John Bryan Villegas, 23, of Kittery, Maine, was sentenced today in federal court in New Hampshire to serve 33 months in prison for engaging in a type of cyber stalking known as “sextortion.”

George Despotopoulos and Steve Tepelidis pleaded guilty to tax evasion today in the District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

Dustin Norris and Ryan Lohr, former officers at Roxbury Correctional Institution (RCI) in Hagerstown, Md., were sentenced today for conspiring with other RCI officers on March 9, 2008, in connection with the assault of an inmate at the state prison, identified as K.D.

The Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service announced today that construction company owner Tomas Olazabal, of Fresh Meadows, N.Y., was convicted of two counts of filing false corporate tax returns for his corporation, Tupac Construction Corporation.

A federal court in the Northern District of Georgia permanently barred Andrew R. Heath, an Acworth, Ga., area tax preparer from preparing tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

The Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration announced that Matthew Bender, of Detroit, was convicted today of obstructing the IRS and nine counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false federal income tax returns following a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Kristopher Michael Montemayor, a county commissioner for Precinct 1 of the Webb County Commissioners Court in Texas, was arrested today on charges of bribery.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that Flint Hills Resources of Port Arthur has agreed to implement innovative technologies to control harmful air pollution from industrial flares and leaking equipment at the company’s chemical plant in Port Arthur, Texas.

A federal jury convicted Jean Claude Roy, aka Dredd the Don and Dreddy, age 31, of Germantown, Md., late yesterday of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, three counts of interstate transportation for prostitution and witness and evidence tampering.

A federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., permanently barred Keisha Stewart, a tax preparer in Plantation, Fla., from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

Schools must support children as they learn expectations about behavior and conduct. But a routine school discipline infraction should land a student in a principal’s office – not in a police precinct.

Detrick and Natashia Tucker, a husband and wife who owned and operated a tax preparation business named T&T Express Tax located in Pine Mountain, Ga., were sentenced to serve 12 months and one day and 46 months in prison, respectively, for crimes relating to the preparation of false tax returns.

Williesteina Jacobs was indicted in the Eastern District of New York on March 21, 2014, and charged with 27 counts of aiding in the preparation of false returns, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service announced today following her arrest.

Attorney General Eric Holder issued the following statement today on the status of same-sex marriages performed in the state of Michigan.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the retirement of H. Marshall Jarrett, Director for the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) as well as the appointment of Monty Wilkinson as the new Director for EOUSA.

The Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada to stop Bill Sunga Modina, who allegedly does business as 5M Financial and 6M Financial, from preparing federal tax returns.

An Iowa man pleaded guilty today in the District of Massachusetts to federal child exploitation charges moments before his jury trial was scheduled to begin this morning.

Today, a federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota sitting in Bismarck, N.D., convicted Lindrith Tsoodle, 58, of one felony count and one misdemeanor count of using excessive force on persons in his custody in November and December of 2010.

A federal indictment returned under seal in June 2013 and unsealed today charges six foreign nationals, including a Ukrainian businessman and a government official in India, with participating in an alleged international racketeering conspiracy.

A U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan issued a judgment against the law firm Hatchett, DeWalt & Hatchett PLLC for unpaid federal employment and unemployment taxes and penalties for late filing partnership income tax returns for various tax periods from 2003 to 2012.

Romano Pisciotti, an Italian national, was extradited from Germany on a charge of participating in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition by rigging bids, fixing prices and allocating market shares for sales of marine hose sold in the United States and elsewhere.

Tommy Edward Clack was sentenced today to serve 66 months in federal prison for tax and fraud crimes by U.S. District Judge Thomas D. Schroeder in Winston-Salem, N.C., the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service announced.

As the April 15 tax filing deadline approaches, Attorney General Eric Holder warned U.S. tax filers to beware a “rising threat” of scammers seeking fraudulent refunds based on stolen identities, and vowed aggressive enforcement against the practice. Speaking in a recorded video message released on the Justice Department’s website, Attorney General Holder explained that a growing pool of criminals are engaged in the activity, including gangs and drug sellers seeking quick access to cash.

The United States filed a complaint today seeking to bar Joyce Bougere-Keyes, and her business, Joyce Tax & Financial Service LLC, from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced.

U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Tyson Hinckle, formerly an officer at Roxbury Correctional Institution (RCI) in Hagerstown, Md., to serve 30 months in prison for conspiring with other correctional officers to assault Kenneth Davis, an inmate.

Daniel Sutterfield, 35, Chief of the Bull Shoals Police Department, was arrested yesterday on charges related to his use of excessive force in the arrest of a Bull Shoals resident and a related false report.

The United States filed a civil lawsuit today in Pittsburgh federal court to permanently bar Larry E. Snow, of Seward, Pa., from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service announced today.

Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole will preside over the National Crime Victims’ Rights Service Awards ceremony 2 p.m. Wed., April 9, honoring ten individuals and programs for exceptional perseverance and innovation in advancing crime victims’ rights.

A federal grand jury in Albuquerque, N.M., indicted John Greene, 70, a former captain at the Gallup-McKinley Adult Detention Center, on charges related to the sexual assaults of women inmates in his custody.

Three individuals have been indicted for their alleged roles in an approximately $32 million fraud against a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program designed to provide discounted telephone services to low-income customers.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi permanently barred Tamara Brock from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

Claude Arthur Verbal II, formerly of Raleigh, N.C., and now of Miami, pleaded guilty to tax fraud, healthcare fraud and money laundering in two separate cases in federal court.

The Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that Celamour Berus, of Springfield Gardens, N.Y., was arrested for multiple tax crimes today following his indictment on April 3, 2014.

Ronald Eugene Jamerson, 56, of Schererville, Ind., was sentenced to serve 12 months and one day in prison by U.S. District Judge Phillip P. Simon.

Allen Wayne Densen Morgan, 29, of Munford, Ala., was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama to serve 72 months in prison to be followed by three years supervised release for attempting to hire members of the Ku Klux Klan to torture and murder his African-American neighbor.

Francis E. Chandler III was sentenced to serve 37 months in prison and ordered to pay $3,066,629 in restitution for filing a false claim for tax refund and false retaliatory liens against four federal government officials.

A Cleveland federal grand jury returned an indictment against one current executive and two former executives of Bridgestone Corp. for their roles in an international conspiracy to fix prices of automotive anti-vibration rubber parts sold in the United States and elsewhere.

James E. Beavers and Beverly S. Beavers of Knoxville, Tenn., were each sentenced to serve 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service announced today.

The United States has requested that the federal district court in Montgomery, Ala., permanently bar Tonja Renee Toney and Jenika Williams from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into a settlement agreement that, if approved by the court, will resolve allegations that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation discriminated against an employee because of his sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

A former Bridgestone Corp. executive has agreed to plead guilty and to serve 18 months in a U.S. prison for his role in an international conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids of automotive anti-vibration rubber parts sold in the United States and elsewhere.

Two former correctional officers at Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown, Md., were sentenced today in connection with the March 9, 2008, assault of Kenneth Davis, an inmate.

In every case and circumstance, our efforts will continue to be guided by the recognition that – while smart law enforcement will always play a critical role in protecting communities from drug crime, we will never be able to arrest or incarcerate our way to becoming a safer nation. We’ll keep relying on innovative leaders like you to apply 21st century solutions to 21st century problems. And we’ll never stop driving investments in the kinds of groundbreaking research – and data-driven strategies – that so many of you have long championed.

Michael Garcia, a former detective with the Las Cruces Police Department who focused on child abuse and sex crimes investigations, pleaded guilty today in federal court to a one count information charging Garcia with violating the civil rights of an LCPD student intern when he sexually abused her while on duty.

Kimberly Banks, Donalene Mosley and Arneshia Austin were sentenced today in Albany, Ga., to serve 192 months, 37 months and 21 months in prison, respectively, for crimes relating to filing fraudulent income tax returns using stolen identities.

In an important step to reduce sentencing disparities for drug offenders in the federal prison system, Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday announced that the Justice Department will soon detail new, more expansive criteria that the Department will use in considering when to recommend clemency applications for the President’s review.

In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the Department of Justice announced a nationwide university tour by top administration officials to raise awareness of campus sexual assault.

A federal court has permanently barred Ramesh Sarva, a certified public accountant in Little Neck, N.Y., from promoting and selling an alleged nationwide tax scheme, the Justice Department announced today.

Showa Corp., an automotive parts manufacturer based in Saitama, Japan, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $19.9 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for pinion-assist type electric powered steering assemblies installed in cars sold in the United States and elsewhere.

A criminal information has been filed against a Pennsylvania firm and its chief officer, charging them with conspiracy to evade export reporting requirements and with attempting to smuggle to Iran a lathe machine in violation of U.S. export regulations.