The Justice Department today filed suit against Rawland Leon Sorensen, the owner and manager of more than 50 residential rental properties in Bakersfield, Calif., alleging a pattern or practice of sexual harassment in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

A federal court has permanently barred Gerald A. Poynter II of Kansas City, Mo., from preparing federal tax returns for others and from promoting a fraudulent tax scam.

A Joint statement on behalf of the United States and the European Union:

A federal court has permanently barred John Lewis, Artels James and Perry Wright from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Mohammad Jafar Nikbakht, aka Freydoon Nikbakht, pleaded guilty to tax evasion before U.S. District Court Judge John A. Houston in San Diego.

Brandon Miller, 23, of Omaha, Neb., was sentenced today to 102 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release after pleading guilty to engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.

"As members of the military, you are leaders in our nation. Your communities admire you. Your voices matter. And your voices will make a key difference in changing the national dialogue on sexual assault. We can work together to achieve cultural change to stop sexual assault."

Loretta and Tracey Fergerson were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama on a variety of charges stemming from an identity theft and tax fraud conspiracy.

Two alleged members and associates of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) were arraigned today on charges related to their alleged roles in the 2009 shooting of a man in Jefferson County, Texas.

The United States has filed a complaint against Healthpoint Ltd., alleging civil False Claims Act violations arising from the company’s sale of an unapproved prescription drug that was ineligible for payment under Medicaid and Medicare.

Thomas J. Ernst, formerly a resident of McLean and Arlington, Va., was arraigned today in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Two Chinese nationals have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., for attempting to obtain radiation-hardened microchips, which are prohibited defense items used in the military and aerospace industry.

A Virginia contractor pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme to steer contracts to him for repair, maintenance and renovation work at healthcare and nursing home facilities owned by Medical Facilities of America Inc.

Mark D. Leitner has been indicted by a grand jury in the Northern District of Florida for filing false liens against federal law enforcement, corruptly endeavoring to impede and impair the Internal Revenue Service, and public disclosure of another’s Social Security number in the commission of illegal activity.

Donna Paul and her husband, William Paul, formerly of Montgomery, Ala., were indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with four counts of tax evasion for the tax years 2004 through 2007.

Joseph Taunton, 31, from Jonesville, La., a former corrections officer at the LaSalle Parish Detention Center in Jena, La., pleaded guilty in federal court for engaging in a sexual act with a federal detainee.

A federal court in Dallas has barred Arthur Piner Grider III from operating businesses under any name.

Janet Jaensch, a federal employee, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., to one count of failure to file a 2008 federal income tax return.

Two former Washington, D.C., tax preparers have been indicted on tax charges.

A federal court has barred a Philadelphia tax preparation firm and its owner from preparing federal tax returns claiming first-time-homebuyer tax credits and tax deductions for certain expenses.

The United States has asked a federal court to bar Dennis Giroud of Victorville, Calif., from preparing federal tax returns for others.

A federal court has barred Eddie Madrigal of San Antonio and his business, Madrigal Tax Express Inc., from preparing federal tax returns for others.

The Justice Department announced that it has reached an agreement with Jefferson County, Texas, Drainage District Number Seven on the terms of a consent decree filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

One individual and his company in New York and two others and their company in California were indicted today in the District of Columbia on charges of illegally exporting millions of dollars worth of computer-related equipment from the United States to Iran via the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

A former Bexar County Sherriff’s Office Deputy was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia to 27 months in prison for depriving a man of his constitutional right to be free from excessive force and for obstructing justice.

Eric Bernard Caldwell, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States.

A federal court has permanently barred Rita Augustus from preparing federal tax returns for others.

A Chicago grand jury returned an indictment today against two former executives of Paris-based Société Air France (Air France), for participating in a conspiracy to fix and coordinate rates and surcharges on air cargo shipments and to refuse to pay commissions on surcharges on air cargo shipments.

Cynthia Peters was sentenced to 27 months in prison based on her plea of guilty to one count of willfully aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of a false income tax return.

A Lufkin, Texas, woman was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone to 180 months in prison for her role in a double homicide that took place in Nacogdoches, Texas, in August 2007.

Under a settlement between the United States, state of Connecticut, and the town of Greenwich, Conn., the town will pay a $200,000 penalty and rehabilitate a critical wastewater collection system that serves three of the town’s major wastewater pump stations.

A federal court has permanently barred George Thomas Gaines of Aurora, Colo., from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Alchico Grant and Melinda Clayton were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama on a variety of charges stemming from an identity theft and tax fraud scheme.

Mark John Walker of Eugene, Ore., pleaded guilty today to charges related to his engaging in sexual contact or aggravated sexual abuse with female offenders who were under his direct supervision as a federal probation officer from 2006 to 2009.

Flavio Ricotti, a former executive of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.-based valve company Control Components Inc. (CCI), has pleaded guilty for his participation in a conspiracy to secure contracts by paying bribes to officials of foreign state-owned companies as well as officers and employees of foreign and domestic private companies.

API Healthcare Corporation has abandoned its merger plans with Kronos Inc. after the Department of Justice expressed concerns that the acquisition would have reduced competition and increased prices in healthcare-specific workforce management technology.

The Departments of Justice and Education participated in a town hall-style event today at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in Washington, D.C., in recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Alberto Benjamin Arellano-Felix, an alleged leader of the Arellano-Felix Organization (AFO), was extradited today by the government of Mexico to the United States to face racketeering, money laundering and narcotics trafficking charges in the Southern District of California.

BP Exploration Alaska, Inc. (BP Alaska) will pay a $25 million civil penalty and carry out a system-wide pipeline integrity management program as part of a settlement for spilling more than 5,000 barrels of crude oil from the company’s pipelines on the North Slope of Alaska in 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced today.

The United States has sued Dorthea Alexander of Leola, Pa., seeking to bar her from preparing federal tax returns for others.

John Walter Kaber, a resident of Bloomfield, Mich., pleaded guilty to tax evasion.

Troy A. Beam was convicted today in the Middle District of Pennsylvania before U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Conner.

Three Colorado-based gasoline distributors have agreed to pay $2.5 million to resolve claims that they illegally mixed and distributed more than one million gallons of gasoline that did not meet Clean Air Act emissions and fuel quality requirements.

A federal court has permanently barred a North Carolina man from selling an alleged tax fraud scheme.

Patrick Merrill Brody was sentenced on May 6, 2011, to 10 months of prison, 12 months of supervised release and ordered to pay the costs of prosecution for willfully failing to file a federal income tax return for 2001

GWC Valve International Inc., a company headquartered in Bakersfield, Calif., and its chief executive officer, David Meador, 52, were sentenced today in the Eastern District of California for conspiracy to export services related to industrial valves to Iran.

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today challenging George’s Inc.’s acquisition of Tyson Foods’ Harrisonburg, Va., chicken processing complex.

A former president of an Illinois refuse disposal container repair company was sentenced today for his role in a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with bids on a contract for the repair of refuse carts for the city of Chicago.

Lindsey Manufacturing Company, an Azusa, Calif., company, two of its executives and a Mexican intermediary today were convicted by a federal jury on all counts for their alleged roles in a scheme to pay bribes to Mexican government officials at the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), a state-owned utility company.

Jimmie Duane Ross was indicted by a federal grand jury in Knoxville, Tenn., for five counts of tax evasion.