The United States Justice Department and U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today the filing of a complaint alleging that the Jerome County Sheriff’s Office willfully violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 by failing to reemploy and terminating Idaho Army National Guard Member Mervin Jones while he was recuperating from a knee injury that he sustained while performing military service.

Mary Estelle Curran of Palm Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to filing false tax returns for tax years 2006 and 2007.

The Justice Department announced today that it has sued a Kissimmee, Fla., tax return preparer, seeking to bar him permanently from preparing federal tax returns for others.

A Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, jury convicted Michael George Fitzpatrick, 51, of Hope, Idaho, of two counts of income tax evasion after a four-day trial before U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns.

Two Brazilian nationals pleaded guilty today in Miami to smuggling undocumented migrants to the United States for profit.

The United States has asked a federal court in Jacksonville, Fla., to stop Thomas G. Bandzul from preparing tax returns for others.

Jay Odom, 56, of Destin, Fla., was charged in federal court in the Northern District of Florida with one count of providing campaign contributions in the name of another and one count of causing another to make false statements to the FEC.

The owners of three Miami-area assisted living facilities and an affiliated psychologist were sentenced to prison today in connection with a health care fraud scheme, involving now-defunct Miami-area health provider Health Care Solutions Network Inc. (HCSN), in which Medicare was billed for mental health treatments that were unnecessary or not provided.

The former program director and two former marketers for Miami-based mental health care company American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC) have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a $205 million Medicare fraud and kickback scheme in which patients were forced to attend inappropriate treatment programs.

The Justice Department filed suit today asking the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida to permanently bar Torrey Burden from preparing federal tax returns for others. The civil injunction suit alleges that Burden prepares returns through A&L Financial Solutions in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Miami-area resident Nichole Eckert, former therapist at the mental health care company American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC), was sentenced today to serve 48 months in prison for participating in a $205 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Six individuals have been were sentenced to federal prison by U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas for filing false claims for tax refunds.

The Justice Department announced today that it has sued two Miami tax return preparers, seeking to bar them from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Michael Farnell and James Farnell, residents of Boca Raton, Fla., were sentenced to prison terms today for income tax evasion.

Steven J. Wasserman, M.D., a dermatologist practicing in Venice, Fla., has agreed to pay $26.1 million to resolve allegations that he violated the False Claims Act by accepting illegal kickbacks from a pathology laboratory and by billing the Medicare program for medically unnecessary services.

A Gainesville, Fla., woman was sentenced today to serve one year and one day in prison for her role in the obstruction of a multinational investigation into the disappearance of her husband, then an employee in the U.S. Consulate in Curacao.

Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS), a publicly traded mortgage servicing company based in Jacksonville, Fla., has agreed to pay $35 million in criminal penalties and forfeiture to address its participation in a six-year scheme to prepare and file more than 1 million fraudulently signed and notarized mortgage-related documents with property recorders’ offices throughout the United States.

A Florida couple who owned a military contracting company pleaded guilty today in federal court in Salt Lake City for their roles in a bribery and fraud scheme involving federal procurement contracts.

A former Michigan resident was found guilty by a federal jury today in Miami of child sex tourism charges.

A federal district judge in Jacksonville, Fla., permanently barred Thomas G. Bandzul from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

A federal district judge in Miami permanently barred Marlen Monzon, her son Yanko Rodriguez, and their Miami business, Tri Stars Multiservices Corporation, from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

Former Congressional candidate Justin Lamar Sternad pleaded guilty today in Miami to violating the Federal Election Campaign Act during his 2012 campaign.

Brazilian nationals Juliana Rose Tome-Froes and her husband, Fabio Rodrigues Froes, were sentenced today in Miami to 60 months and 46 months in prison, respectively, for smuggling undocumented migrants to the United States for profit.

Justin D. Schoenauer, 41, also known as Corey J. Schoenauer, a resident of Twin Falls County, Idaho, was sentenced late yesterday in U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho to 27 months in prison for income tax evasion.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement with Lee County, Fla. that, if approved by the district court, will resolve allegations that the county discriminated against three Hispanic employees on the basis of race and national origin in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.

The Justice Department filed suit today asking the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida to permanently bar Osvaldo J. Diaz from preparing federal tax returns for others.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Andrew Blane Fields, 62, of Lutz, Fla., with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances, namely Oxycodone, Dilaudid and Morphine; three counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; and two counts of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

Lina Rodriguez, 34, was sentenced today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to serve 72 months in prison, followed by 24 months of supervised release, for operating and facilitating the operation of an Internet-pharmacy business that illegally shipped over $1.5 million of pharmaceuticals since July 2007 to U.S. and overseas purchasers.

New guidance released today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Justice reinforces the Fair Housing Act requirement that multifamily housing be designed and constructed so as to be accessible to persons with disabilities.

Michael George Fitzpatrick, 51, of Hope, Idaho, was sentenced to 42 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns.

Drs. David Leon Fredrick and Patricia Lynn Hough, of Englewood, Fla., were indicted by a federal grand jury in Fort Myers, Fla., for conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by concealing millions of dollars in assets and income in offshore bank accounts at UBS and other foreign banks.

Fazliddin Kurbanov, 30, was arrested Thursday morning in Boise, Idaho, as part of a federal terrorism investigation. Federal terrorism charges were filed Thursday afternoon in Boise and Salt Lake City, Utah. Kurbanov, an Uzbekistan national, legally present in the United States, was living in Boise at the time of his arrest.

Today, a federal judge unsealed a three-count indictment returned by a grand jury in the Southern District of Florida charging Jetta McPhee, 59, of Tamarac, Fla., for her role in bringing 143 Haitian nationals to the United States on fraudulently obtained guest worker visas that McPhee and her co-conspirator secured based on false representations that there were jobs awaiting those workers.

Joseph Rizzuti, of Stuart, Fla., was sentenced to 80 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

A federal court in Miami has permanently barred Osvaldo J. Diaz of Coral Gables, Florida, from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

A federal jury in Tampa found four former executives of WellCare Health Plans Inc., a health maintenance organization (HMO) operator, guilty of various charges, including health care fraud, making false statements relating to health care matters and making false statements to a law enforcement officer, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

A federal court in Orlando, Fla., permanently barred Carlos A. Cabrera from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

Four Harlan County, Ky., relatives were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove for their roles in kidnapping and assaulting Kevin Pennington, a gay man.

A former executive of Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS) – a publicly traded company based in Jacksonville, Fla. – was sentenced today to serve five years in prison for her participation in a six-year scheme to prepare and file more than 1 million fraudulently signed and notarized mortgage-related documents with property recorders’ offices throughout the United States.

Two individuals were arrested on a federal warrant alleging that they operated a series of fraudulent businesses targeting Spanish-speaking consumers.

Three individuals charged in connection with operating a series of fraudulent business opportunity companies were arrested Friday following their indictment by a federal grand jury in Miami on June 25, 2013, the Justice Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced today.

A former supervisor at defunct health provider Health Care Solutions Network Inc. (HCSN) was sentenced today in Miami to serve 10 years in prison for her central role in a fraud scheme that resulted in more than $63 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and Florida Medicaid.

The former medical director at defunct health provider Health Care Solutions Network (HCSN) and six therapists were arrested today, accused of conspiring to fraudulently bill Medicare and Florida Medicaid more than $63 million.

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the state of Florida alleging the state is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in its administration of its service system for children with significant medical needs, resulting in nearly 200 children with disabilities being unnecessarily segregated in nursing facilities when they could be served in their family homes or other community-based settings.

A former owner and operator of two Florida-based airline fuel supply service companies made his initial appearance today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in West Palm Beach on charges of participating in a scheme to defraud Illinois-based Ryan International Airlines.

A grand jury in the Southern District of Florida issued an indictment for two individuals on charges of conspiracy, fraud and extortion alleging they operated a series of fraudulent businesses targeting Spanish-speaking consumers.

Paul S. Kruse, 60, of Jacksonville, Fla., was sentenced late yesterday to serve 30 years in prison for wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, attempting to murder a government witness and murder-for-hire.

Jamaican citizen charged in connection with the operation of a fraudulent lottery was arrested Tuesday in Orlando, Fla., following his indictment by a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Aug. 9, 2012, the Justice Department, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Marshals Service announced today.

Bradley Eberhart, 51, of Garden Valley, Idaho, and Douglas Greiner, 53, of Eagle, Idaho, were sentenced this week in federal court for violating the asbestos work practice standards of the Clean Air Act, announced Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Wendy J. Olson, U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho.

Shands Teaching Hospital & Clinics Inc., Shands Jacksonville Medical Center Inc. and Shands Jacksonville Healthcare Inc., which operates a network of health care providers in Florida, will pay the government and the state of Florida a total of $26 million to settle allegations that six of its health care facilities submitted false claims to Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health care programs for inpatient procedures that should have been billed as outpatient services.