Houston-area residents Oliver Nkuku and Callistus Edozie were sentenced to 120 months in prison and 41 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in a durable medical equipment (DME) Medicare fraud scheme.

"Over the last two years, the Justice Department—in close collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services—has made cracking down on health care fraud a top priority. Today, we announce the latest results of those efforts."

Christian Fernando Borda and Alvaro Alvaran-Velez, two narcotics traffickers aligned with the Autodefenses Unidas de Colombia (AUC), were found guilty today in U.S. District Court of conspiring to import ton-quantities of cocaine into the United States.

Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius visited Boston today, where they participated in the fourth Regional Health Care Fraud Prevention Summit.

The Justice Department announced today the filing of a complaint against the city of Brockton, Mass., and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, for violating the rights of an Iraq war veteran.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the appointment of Robin C. Ashton to serve as head of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) at the Department of Justice.

Houston-area residents Dr. Howard Grant, Obisike Nwankwo and John Lachman were sentenced today to 41 months in prison, 21 months in prison, and 26 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in a multi-million dollar durable medical equipment Medicare fraud scheme.

A New Orleans-area medical doctor and the owner and operator of a medical equipment company were sentenced today to 48 and 30 months in prison.

Two owners of a Houston health care company pleaded guilty today in connection with an alleged $5.2 million Medicare fraud scheme.

"I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the work of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice regarding combating fraud and securing the recovery of monies on behalf of American taxpayers."

"Since I became Assistant Attorney General, in April 2009, I have spoken to many audiences about the recent reinvigoration of our criminal enforcement efforts; and in this era of heightened enforcement, I think organizations like WMACCA, which allow business leaders and lawyers to come together and share ideas, serve an especially important function."

The United States has filed a complaint against Boston Scientific Corp. and related Guidant entities under the False Claims Act for conduct relating to certain of its cardiac devices.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement of its lawsuit alleging that Chandi Biswas, Kenneth R. Scott and Frankie L. Roberson violated the Fair Housing Act by making discriminatory statements against African-American renters at Rolling Oaks Apartments in Clanton, Ala.

The Justice Department announced today that Dalton Township, Mich., will pay $62,500 to settle a lawsuit alleging that the township discriminated against a group home for persons recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"Central to our mission is the recovery of taxpayer dollars that are lost to fraud, waste and abuse," said Assistant Attorney General West

"It’s a pleasure to be here with you to talk about the work we’re doing in the Civil Division to promote and protect the Nation’s national security interests," said Assistant Attorney General West.

Henry Clay Glaspell, of Arlington, Texas, pleaded guilty today to a hate crime charge stemming from the ethnically-motivated arson of a children’s playground at the Dar El-Eman Islamic Center in Arlington in July 2010.

FBI agents today arrested four people in connection with an armed home invasion robbery in Bartonsville, Penn.

A jury in St. Louis today convicted Vernon Wilson, 57, former chief deputy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Department, of violating the civil rights of four former inmates of the Washington County Jail on four separate occasions by beating two of the inmates and by arranging for the beatings of two other inmates.

"It was here that I first learned to be a lawyer; where I learned my most important lessons about law and public service; and where I learned something that all of you already know: that the small steps we take in service can create giant leaps of difference."

A Houston bus company was fined $55,000 for violating passenger carrier accessibility requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Helen Etinfoh, the former owner and operator of a Houston durable medical equipment (DME) company was sentenced today to 41 months in prison in connection with a $3 million power wheelchair fraud scheme.

Marcus Choice Williams, 36, of Fort Worth, Texas, pleaded guilty this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma C. Ramirez to various felony offenses related to a conspiracy to traffic young women for prostitution.

The founder and treasurer of the National Association of Special Police and Security Officers (NASPSO) was charged today in a superseding indictment with mail fraud, theft from a labor organization, obstruction of justice, criminal contempt and various recordkeeping offenses related to his operation of a pension plan for NASPSO members.

A registered nurse employed by a Houston health care company pleaded guilty today in connection with an alleged $5.2 million Medicare fraud scheme.

A Bulgarian national pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia for his role in laundering money for a transnational criminal group based in Eastern Europe.

Today, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, reached a settlement agreement with Independent School District #761 in Owatonna, Minn., to resolve an investigation into race and national origin harassment and disproportionate discipline of Somali-American students at Owatonna High School.

Two former Washington, D.C., tax preparers have been indicted on tax charges.

A federal court has barred Eddie Madrigal of San Antonio and his business, Madrigal Tax Express Inc., from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Cynthia Peters was sentenced to 27 months in prison based on her plea of guilty to one count of willfully aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of a false income tax return.

"Protecting the safety and security of the American people; protecting taxpayer dollars from fraud; and protecting consumers from financial fraud and other health and safety threats – these imperatives have driven the Civil Division’s work over the last two years, and, as Attorney General Edward Levi reminded us almost 40 years ago, “the agenda of the Justice Department is inevitably unfinished,” these priorities guide us still as we continue to tackle new challenges."

A federal jury in Houston convicted four defendants today in connection with a $5.2 million Medicare fraud scheme that operated from April 2006 to August 2009, announced the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ordered that John C. Kroack must adhere to a 25-foot buffer zone around a Planned Parenthood Reproductive Health Services Clinic in Lynnwood, Wash.

A federal court has permanently barred Houston-area tax preparers Christopher Helton and Marcia Johnson from preparing federal tax returns for others.

The owner of a Houston-area durable medical equipment (DME) company was sentenced to 84 months in prison for her role in a Medicare fraud scheme.

Marion Beverly Metoyer, a patient recruiter for a Houston durable medical equipment (DME) company, was convicted today by a Houston federal jury of health care fraud related to a power wheelchair fraud scheme.

The Department of Justice, through our United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Civil Division’s Office of Consumer Protection Litigation, is investigating and prosecuting dozens of cases against these so-called “notarios,” said Assistant Attorney General West.

An owner of a Houston health care company pleaded guilty today in connection with a $654,227 Medicare fraud scheme.

Raymone Bain, a public relations specialist and the former general manager of the late pop star Michael Jackson, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Washington, D.C., to charges that she failed to file federal and District of Columbia income tax returns.

An owner of a Houston health care company pleaded guilty today to committing health care fraud and making false statements relating to health care matters.

Two owners of a Houston health care company pleaded guilty for their roles in a scheme to defraud Medicare of more than $800,000.

The Department of Justice today filed a lawsuit on behalf of Dave Axtell, a U.S. Air Force reservist, against James J. Williams Bulk Service Transport Inc., its parent company Trans-System Inc., and another Trans-System subsidiary, System TWT Transportation Inc.

The Academy for Educational Development (AED) in Washington, D.C., has agreed to settle allegations that the company submitted false claims to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in connection with two cooperative agreements under which AED provided foreign assistance in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"And as Attorney General Eric Holder has often said, two of the Department’s highest priorities are fighting financial fraud and protecting our most vulnerable citizens, such as our elder citizens," said Assistant Attorney General West.

Vernon Wilson, former Chief Deputy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Department in Potosi, Mo., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, for violating the civil rights of four former inmates of the Washington County Jail on four separate occasions.

A founder and president of a Washington-area design firm was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for her role in a conspiracy to defraud the United States in the award of a government contract for U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Peter Labovitz, of Alexandria, Va., pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to pay employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.

Approximately 1,985 individuals have been arrested on narcotics-related charges as part of a 20-month multi-agency law enforcement investigation known as “Project Delirium,” which targeted the La Familia Michoacana drug cartel.

Edk Kenit, 29, and Choimina Lukas, 31, a Micronesian couple living in Longview, Wash., pleaded guilty today to document servitude in connection with a scheme to compel the labor of an 18-year-old woman, also from Micronesia.

Four Florida men were arrested today on charges that they defrauded homeowners in Massachusetts and elsewhere in connection with a home loan modification scam.