David Plummer, Spencer Plummer and Terry Green, operators of a fraudulent tax shelter that offered tax benefits in connection with the leasing of thoroughbred mares, pleaded guilty today to a criminal information charging them with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

I authorized this significant step following a careful and thorough review process, and I did so only because I believe there is no way for this case to move forward without jeopardizing ongoing intelligence activities that we rely upon to protect the safety of the American people.

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.

Steven W. Burgess, a former Jackson County, Mo., sheriff’s deputy, pleaded guilty in federal court today to violating the civil rights of a teenage girl whom he sexually assaulted in his patrol car.

The all-day workshops, which will begin in March 2010, will be held in Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin.

“This task force’s mission is not just to hold accountable those who helped bring about the last financial meltdown, but to prevent another meltdown from happening,” Attorney General Eric Holder said.

A federal court in Los Angeles has issued permanent injunctions barring a Torrance, Calif., tax preparer, Susan Guan and her company, SRN Financial Services Inc., from preparing tax returns for others

The government complaint in the civil injunction case alleged that Jacqueline Cornejo promoted a tax fraud scheme designed to siphon millions of dollars from the U.S. Treasury.

A federal court in Kansas City, Kan., has permanently barred Carlos Cruz, also known as Carlos Ruano-Cruz, from preparing tax returns for others.

Michael Parker of Baltimore, who was the chief operating officer of TransCapital Corporation, a tax-advantaged investments company based in Northen Virginia, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Polembros Shipping LTD., a ship management company headquartered in Greece, was sentenced today in federal court in New Orleans to pay a $2.7 million criminal fine for violating anti-pollution laws, ship safety laws, and making false statements during a U.S. Coast Guard investigation of the M/V Theotokos, the Justice Department announced.

A federal grand jury has returned multiple indictments arising out of a fatal racially motivated beating and related police corruption in Shenandoah, Pa.

Cristina Andres Perfecto of Nashville, Tenn., was sentenced late yesterday in federal court in Memphis to 190 months in prison for sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, sex trafficking of a juvenile and conspiracy.

A federal court has issued a preliminary injunction barring Penny Lea Jones of Idaho Falls, Idaho, from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

The findings reported in the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) report, Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities Reported by Youth, 2008-2009, bring into focus the dire circumstances that too many youth in juvenile correctional facilities have to endure.

Justin Cannon, 27, of Corpus Christi, Texas, and Christopher Drotleff, 29, of Virginia Beach, Va., have been charged with crimes including second-degree murder, attempted murder and firearms offenses while working as contractors for the U.S. Department of Defense in Afghanistan. Cannon and Drotleff were charged under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA).

U.S. Army Major Charles E. Sublett, 46, of Huntsville, Ala., was arrested today on charges of bulk cash smuggling and making false statements to a federal agency.

The department filed a brief as a friend of the court in Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Center Inc. v. Richmond Township and Richmond Township Planning Commission, a civil rights case regarding the expansion of an addictive disorders treatment facility in Macomb County, Mich.

On Jan. 13, 2010, Dilraj Mathauda entered a guilty plea in federal district court in Miami Federal to one count of an indictment pending against him, charging conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

As a part of the tax conspiracy, Ronald Boyarsky assisted in paying approximately $2.6 million in commissions earned by a printing services broker to third parties, so that the broker and his companies could avoid paying taxes on the income they earned.

The chief executive officer of Sterling Seafood Corporation located in Cresskill, N.J., pleaded guilty to importing falsely labeled fish from Vietnam and evading over $60 million in federal tariffs, as well as selling over $500,000 in similarly misbranded fish purchased from another importer in the United States.

"Over the years, I’ve been privileged to work with many of you, and, today, I’m proud to stand alongside each of you in answering our nation’s call to attain justice," said Attorney General Holder.

The Department has entered into a settlement agreement with the Metropolitan Government of Nashville, Tenn., and Davidson County, Tenn., to enhance the security of students with disabilities on public school buses.

The Department has reached a settlement agreement with the Alameda County, Calif., Sheriff’s Office, under which it will provide sign language interpreters and other auxiliary aids and services to arrestees, detainees, suspects, victims, witnesses, complainants and visitors who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-blind at two jails.

Jack Barouh of Golden Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty today to filing a false tax return.

The TNLC marks the first time a council composed of tribal leaders selected by tribal governments will advise Justice Department leadership on an ongoing basis.

Fleet Management Ltd. was ordered to pay $10 million today for its role in causing the Cosco Busan oil discharge and a subsequent cover-up after the ship struck the San Francisco Bay Bridge in November 2007.

The goals of the workshops are to promote dialogue among interested parties and foster learning with respect to the appropriate legal and economic analyses of these issues, as well as to listen to and learn from parties with experience in the agriculture sector.

Michael Lohman, a former Lieutenant of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), has pleaded guilty to conspiring with fellow NOPD officers to obstruct justice by covering up a police-involved shooting that occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

You are about to become our newest citizens. Hailing from 24 different countries, each of you represents a different culture, a different language, a different way of dress. But you will each now be American.

Victor Kaganov, who emigrated from Russia and set up numerous shell corporations in Oregon on behalf of Russian clients, was arrested today on charges of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, welcomes the members of the division’s senior leadership.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan abandoned its attempt to purchase Physicians Health Plan of Mid-Michigan after the Department informed the companies that it would file an antitrust lawsuit to block the acquisition.

A federal court in Los Angeles has permanently barred Nyla McIntyre of Covina, Calif. and her business, Approved Financial Services, Inc., from preparing tax returns for others.

The workshops, which were first announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Aug. 5, 2009, are the first joint Department of Justice/USDA workshops ever to be held to discuss competition and regulatory issues in the agriculture industry.

The United States has sued a Garden City, Kan., tax preparer, Jose Lares, seeking to permanently bar him from the tax-preparation business.

A federal judge in Sacramento, Calif., has permanently barred Teresa Marty, of Pollock Pines, Calif, and her Placerville, Calif.-based business, Advanced Financial Services LLC, from acting as federal tax return preparers.

“Today’s workshop provided the Department with an important opportunity to hear from a variety of perspectives and individuals about competition in the agriculture sector,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.

"The Justice Department, as well as the USDA and the entire administration, is committed to protecting competition vigorously," said Attorney General Holder.

The United States has asked a federal court to permanently shut down a Miami tax return preparer and his business.

Shell Chemical L.P. and Shell Chemical Yabucoa have agreed to install pollution reduction equipment on two petroleum refining facilities at an estimated cost of $6 million as part of two comprehensive Clean Air Act settlements.

The federal government announced today that it would remove the remaining 52 ships that currently sit in the Suisun Bay as part of an agreement with environmental groups that was filed in federal court in Sacramento, Calif.

Eight promoters of a fraudulent tax and debt elimination scheme were convicted of tax, wire fraud and money laundering charges by a federal jury following a month long trial in Pensacola, Fla.

A federal court in Lincoln, Neb., has issued a permanent injunction barring a Lexington, Neb., tax preparer, Donald R. Ondrak, and his company, Don Ondrak P.C., from preparing tax returns for others.

"Whether it is in counterterrorism, counter-narcotics, money laundering, smuggling or combating international organized crime, Spain has long been and will continue to be a strong partner for the United States," said Attorney General Holder.

A federal district court in Florida has permanently barred Jacksonville resident Shirley Clark from preparing tax returns for others.

Paul Zabczuk, a resident of The Woodlands, Texas, pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

"Our Department is facing new demands, and our nation is confronting unprecedented challenges. But, as I look around this room and consider all that you’ve accomplished over the last year, I can’t help but feel hopeful about what we can achieve in the days ahead," said Attorney General Holder.

Michael Shane Minich, 35, a former Lee County, Miss., Sheriff’s Deputy, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock, in Aberdeen, Miss., to depriving citizens of their civil rights under color of law by secretly removing cash from their wallets during traffic stops.

A federal judge in Chicago has issued a preliminary injunction against a Joliet, Ill., tax return preparer.