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Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Corpus Christi, Texas, Police Department for Sex Discrimination

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the city of Corpus Christi, Texas, alleging that the city’s police department engaged in a pattern or practice of employment discrimination against women in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.



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Alabama Woman Pleads Guilty in Stolen Identity Tax Refund Fraud Case

Jacqueline Slaton pleaded guilty today in the Middle District of Alabama to one count of filing a false tax return and one count of aggravated identity theft, the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.



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CEO of Axius Inc. and Finance Professional Indicted for Alleged Roles in Scheme to Bribe Stock Brokers and Manipulate Stock Prices

The chief executive officer (CEO) of Axius Inc., a Nevada corporation, and a finance professional were indicted today on multiple charges for their alleged roles in a scheme to bribe stock brokers and manipulate the share price of Axius stock.



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Virginia Man Charged with Tax Crimes

A Newport News, Va., federal grand jury has indicted Jeffrey Charles for conspiring with his daughter and son-in-law to defraud the United States, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.



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Justice Department Files Complaint Against Two Texas State Agencies for Pay Discrimination

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the Texas Department of Agriculture and Texas General Land Office alleging that both state agencies are liable for discrimination against three female employees on the basis of sex, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, which occurred at Texas Department of Rural Affairs.



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Former New Mexico Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Violations of Inmate

Sylvester Bruce, 44, a former corrections officer with Navajo Nation’s Shiprock Detention Center (SDC) in Shiprock, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court on charges related to the sexual abuse of an inmate during the summer and fall of 2010. Specifically, Bruce pleaded guilty to one count of violating the civil rights of the victim when he touched her breasts against her will. Bruce also pleaded guilty to making material false statements to the FBI when he denied taking pictures of inmates inside the cells of the SDC.



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Hazardous Waste Generators Agree to $56.4 Million Cleanup of Former Texas City, Texas, Waste Disposal Site

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today an agreement with over three dozen companies and government agencies that will result in a $56.4 million cleanup of the “Malone Services Company” Superfund Site in Texas City, Texas, a former waste-disposal site near the shore of Galveston Bay.



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Former CFO of North Carolina Assisted Living Facility Chain Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud Conspiracy

Michael R. Elliott, former chief financial officer of Caremerica Inc., pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Justice Department and IRS announced.



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Maine Resident Charged and Arrested for Allegedly Engaging in Cyber “Sextortion” of New Hampshire Victim

John Bryan Villegas, 21, of Kittery, Maine, was arrested yesterday and made his initial appearance today in federal court in New Hampshire.



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Justice Department Obtains $855,000 Judgment Against Cincinnati Landlord for Sexually Harassing His Tenants

Cincinnati landlord Henry E. Bailey agreed to the entry of an $855,000 civil judgment against him, after admitting that he violated the Fair Housing Act as alleged in a complaint filed by the Justice Department in federal court.



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Former President of Texas Company Indicted for Employee Deaths and Environmental Violations

Port Arthur Chemical and Environmental Services LLC (PACES) and its former president Matthew L. Bowman have been charged with conspiracy to illegally transport hazardous materials, resulting in the deaths of two employees, in an indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in Beaumont, Texas.



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Former Employee of Nursing Home Company Operating in North Carolina and Virginia Sentenced to Serve 63 Months in Prison for Kickback Schemes and Tax Evasion

The former director of corporate maintenance and renovations at Medical Facilities of America Inc. (MFA) was today sentenced to serve 63 months in prison for accepting kickbacks from contractors and evading federal income taxes.



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Former Financial Services Executive Indicted for His Participation in a Far-Reaching Conspiracy and Scheme to Defraud Involving Investment Contracts for the Proceeds of Municipal Bonds

A former financial services executive was indicted yesterday for his participation in a far-reaching conspiracy and scheme to defraud related to bidding for contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts.



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Starr County, Texas, Sheriff’s Deputy Arrested and Detained on Bribery, Extortion and Drug Charges

A Deputy Sheriff for the Starr County, Texas, Sherriff’s Office has been ordered detained by a federal magistrate judge in the Southern District of Texas on charges of conspiracy, federal programs bribery, extortion and drug possession with intent to distribute.



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Florida Tax Preparer Sentenced to Federal Prison for Stolen Identity Refund Fraud

Ernst Pierre, a Port St. Lucie, Fla., tax preparer, was sentenced today to 51 months in federal prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) announced. Pierre was charged with a scheme to file false federal income tax returns using stolen identity information. Pierre was also ordered to pay over $266,000 in restitution to the IRS.



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Las Vegas Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

Charles C. LoBello, a Nevada-licensed attorney who practices business and personal injury law in Las Vegas, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of tax evasion, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. U.S. District Court Judge James Mahan presided over the plea hearing.



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Justice Department Signs Agreements in Texas and Georgia to Ensure Civic Access for People with Disabilities

The Justice Department today announced agreements with Wills Point, Texas, and Randolph County, Ga., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for individuals with disabilities



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U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Pleads Guilty in Miami to Civil Rights Violations for Sexual Assault of Three Women

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer Paulo Morales, 47, of Miami, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Miami to three civil rights offenses for sexually groping three women in his custody.



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Former North Carolina Builder Arrested and Charged with Tax Obstruction and Conversion of Government Property

William B. Clayton, a residential builder formerly of Corolla, N.C., was arrested yesterday on charges of obstructing the tax laws and converting government property.



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Texas Return Preparer Sentenced to Jail for Preparing False Tax Returns

Eddye L. Lovely, a tax return preparer from Tomball, Texas, was sentenced today to 57 months in federal prison.



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Wilcox County, Georgia, Jailer Pleads Guilty in Connection with Assault of Three Inmates

The Justice Department announced today that former Wilcox County, Ga., Jailer Casey Owens pleaded guilty to a misprision of a felony in connection with an incident in which several people, including law enforcement officials, assaulted three inmates inside of the Wilcox County Jail in Abbeville, Ga.



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Admitted Associate of New England La Cosa Nostra Sentenced to Prison for Participation in Hobbs Act Extortion Conspiracy

Albino “Albie” Folcarelli, 54, of Johnston, R.I., an admitted associate of the New England La Cosa Nostra (NELCN), was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I., today to serve 84 months in federal prison for his participation in an extortion conspiracy to extort $25,000 from a Rhode Island individual by using implied threats of violence, including visits to the individual’s place of employment and home.



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Alabama Return Preparers Sentenced to Jail for Tax Conspiracy

James E. Moss and Avada L. Jenkins were both sentenced yesterday to 160 months and 41 months in prison respectively for their involvement in a fraudulent tax return perpetration scheme, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. U.S. District Judge Mark E. Fuller of the Middle District of Alabama also ordered Moss and Jenkins to pay over $120,000 in restitution, jointly and severally, to the IRS.



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Maryland Resident Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax Returns

Adean Wells, of Silver Spring, Md., pleaded guilty today to filing two false individual income tax returns before Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.



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New York Distributor of Prepaid Phone Cards Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

Goher Yaqoob, a resident of Roslyn Heights, N.Y., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York to tax evasion, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.



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Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Gang Member Sentenced to Serve 10 Years in Prison for Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering

An Aryan Brotherhood of Texas gang member from Houston was sentenced today to serve 10 years in prison for his role in an aggravated assault that took place in Tomball, Texas, in September 2008.



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Justice Department Announces Agreement to Address and Prevent the Sexual Assault of Students in Allentown, Pa., Schools

The Department of Justice and the Allentown, Pa., School District today filed a proposed consent decree addressing multiple complaints of sexual assault of students at Central Elementary School. The comprehensive consent decree resolves allegations that six- and seven-year-old students were sexually assaulted by another student in the boys’ bathrooms at Central Elementary School during the 2003–2004 school year.



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German Subsidiary of TRW Automotive Agrees to Plead Guilty to Price Fixing on Automobile Parts Installed in U.S. Cars

TRW Deutschland Holding GmbH, a Koblenz, Germany-based subsidiary of U.S.-based TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., has agreed to plead guilty for its involvement in a conspiracy to fix prices of seatbelts, airbags and steering wheels sold to two German automobile manufacturers, and installed in cars sold in the United States.



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Former Milwaukee Police Officer Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison for Civil Rights Violation and Sexual Assault

Former Milwaukee Police Officer Ladmarald Cates was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller to 24 years in prison.



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Utah Man Pleads Guilty to Filing a False Claim for Tax Refund

Michael Lavery, a resident of Sandy, Utah, pleaded guilty yesterday for presenting a false claim to the United States, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Lavery appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul M. Warner in Salt Lake City.



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Florida-Based Crowley Liner Services Inc. Pleads Guilty to Price Fixing on Freight Services Between U.S. and Puerto Rico

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Crowley Liner Services Inc. pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $17 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the coastal water freight transportation industry.



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City of Woodlake, Calif., Settles with Justice Department Over Practice of Unlawful Pre-employment Medical Examinations

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement with the city of Woodlake, Calif., to resolve allegations that the city engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against people with disabilities by requiring applicants for job vacancies to undergo unlawful pre-employment medical examinations before receiving an offer of employment, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).



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Justice Department Reaches Agreement with Alabama School District to End the Use of Race in Extracurricular Activities

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an out-of-court agreement with the Escambia County School District in Alabama to end the use of race-based selection criteria for homecoming courts and other student activities in two of the district’s high schools.



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District of Columbia Return Preparer Convicted of Preparing False Tax Returns

Following a jury trial that began on Aug. 1, 2012, a federal jury convicted Enyinnaya Udo on all 25 counts of an indictment charging him with aiding and assisting in the preparation of false individual income tax returns, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.



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Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Chicago Tax Preparer

The Justice Department announced that it has asked a federal court in Chicago to bar Bruce E. Grant and his business, Quick Check Limited, from preparing tax returns. The civil injunction suit alleges that Grant falsifies customers’ income on their tax returns, frequently by fabricating business income and expenses, in order to claim the maximum earned income tax credit (EITC) for them.



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Alabama Return Preparer Sentenced to Federal Prison for Tax Conspiracy Involving Stolen Identity Refund Fraud

Yumeitrius Manuel, a resident of Montgomery, Ala., was sentenced today in the Middle District of Alabama to 81 months in federal prison for filing false tax returns using stolen identities, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.



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Federal Court Shuts Down Florida Tax Return Preparers

A federal court in Miami has permanently barred Sharon Angulo and Claudia Zuloaga, both of Miami, from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The injunction order was signed by Judge Joan A. Lenard of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.



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New York Federal Court Bars Woman from Preparing Tax Returns

A federal court in Central Islip, N.Y., has permanently barred Diana D. Bertocci-Aliffi from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The civil injunction order, to which Aliffi agreed without admitting the government’s allegations, was signed by Judge Joanna Seybert of the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York.



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Federal Court Permanently Bars Detroit Husband and Wife from Promoting Alleged Tax-fraud Scheme and from Preparing Federal Tax Returns

A federal court has permanently barred a Michigan couple, Damian and Holly Jackson, of Detroit, from preparing federal tax returns for others, preparing their own federal tax returns using false 1099 forms, and promoting an alleged tax-fraud scheme based on the frivolous “redemption” theory, the Justice Department announced today. The civil injunction order, to which the Jacksons consented without admitting the allegations against them, was signed by Judge Paul D. Borman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.



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Arizona Tax Defier Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Fraud and Tax Conspiracy

Richard Kellogg Armstrong, 77, of Prescott, Ariz., was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn to 108 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Blackburn ordered the sentence to run consecutively to the 660 day prison term and $1,021,500 of fines cumulatively imposed upon Armstrong as punitive sanctions for 10 acts of contempt of court. He also ordered Armstrong to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the amount of $1,678,834 and to forfeit two residences and a personal aircraft. The sentence was announced by the Justice Department’s Tax Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado and the IRS Criminal Investigation Denver Field Office. Codefendant Curtis L. Morris, age 43, of Elizabeth, Colo., is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 6, 2012.



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Residents of California and Utah Sentenced for Tax Fraud

David L. Johnson and Michael L. Putnam were sentenced today following their convictions for tax crimes related to their involvement in the Genesis Fund, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Both Johnson and Putnam had previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer in the Central District of California. According to the original indictment filed in this case, the Genesis Fund was a private investment fund that was marketed as investing in foreign currency trading, but that operated as a Ponzi scheme.



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Federal Court in Kansas City, Kansas, Shuts Down Tax-return Preparer

A federal court in Kansas City, Kan., has permanently barred Ahferom Goitom from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The civil injunction order, to which Goitom consented without admitting the allegations against him, was signed by Judge John W. Lungstrum of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. The case is one of five similar lawsuits (the others were filed in Indianapolis; Las Vegas; Chicago; and Dayton, Ohio) to shut down four of the largest Instant Tax Service franchise owners, as well as the Dayton-based corporate franchisor of the Instant Tax Service brand—ITS Financial LLC.



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Six Indicted in Alabama in Million-dollar Conspiracy to Use Stolen Identities to Obtain Tax Refunds

A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Ala., returned a superseding indictment charging Antoinette Djonret, Angelique Djonret, Tabitha Stinson, Melba Wilson, Chantresa Hayes and Corey Means with conspiring to file false tax returns using stolen identities, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. The 49-count indictment charges Djonret with filing false claims, theft of government funds, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft and possession of unauthorized access devices. Angelique Djonret is also charged with filing false claims, theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft. Corey Means and Chantresa Hayes are charged with theft of government funds.



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Alabama Women Indicted in $2.8 Million Conspiracy to Use Stolen Identities to Obtain Tax Refunds

A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Ala., returned a 25-count indictment charging Larreka Jackson for conspiring to file false tax returns using stolen identities, filing false claims, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.



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Yazaki Executive Agrees to Plead Guilty to Price Fixing on Automobile Parts Installed in U.S. Cars

An executive of Tokyo-based Yazaki Corporation has agreed to plead guilty for his role in a conspiracy to fix prices of instrument panel clusters, also known as meters, installed in cars sold in the United States and elsewhere.



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Arizona Man Sentenced to More Than 15 Years in Prison in Money Laundering and Tax Scheme

Gino Carlucci was sentenced to 188 months in prison for his role in conspiracies to commit money laundering and to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and for filing a false income tax return, the Justice Department and the IRS announced today. On July 25, 2011, a federal jury in Phoenix convicted Carlucci of both conspiracies and the tax crime after an eight-day trial.



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Georgia Tax Return Preparer Pleads Guilty to Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Crimes

A tax return preparer from Macon, Ga., pleaded guilty Thursday to filing a false claim for tax refund, theft of government money and aggravated identity theft.



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Two Former Senior Executives of Arthrocare Corp. Arrested in $400 Million Securities Fraud Scheme

A 16-count indictment was unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas against John Raffle, the former senior vice president of strategic business units of ArthroCare and David Applegate, the former senior vice president in charge of ArthroCare’s spine division.



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Wisconsin Neurosurgeon Convicted of Filing False Tax Return and Failing to File Report of Foreign Bank Accounts

A jury convicted Arvind Ahuja yesterday on federal tax charges stemming from his failure to disclose offshore bank accounts maintained in India and the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Trial began on Aug. 15, 2012 before U.S. District Judge Charles N. Clevert, Jr., in Milwaukee. Ahuja, a prominent neurosurgeon in Milwaukee, was convicted of one count of filing a false 2009 individual income tax return and one count of failing to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).



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Justice and Interior Departments Launch Indian Country Sexual Assault Investigation and Prosecution Training

The Justice and Interior Departments this week launched a new training seminar for tribal and federal law enforcement on investigating and prosecuting sexual assault cases on tribal lands.



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