viola

Department of Justice Settles Two Civil Complaints Against Two Employers for Violations of Federal Statutes Relating to Military Reserve Duty

A settlement agreement was filed in U.S. District Court in Denver resolving a complaint alleging that two employers, Delaware Resource Group of Oklahoma LLC and FlightSafety Services Corporation, violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by not paying money into two U.S. Air Force veterans’ 401(k) plans.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Former Texas Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Violating the Civil Rights of an Arrestee

Frank William Carter, 43, a former police officer of the Laredo, Texas, Police Department, pleaded guilty today in federal court to violating the civil rights of an arrestee.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Eight Individuals Indicted for Lacey Act Violations and Other Crimes Relating to the Trafficking of Paddlefish “Caviar”

Eight individuals face federal charges stemming from a joint U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Missouri Department of Conservation investigation of interstate and international trafficking in paddlefish “caviar."



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Teva Pharmaceuticals USA to Pay $2.25 Million Civil Penalty for Air, Water and Hazardous Waste Violations at Missouri Facility

Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. has agreed to pay a $2.25 million civil penalty to settle alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act (CAA), Clean Water Act (CWA), and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as well as the Missouri Air Conservation Law, Clean Water Law and Hazardous Waste Management Law at its facility in Mexico, Mo.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Congressional Candidate Pleads Guilty to Violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act

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



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Former Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Sheriff’s Deputy Indicted for Civil Rights, Bank Fraud, Computer Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft and Obstruction of Justice Violations

An indictment against former Jefferson Parish, La., Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Hebert, 48, was announced today by Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; Dana J. Boente, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana; Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI New Orleans Field Office; and Sheriff Newell Normand from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Service Members to Receive $39 Million for Violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

The Justice Department announced today that under its 2011 settlements with BAC Home Loans Servicing LP, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation, and Saxon Mortgage Servicing Inc., a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, 316 service members whose homes were unlawfully foreclosed upon between 2006 and 2010 are due to receive over $39 million in monetary relief for alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Tennessee Salvage Company Owners and Operators Plead Guily to Conspiring to Violate the Clean Air Act

Three owners and operators of a Tennessee salvage and demolition company, A&E Salvage, Inc., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Greeneville, Tenn., for conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Former Tuscaloosa Police Sergeant Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Violation for Sexually Assaulting a Woman

Jason Glenn Thomas, 34, a former sergeant with the city of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Police Department, pleaded guilty today to a criminal civil rights charge for using his authority as a law enforcement officer to sexually assault a woman.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Montana Hospitals Agree to Pay $3.95 Million to Resolve Alleged False Claims Act and Stark Law Violations

St. Vincent Healthcare, a hospital located in Billings, Mont., and Holy Rosary Healthcare, a hospital located in Miles City, Mont., have agreed to pay $3.95 million plus interest to resolve allegations that they violated the Stark Law and the False Claims Act by improperly providing incentive pay to physicians that made referrals to the hospitals.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Against Golden Corral Restaurant for Violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act

The Department of Justice announced today the settlement of its lawsuit against the Golden Corral restaurant in Westland, Mich., which alleged that the owners and operators of the Golden Corral violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying service to a mother and her minor children based on the appearance of the children’s skin due to a genetic skin disorder.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Generic Drug Manufacturer Ranbaxy Pleads Guilty and Agrees to Pay $500 Million to Resolve False Claims Allegations, cGMP Violations and False Statements to the FDA

In the largest drug safety settlement to date with a generic drug manufacturer, Ranbaxy USA Inc., a subsidiary of Indian generic pharmaceutical manufacturer Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, pleaded guilty today to felony charges relating to the manufacture and distribution of certain adulterated drugs made at two of Ranbaxy’s manufacturing facilities in India.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Two Tennessee Men Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Violate Civil Rights of African-american Residents

Two Spring Hill, Tenn., men pleaded guilty in federal court today for their involvement in a racially-motivated conspiracy to interfere with the housing rights of African-American residents of the Spring Lake subdivision of Spring Hill.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

African Trophy Hunter Indicted for Violating Endangered Species Act and Lacey Act

Charles Kokesh was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pensacola, Florida, for violating the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act by selling two African elephant tusks and for making false accounts of wildlife related to that sale.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Missouri Woman Indicted for Violating Civil Rights of Family by Setting Fire to Their Home

An Independence, Mo., woman was indicted by a federal grand jury today for violating the civil rights of an African-American family by setting fire to their residence.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Wal-Mart Pleads Guilty to Federal Environmental Crimes, Admits Civil Violations and Will Pay More Than $81 Million

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. pleaded guilty today in cases filed by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and San Francisco to six counts of violating the Clean Water Act by illegally handling and disposing of hazardous materials at its retail stores across the United States.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Justice Department Finds Pennsylvania State Prison’s Use of Solitary Confinement Violates Rights of Prisoners Under the Constitution and Americans with Disabilities Act

The Justice Department issued a findings letter detailing the results of its investigation into the use of solitary confinement on prisoners with serious mental illness at the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution at Cresson in Cambria County, Pa



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Seller of Golden Eagle and Hawk Feathers Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Violations of Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Lacey Act

Steven Patrick Garcia, Jr., 36, of San Jose, Calif., was sentenced today in federal court in Billings, Mont., to 24 months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release for selling and offering to sell migratory bird parts in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and the Lacey Act, the Department of Justice announced today. Garcia had pleaded guilty to the charge on January 16, 2013.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Macandrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. to Pay $720,000 Civil Penalty for Violating Antitrust Premerger Notification Requirements

MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. will pay a $720,000 civil penalty to settle charges that the company violated premerger reporting and waiting requirements when it acquired voting securities of Scientific Games Corporation.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Former Workers at Los Alamos National Laboratory Plead Guilty to Atomic Energy Act Violations

The Justice Department today announced that a scientist and his wife, who both previously worked as contractors at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, have pleaded guilty to charges under the Atomic Energy Act and other charges relating to their communication of classified nuclear weapons data to a person they believed to be a Venezuelan government official.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

United States Reaches Agreement with Suncoke Energy Resolving Clean Air Violations at Plants in Illinois and Ohio

SunCoke Energy Inc. and two of its subsidiaries have agreed to pay $1.995 million to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations of emission limits at the Gateway Energy and Coke plant in Granite City, Illinois, and the Haverhill Coke plant in Franklin Furnace, Ohio.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Pulaski County, Ky. Sheriff’s Deputy Indicted for Federal Civil Rights Violations

U.S. Attorney Kerry B. Harvey of the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez of the Civil Rights Division, announced today that Stephen Molen, a Sheriff’s Deputy with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office in Pulaski County, Ky., was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of violating the civil rights of victims by using excessive force in October 2009 and October 2011.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

United States and Tennessee Reach Agreement with King Pharmaceuticals LLC to Resolve Allegations of Clean Air Act Violations

King Pharmaceuticals LLC (King) will pay $2.2 million and take measures to comply with the Clean Air Act to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) at its pharmaceutical manufacturing facility located in Bristol, Tenn.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Barry Diller to Pay $480,000 Civil Penalty for Violating Antitrust Premerger Notification Requirements

Corporate investor Barry Diller will pay a $480,000 civil penalty to settle charges that he violated premerger reporting and waiting requirements when he acquired voting securities of The Coca Cola Company.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Justice Department Issues Statement on U.S. District Court Ruling That Apple Violated Antitrust Laws

"After carefully weighing the evidence, the court agreed with the Justice Department and 33 state attorneys general that executives at the highest levels of Apple orchestrated a conspiracy with five major publishers – Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & to raise e-book prices."



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Two Sentenced in New York State for Dumping Thousands of Tons of Asbestos in Violation of the Clean Water Act

Two individuals, Donald Torriero and Julius DeSimone, were sentenced in federal court in Utica, N.Y., for illegally dumping thousands of tons of asbestos-contaminated construction debris on a 28-acre piece of property on the Mohawk River in upstate New York, the Justice Department announced.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

United States Files Lawsuit Against PharMerica Corporation for Violations of the False Claims Act and the Controlled Substances Act

The United States has filed suit against PharMerica Corp. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The lawsuit alleges that PharMerica violated the False Claims Act and the Controlled Substances Act by dispensing controlled drugs without valid prescriptions and causing claims for illegally dispensed drugs to be submitted to the Medicare program.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Two Idaho Men Sentenced to Prison for Asbestos Violations

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Pulaski County Sheriff’s Deputy Indicted for Federal Civil Rights Violation

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky David J. Hale and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels announced that Steven Molen, a Sheriff’s Deputy with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on one count of violating the civil rights of a victim by using excessive force in August 2008.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

United States and the Commonwealth of Kentucky Reach Agreement with AK Steel Corporation to Resolve Clean Air Act Violations

The United States and the Commonwealth of Kentucky have reached a settlement with the AK Steel Corporation (AK Steel) in Ashland, Ky., resolving alleged violations of the Clean Air Act, AK Steel’s title V permit, and the Kentucky State Implementation Plan, announced the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Big West Oil to Pay Penalty and Spend $18 Million on Emission Controls to Resolve Clean Air Act Violations at North Salt Lake Refinery

Big West Oil LLC has agreed to pay a $175,000 penalty and to spend approximately $18 million to install emission controls at its refinery in North Salt Lake, Utah, announced the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today. Big West Oil will also invest $253,000 to improve the monitoring and management of potential releases of hydrofluoric acid at the facility.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Man Who Threatened Synagogue in Fargo, North Dakota, Charged with Civil Rights Violation

Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels and U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota Timothy Q. Purdon announced that Dominique Jason Flanigan was arraigned today on civil rights and threats charges.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Independence, Mo., Man and Woman Plead Guilty to Violating Civil Rights of Family by Torching Their Home

Tammy Dickinson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, and Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, announced that an Independence, Mo., man and woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to violating the civil rights of an African-American family by setting fire to their residence.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Two California Firms and Owner Agree to Settle Clean Air Act Violations Stemming from Illegal Import of Vehicles

Two Los Angeles-based consulting firms, MotorScience Inc., and MotorScience Enterprise Inc., (MotorScience) and their owner, Chi Zheng, have agreed to settle alleged Clean Air Act (CAA) violations stemming from the illegal import of 24,478 all-terrain, recreational vehicles into the U.S. from China without testing to ensure emissions would meet applicable limits on harmful air pollution, announced the Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (ARB).



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Truck Broker Sentenced for Dumping Thousands of Tons of Asbestos Contaminated Debris in Violation of the Clean Water Act

Jonathan Deck, 59, of Norwood, N.J., was sentenced today in federal court in Utica, N.Y., to 15 months in prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud in connection with the illegal dumping of thousands of tons of asbestos-contaminated construction debris on a 28-acre piece of property on the Mohawk River in upstate New York, the Justice Department announced.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Citgo Agrees to Reduce Air Pollution and Pay Penalty to Resolve Clean Air Act Violations at Two Refineries

The Department of Justice and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Houston-based CITGO Petroleum Corp. (CITGO) has agreed to pay a $737,000 civil penalty and to implement projects to reduce harmful air pollution, resolving alleged violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) at its petroleum refining facilities located in Lemont, Ill., and Lake Charles (Westlake), La.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Texas Refinery Will Pay $8.75 Million for Failing to Comply with Enforcement Settlement to Resolve Air Violations

Total Petrochemical USA Inc. (Total) will pay an $8.75 million penalty for failing to comply with the terms of a 2007 settlement with the United States that resolved alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Former USAID Senior Official to Pay Civil Penalty for Alleged Conflict of Interest Violation

David Ostermeyer, who retired from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2012, will pay the government a $30,000 penalty to settle allegations that he participated in a matter in which he had a financial interest that conflicted with his duties when he was Chief Financial Officer of the agency.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Five Virginia Charter Fishing Boat Captains Sentenced for Lacey Act Violations

Nolan L. Agner, the last of five Virginia Beach charter fishing boat captains convicted of poaching Atlantic striped bass was sentenced today in federal court in Norfolk, Va. All five captains – including Agner, Jeffery S. Adams, Raymond Carroll Webb, David Dwayne Scott, and William W. “Duby” Lowery IV – were sentenced for violating the Lacey Act by selling illegally-harvested striped bass, the Justice Department announced.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Puerto Rico Man Pleads Guilty to Felony Violation of the Lacey Act for Illegal Sale of Sea Turtle Meat

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Manuel Garcia-Figueroa, a resident of Playa Añasco, Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty to a bill of information charging him with a felony violation of the Lacey Act for the illegal sale of sea turtle meat, the Justice Department announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Former Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights, Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft Violations

Former Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Hebert, 48, pled guilty today to one civil rights violation, five bank fraud violations and one aggravated identity theft violation, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite Jr. for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Anderson of the FBI New Orleans Field Office and Sheriff Newell Normand from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

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

viola

Former S.C. Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Violation

Robin Smith, a former corrections officer at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Richland County, S.C., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Columbia, S.C., to violating the civil rights of a pre-trial detainee.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Energy Company to Pay $3.2 Million Penalty to Resolve Clean Water Violations in West Virginia

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that Chesapeake Appalachia LLC, a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy,will spend an EPA-estimated $6.5 million to restore 27 sites damaged by unauthorized discharges of fill material



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

ADM Subsidiary Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

A subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) pleaded guilty today and has agreed to pay more than $17 million in criminal fines to resolve charges that it paid bribes through vendors to Ukrainian government officials.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Dallas-Based Companies Agree to Pay Civil Penalty to Settle Clean Air Act Violations Stemming from Illegal Import of Vehicles

A Dallas-based group of companies and their owner must either stop importing vehicles or follow a comprehensive compliance plan to settle Clean Air Act (CAA) violations stemming from the alleged illegal import of over 24,167 highway motorcycles and recreational vehicles into the United States without proper documentation.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Former Desoto County, Fla., Sheriff’s Deputies Indicted for Civil Rights and Obstruction Violations Regarding the Assault of an Inmate

A federal grand jury in Fort Myers, Fla., indicted former Desoto County Sheriff’s Office deputies Steven Rizza and Jonathan Mause today for charges related to the violation of the civil rights of an inmate who was assaulted by Rizza at the Desoto County Jail and the ensuing obstruction of the investigation into that offense.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Justice Department Issues Statement on U.S. District Court Ruling That Bazaarvoice’s Acquisition of PowerReviews Violated Antitrust Laws

"We are pleased that the court, after carefully weighing all of the evidence, agreed with the Justice Department that Bazaarvoice’s acquisition of PowerReviews was likely to extinguish price competition and substantially diminish the pace of innovation in the market for product ratings and reviews platforms," said Assistant Attorney General Baer.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Missouri Man and Woman Sentenced for Violating Civil Rights of Family in Racially Motivated Arson

Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson for the Western District of Missouri announced that a man and a woman, both from Independence, Mo., were sentenced in federal court today for violating the civil rights of an African-American family by setting fire to their residence.



  • OPA Press Releases

viola

Tropical Fish Importer Pleads Guilty in New York Federal Court to Piranha Import Violations

Joel Rakower, along with his solely-owned corporation, Transship Discounts Ltd., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., to violating the Lacey Act by mislabeling imported piranhas.



  • OPA Press Releases