have their claims heard,” said Attorney General Holder.

A former owner and operator of a Florida-based airline fuel supply service company and a former owner and operator of an Indiana-based flight management services company were sentenced today to serve prison time and to pay restitution for conspiring to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud in separate schemes to defraud Ryan International Airlines.

Federal authorities, along with state and local law enforcement partners, conducted coordinated enforcement actions today against 22 individuals and one pharmacy allegedly involved in the illegal distribution of prescription drugs.

Ekpedeme Obot, 35, of Houston, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal in Houston.

The Department of Justice challenged South Carolina’s recently passed immigration law, Act No. 69, in federal court today.

The former asphalt facilities manager of Pelican Refining Company LLC (PRC), pleaded guilty today to the crime of negligent endangerment under the Clean Air Act in federal court in Lafayette, La.

Today, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans entered the revised settlement agreement reached between the United States and Terrebonne Parish as an order of the court.

A federal court in the Middle District of Louisiana has permanently barred Cynthia Peters and Melissa Edwards from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Thirteen individuals, including an alleged member and an associate of the Lucchese organized crime family, are charged with racketeering and related offenses in an indictment unsealed this morning in conjunction with arrests in the case.

The United States has asked a federal court in Detroit to bar Carlos Brown from preparing federal tax returns for others.

“The work we are doing is sending an unmistakable message: that, in this country, we will not give up on our children when it comes to combating youth violence,” Attorney General Eric Holder said.

The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against the owners of Yorkshire Apartments, Thackeray Ledges and Wales Ridge Apartments in Massillon, Ohio, for discriminating on the basis of race and familial status when renting their apartments in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

Guillermo O. Mondino, 48, was sentenced by Judge Ricardo M. Urbina in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

"The fight against transnational organized crime is one of the highest enforcement priorities of the Department of Justice and the Administration," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

Twelve individuals, including three medical doctors, a doctor of osteopathy and a chiropractor, were charged today in the Eastern District of New York for their roles in separate health care fraud schemes that resulted in the submission of more than $95 million in false claims to the Medicare program.

A federal court has permanently barred Robert Pendell from promoting any scheme that assists or advises customers to attempt to violate the tax laws.

“Today, one of the world’s most prolific arms dealers is being held accountable for his sordid past,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.

A former lieutenant with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), was sentenced today for his role in a conspiracy to obstruct justice and for misprision of a felony, in connection with a federal investigation of two police-involved shootings that left two civilians dead and four others seriously wounded in the area of the Danziger Bridge in the days after Hurricane Katrina.

A federal jury today convicted Spokane, Wash., Police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr., 64, of civil rights and obstruction charges stemming from his March 18, 2006, beating of an unarmed citizen and an extensive cover-up that followed.

"OJP’s mission is to increase public safety and improve the fair administration of justice across America through innovative leadership and programs," said Assistant Attorney General Robinson.

"The work of the Justice Department on health care fraud is part of a comprehensive approach this Administration has taken toward improving the Nation’s overall health care delivery system; an approach that aims to secure better, quality coverage at lower costs for all of us," said Assistant Attorney General West.

James E. Moss and Avada L. Jenkins were found guilty today of tax crimes relating to “Flash Tax,” a Montgomery, Ala., tax preparation business owned by Moss.

A former soldier who also served as a civilian contract recruiter pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to obtain approximately $164,000 in fraudulent recruiting bonuses from various U.S. military components and their contractor.

Zafar Mehmood, 45, allegedly masterminded a $30 million scheme involving the submission of fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare for services that were medically unnecessary and/or never provided through at least four home health agencies.