rf

CD and DVD Counterfeiter and Supplier Both Sentenced in Atlanta to Prison

Charles Ndhlovu, 34, was sentenced on Dec. 12, 2011, by U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey Jr. to 51 months in prison and Scott Ahn, 42, was sentenced yesterday by Judge Duffey to 19 months in prison.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Louisiana Man Indicted for Corruptly Interfering with the IRS and Filing False Tax Returns

An indictment was unsealed today charging Jack Ray Carr of Baton Rouge, La., with one count of corruptly interfering with the due administration of the Internal Revenue laws, four counts of filing false income tax returns, and one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

United States Seeks Forfeiture of Property Related to Federal Firearms Smuggling and Money Laundering Charges

The complaint alleges that, between April 2010 and July 2011, property associated with New Deal Shooting Sports was used in connection with, among other things, a conspiracy to make false statements in connection with the acquisition of firearms and to illegally export firearms to Mexico, a conspiracy to engage in money laundering, and a conspiracy to facilitate the trafficking of narcotics.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Chinese Perfume Importer Sentenced in Brooklyn to 12 Months in Prison for Trafficking in Counterfeit Perfume

Shaoxiong Zhou, 42, of Shantou, Guangdong, China, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sandra L. Townes in the Eastern District of New York. Judge Townes also ordered Zhou to pay $20,000 in restitution.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Former Army National Guard Major Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Receiving Bribes at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan

A former Major in the U.S. Army National Guard who was deployed to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for receiving bribes from military contractors in exchange for fraudulently verifying the receipt of concrete bunkers and barriers that were never received.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

US Army Sergeant Major and Former Sergeant Sentenced to Prison for Bribery Conspiracy at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan

Former Sergeant Charles O. Finch, 45, of Milalani, Hawaii, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi in the District of Hawaii to 51 months in prison and three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution to the Department of Defense.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Florida Resident Convicted for Interfering with the IRS and Filing False Tax Returns

Roanne Eye, 57, of Plantation, Fla., was found guilty of tax charges late Thursday after a four-day jury trial, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

U.S. and Mexican Officials Sign Letter of Intent to Share $6 Million in Forfeited Assets to Combat Financial Infrastructure of Organized Crime

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Mexican Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibáñez today signed a letter of intent for the United States to share approximately $6 million in forfeited funds with the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic of Mexico to support Mexican efforts to combat the financial infrastructure of organized criminal groups and to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries in forfeiture matters.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Shipbuilder and Ship Engine Manufacturer Agree to Pay Civil Penalty and Perform Environmental Project to Resolve Clean Air Act Violations

Coltec Industries Inc. and National Steel and Shipbuilding Company have agreed to pay a civil penalty of $280,000 and spend approximately $500,000 on an environmental project to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act and EPA’s marine diesel engine air rules.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Department of Justice Seizes More Than $896,000 in Proceeds from the Online Sale of Counterfeit Sports Apparel

The Department of Justice has seized more than $896,000 in proceeds from the distribution of counterfeit sports apparel and jerseys as the result of an investigation into the sale of counterfeit goods on commercial websites.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

U.S. Attorney General Holder and Dominican Prosecutor General Jiménez Pena Sign Permanent Agreement to Share Forfeited Assets

Attorney General Eric Holder and Dominican Prosecutor General Radhamés Jiménez Peña met today in Washington, D.C., to sign a permanent agreement to share forfeited assets between the governments of the United States and the Dominican Republic. The permanent sharing agreement acknowledges the consistent forfeiture-related cooperation that United States authorities have received from the Dominican Republic and creates a more efficient process for sharing assets with the Dominican Republic.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Companies Agree to $4.25 Million Natural Resource Damages Settlement at Industri-Plex Superfund Site, Woburn, Mass.

Pharmacia Corporation and Bayer CropScience Inc. have agreed to pay $4.25 million to federal and state natural resource trustees to resolve claims for natural resource damages connected with the Industri-plex Superfund site located in Woburn, Mass.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Department of Justice Seizes More Than $1.5 Million in Proceeds from the Online Sale of Counterfeit Sports Apparel Manufactured in China

The investigation also resulted in the seizure of three domain names used in the sale of counterfeit sports apparel.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

ING Bank N.V. Agrees to Forfeit $619 Million for Illegal Transactions with Cuban and Iranian Entities

ING Bank N.V., a financial institution headquartered in Amsterdam, has agreed to forfeit $619 million to the Justice Department and the New York County District Attorney’s Office for conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) and for violating New York state laws by illegally moving billions of dollars through the U.S. financial system on behalf of sanctioned Cuban and Iranian entities.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Department of Justice Forfeits More Than $400,000 in Corruption Proceeds Linked to Former Nigerian Governor

The Department of Justice has forfeited $401,931 in assets traceable to Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha, a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Nigeria.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Justice Department Files Lawsuit Requiring Rutherford County, Tenn., to Allow Mosque to Open in City of Murfreesboro

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a federal lawsuit against Rutherford County, Tenn., alleging that the county violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) when, in compliance with a state chancery court ruling, it refused to process or issue a certificate of occupancy to the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro for a recently constructed mosque. The department’s complaint states that a certificate of occupancy is needed immediately so that the Islamic Center can hold worship services at the new facility during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins at sundown on July 19.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Cleanup and Natural Resources Improvement Agreement Reached at Ashland Lakefront Superfund Site in Wisconsin

Northern States Power Co. will begin cleanup of the Ashland/Northern States Power Lakefront Superfund Site in Northwestern Wisconsin under a settlement the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Indiana Online Identity Thief Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Counterfeit Credit Card Conspiracy Involving More Than $3 Million in Losses

Peter Borgia Jr., 22, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking in Counterfeit GM Diagnostic Equipment

A Virginia man pleaded guilty today in federal court to selling counterfeit General Motors automotive diagnostic devices used by mechanics to identify problems with and assure the safety of motor vehicles.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Alleged Trafficker of Counterfeit Automotive Accessories Indicted in Virginia

Katiran Lee, 39, an Indonesian national who allegedly sold the counterfeit goods while he was living in Duluth, Ga., was charged with two counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods, four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Michigan Man Charged with Selling Counterfeit Microsoft Software Worth More Than $1.2 Million

Bruce Alan Edward, 48, of Atlanta, Mich., was charged in an indictment returned on Oct. 24, 2012, and unsealed on Nov. 1, 2012, by the federal grand jury in Bay City, Mich.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Moneygram International Inc. Admits Anti-Money Laundering and Wire Fraud Violations, Forfeits $100 Million in Deferred Prosecution

MoneyGram International Inc. – a global money services business headquartered in Dallas – has agreed to forfeit $100 million and enter into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the Justice Department in which it admits to criminally aiding and abetting wire fraud and failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program, as charged in an information filed today in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

U.S. Forfeits $2.1 Million Worth of Property Purchased with Alleged Bribes Paid to the Family of the Former President of Taiwan

The Department of Justice has forfeited a Manhattan condominium and a Virginia residence – with a combined value of approximately $ 2.1 million – purchased with the proceeds of alleged bribes paid to the family of the former President of Taiwan, Shui-Bian Chen, as part of the department’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Assistant Attorney General Perez Speaks at the Grand Opening of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro

"We are a nation of great principles of religious freedom. But as we have learned, these principles are not self-executing. We have to work hard to preserve them," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.




rf

Agreement Furthers Cleanup of the Quanta Resources Superfund Site in Edgewater, New Jersey

Another important step toward cleaning up the Quanta Resources Superfund site in Edgewater, N.J., was announced today by the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

US and Local Governments Achieve $50 Million Settlement to Address Contamination at Superfund Site in Rialto, Calif.

The United States has entered into two settlements worth more than $50 million to clean up contamination from the B.F. Goodrich Superfund Site in San Bernardino County, Calif.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

U.S., Pennsylvania and Scranton, Pa., Sewer Authority Settle Violations of Sewage Overflows

The United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania announced today a settlement with the Scranton Sewer Authority (SSA) resolving alleged Clean Water Act violations involving sewer overflows to the Lackawanna River and its tributaries/



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Department of Justice Forfeits Nearly $7 Million in Proceeds of Unlawful Offshore Gambling and Money Laundering Following Guilty Plea by William Paul Scott

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a consent order of forfeiture today ordering the civil forfeiture of $6,976,924 traced to international money laundering of the proceeds from an offshore Internet gambling operation that illegally targeted U.S. residents.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Virginia Man Sentenced for Trafficking in Counterfeit Gm Diagnostic Equipment

A Virginia man was sentenced today in federal court to serve one year and one day in prison for selling counterfeit General Motors (GM) automotive diagnostic devices used by mechanics to identify problems with and assure the safety of motor vehicles.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Alleging Interference with Persons Exercising Right to Seek or Provide Reproductive Health Care

The Department of Justice today settled a civil complaint against Richard A. Retta, of Rockville, Md, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, for violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Five Individuals and Five Corporations Charged in New York for Importing and Selling Hazardous and Counterfeit Toys

Five individuals and five corporations have been charged in an indictment unsealed today in Brooklyn, N.Y., for allegedly importing hazardous and counterfeit toys from China for sale in the United States.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Pennsylvania Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Coercing and Enticing a Minor to Perform in an Online Sex Show

A Pennsylvania man was sentenced today to serve 12 years in prison for coercing and enticing a minor and possessing child pornography.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Rockville, Md., Property Purchased with Nigerian Corruption Proceeds Forfeited Through Justice Department’s Kleptocracy Initiative

A forfeiture judgment was executed today against real property with an estimated value of more than $700,000 in Rockville, Md., that had been purchased with corruption proceeds traceable to Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha, a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Nigeria.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Miami-Dade Agrees to $1.6 Billion Upgrade of Its Sewer System to Eliminate Sewage Overflows

Under a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today, Miami-Dade County in Florida has agreed to invest in major upgrades to its wastewater treatment plants and wastewater collection and transmission systems in order to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Massachusetts Man Charged with Selling Counterfeit Semiconductors Intended for Use on Nuclear Submarines

Peter Picone, 40, of Methuen, Mass., has been charged with importing counterfeit semiconductors from China for sale in the United States.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Shipping Corporation and Two Engineers Convicted in ‘Magic Pipe’ Case in Norfolk, Va.

Diana Shipping Services S.A., a Panamanian corporation headquartered in Greece, Ioannis Prokakis and Antonios Boumpoutelos, both citizens of Greece, were convicted today after an 12-day bench trial on charges related to the illegal discharge of waste oil and oil-contaminated waste water from the M/V Thetis, a cargo vessel operated by Diana Shipping Services, announced Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Otis E. Harris, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Coast Guard Investigative Service, Chesapeake Region, and David G. McLeod, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program for the Middle Atlantic States.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Former Project Manager Convicted for Role in Conspiracy Schemes Involving Two EPA Superfund Sites in New Jersey

A New Jersey jury convicted a former project manager for his central role in conspiracies that spanned seven years and involved kickbacks in excess of $1.5 million at two Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund sites in New Jersey, the Department of Justice announced today. The jury returned guilty verdicts on 10 counts charged in the indictment against Gordon D. McDonald, which was filed on Aug. 31, 2009.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Cole and Panamanian Attorney General Belfon Sign Agreement to Share Forfeited Assets

Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole and Panamanian Attorney General Ana Belfon today signed an agreement in Panama City, Panama, to share more than $36 million in forfeited criminal assets with the Government of Panama.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

US Government Intervenes in False Claims Lawsuit Against United States Investigations Services for Failing to Perform Required Quality Reviews of Background Investigations

The government has intervened in a lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act against United States Investigations Services LLC (USIS) in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, alleging that USIS, located in Falls Church, Va., failed to perform quality control reviews in connection with its background investigations for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM).



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Three Subsidiaries of Weatherford International Limited Agree to Plead Guilty to FCPA and Export Control Violations

Three subsidiaries of Weatherford International Limited (Weatherford International), a Swiss oil services company that trades on the New York Stock Exchange, have agreed to plead guilty to anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and export controls violations under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA)



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Tennessee Cardiologist to Pay $1.15 Million to Settle Allegations That He Performed Medically Unnecessary Heart Procedures

Cardiologist Dr. Elie H. Korban will pay $1.15 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that he billed Medicare and Medicaid for medically unnecessary cardiac stent placement.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Alcoa World Alumina Agrees to Plead Guilty to Foreign Bribery and Pay $223 Million in Fines and Forfeiture

Alcoa World Alumina LLC, a majority-owned and controlled global alumina sales company of Alcoa Inc., has agreed to plead guilty later today and pay $223 million in criminal fines and forfeiture to resolve charges that it paid millions of dollars in bribes through an international middleman in London.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Former Project Manager Sentenced to Serve Time in Prison for Role in Bid Rigging and Other Fraudulent Schemes Involving Two EPA Superfund Sites in New Jersey

Gordon D. McDonald, a former project manager for a prime contractor at two U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund sites in New Jersey, was sentenced today to serve 14 years in prison for participating in multiple bid-rigging, fraud and kickback schemes.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

U.S. Freezes More Than $458 Million Stolen by Former Nigerian Dictator in Largest Kleptocracy Forfeiture Action Ever Brought in the U.S.

The Department of Justice has frozen more than $458 million in corruption proceeds hidden in bank accounts around the world by former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and conspirators.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Co-Owner of New Jersey Industrial Pipes Supply Company Pleads Guilty to Making False Statement in Connection with Superfund Investigation

A co-owner of a Middlesex, N.J., industrial pipes, valves and fittings supply company pleaded guilty today to one count of making a false statement.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Attorney General Eric Holder Delivers Remarks at an Interfaith Service of Unity and Hope Honoring the Victims of Last Week’s Tragic Shootings

A few days ago, many of you observed the beginning of Passover, marking the start of a long and difficult journey from tyranny and persecution toward freedom in the Promised Land. Today, this community begins its own journey of healing. And although the road ahead will not be easy, I promise you that I, and millions of others throughout our nation, will be here to walk alongside you – not only today, but always. We will never stop fighting for justice. And we will never forget the names, or the stories, of those we lost.




rf

Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Smuggle and Traffic Counterfeit Viagra Tablets

A Texas man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to smuggle and to traffic in counterfeit and misbranded pharmaceuticals, including Viagra tablets, from China.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Importing and Selling Counterfeit Intergrated Circuits from China and Hong Kong

Peter Picone, 41, of Methuen, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Hartford, Connecticut to importing thousands of counterfeit integrated circuits (ICs) from China and Hong Kong and then reselling them to U.S. customers.



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

Illinois Man Sentenced for Smuggling Counterfeit Goods and Drugs into the U.S.

An Illinois man, who previously pleaded guilty to trafficking in counterfeit goods and introducing counterfeit drugs into interstate commerce in violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, was sentenced today to serve 41 months in prison



  • OPA Press Releases

rf

U.S. Forfeits Over $480 Million Stolen by Former Nigerian Dictator in Largest Forfeiture Ever Obtained Through a Kleptocracy Action

The Department of Justice has forfeited more than $480 million in corruption proceeds hidden in bank accounts around the world by former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and his co-conspirators



  • OPA Press Releases