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Diebold Incorporated Resolves Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Investigation and Agrees to Pay $25.2 Million Criminal Penalty

Diebold Inc. (Diebold), the Ohio-based provider of integrated self-service delivery and security systems, including automated teller machines (ATMs), has agreed to pay a $25.2 million penalty to resolve allegations that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by bribing government officials in China and Indonesia and falsifying records in Russia in order to obtain and retain contracts to provide ATMs to state-owned and private banks in those countries.



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Georgia Real Estate Investment Company and Owner Plead Guilty to Conspiracies to Rig Bids and Commit Mail Fraud for the Purchase of Real Estate at Public Foreclosure Auctions

A Georgia real estate investor and his company pleaded guilty today for their role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Georgia.



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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.



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Las Vegas Street Gang Member Sentenced to Life in Prison_for Racketeering, Murder, Firearm, and Drug Charges

A member of the Playboy Bloods street gang was sentenced today to life in prison for the retaliation murder of a man in November 2004 and the armed robbery of a Henderson, Nev., casino in 2002, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada.



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Administrator and Employee of Two Miami Home Health Companies Sentenced for Role in $74 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

The administrator and employee of two Miami health care companies was sentenced today to serve 60 months in prison for her participation in a $74 million home health Medicare fraud scheme.



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Former Commander of Mexican State Police and Member of the Gulf Cartel Sentenced for Drug Conspiracy

Gilberto Lerma Plata, a former commander of the Mexican State Police and member of the Gulf Cartel, was sentenced today to serve 151 months in prison for conspiring to import multi-ton quantities of marijuana into the United States, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Administrator Michele M. Leonhart of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).



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Former Owner of Salt Lake City Medical Equipment Supply Company Indicted and Three Company Employees Plead Guilty for Roles in Medicare Fraud Scheme

A former owner of a Salt Lake City medical equipment supply company has been indicted and three former company employees have pleaded guilty for allegedly engaging in a $20 million Medicare fraud scheme.



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Indictment Unsealed and “Wanted” Posters Issued for Fugitives Charged with Multimillion Dollar International Cyber Fraud Scheme

Earlier today, charges were unsealed against Romanian fugitive Nicolae Popescu, the leader of an international organized crime syndicate that ran a multimillion dollar cyber fraud scheme, and six other fugitives charged with participating in the same scheme. Interpol has issued red notices to foreign law enforcement partners seeking assistance in the apprehension of these fugitives, and the FBI has also released “Wanted” posters to facilitate their arrests.



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Puerto Rico Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for 2009 Mass Shooting

David Oquendo-Rivas, 29, was sentenced today to life in prison for his role in the murder of eight people and an unborn child during a mass shooting at a Puerto Rico nightclub in 2009.



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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.



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Rhode Island Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder and Robbery of Gas Station Manager

Jason W. Pleau, 35, of Providence, R.I., was sentenced today to life in prison for the murder and robbery of Woonsocket, R.I., gas station manager David D. Main. Pleau chased, shot at close range and robbed Main on Sep. 20, 2010, as Main approached the doorstep of a Woonsocket bank where he was to have deposited receipts belonging to the gas station that he managed.



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Former Brokerage Firm Operations Head Indicted for Tax Crimes

An indictment was unsealed today charging Dominick Pannitti, formerly of North Bellmore, N.Y., with tax crimes, the Justice Department announced.



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Justice Department Charges California Apartment Owner and Staff with Discrimination Against Families with Children

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the owner and operators of a Fremont, Calif., apartment complex, alleging that they had discriminated against families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act by prohibiting children from playing in the common grassy areas of the complex.



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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.



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Former Congressman Richard G. Renzi Sentenced for Extortion and Bribery in Illegal Federal Land Swap

Former U.S. Congressman Rick Renzi was sentenced today to serve 36 months in prison following his June conviction by a federal jury in Tucson, Ariz., for extortion, bribery, insurance fraud, money laundering and racketeering. Renzi’s co-defendant, James Sandlin, was also sentenced today to serve 18 months in prison for his role in the extortion, bribery and money laundering scheme.



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Former President of Port Arthur, Texas, Chemical Company Sentenced for Federal Crimes Related to Employee Deaths

The former president of Port Arthur Chemical and Environmental Services LLC (PACES) has been sentenced for occupational safety crimes which resulted in the death of an employee, announced Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and John M. Bales, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas.



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Attorney General Eric Holder Delivers Remarks at the Arab Forum on Asset Recovery

We come together this year at a time of reflection and renewal – in a moment of progress and possibility; of challenge as well as opportunity. It was 14 years ago, in Washington, D.C., when then-Vice President of the United States Al Gore convened the very first Global Forum on Fighting Corruption and Safeguarding Integrity – an initiative that reflected a growing international willingness to acknowledge corruption as a problem that every country must face. Since that time, international leaders have repeatedly come together – in a variety of ways – to foster widespread consensus on the need for collective action in the face of shared challenges. And our nations have together accomplished a great deal.




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Owners and Supervisor of Ambulance Transportation Company Plead Guilty in Los Angeles for Role in Ambulance Fraud Scheme

The owners and supervisor of Alpha Ambulance Inc. (Alpha), a now-defunct Los Angeles-area ambulance transportation company, have pleaded guilty in connection with an ambulance fraud scheme.



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Army Soldier and Civilian Sentenced on Bribery Charges for Facilitating Thefts of Fuel in Afghanistan

A former U.S. Army Sergeant and a co-conspirator have been sentenced in the District of Colorado for their roles in stealing fuel at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Fenty, Afghanistan, Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced.



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Illinois Man Arrested for Alleged Role in $12 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

A Rockford, Ill., man was arrested today in connection with an indictment charging three Chicago-area residents for their roles in an alleged $12 million health care fraud scheme.



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Massachusetts Man Sentenced to 30 Months for Making Hoax Emergency Services Calls

A Massachusetts man was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison today for engaging in an illegal practice known as “swatting,” in which he made hoax emergency telephone calls reporting an ongoing, dangerous crime to elicit an armed police response from a SWAT team to a specific location, typically in order to harass someone he believed was at the location.



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Justice Department Files Lawsuit in Massachusetts Against Iron Workers Union Trustees and Pension Fund to Enforce the Employment Rights of Navy Reserve Member

The Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz announced today the filing of a complaint alleging that the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Local 7 (the union) and Iron Workers District Council of New England Pension Fund (the Pension Fund) willfully violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by failing to credit U.S. Navy Reserve Member Thomas Shea with service time while he was serving in the armed forces in Afghanistan.



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Justice Department and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Jointly Select Juan Mattos Jr. to Oversee Reform of the Puerto Rico Police Department

The Justice Department announced today that, jointly with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, it is moving in the U.S. District Court for the appointment of Juan Mattos Jr. as Technical Compliance Advisor (TCA).



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Attorney General Holder Announces $6.7 Million to Improve Legal Defense Services for the Poor

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced a total of $6.7 million in grants to state and local criminal and civil legal services organizations across the country that provide legal defense services for the poor.



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Former Veterans Affairs Psychiatrist Pleads Guilty to Medicare Fraud

A licensed psychiatrist employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pleaded guilty today to health care fraud for falsely billing Medicare for home medical treatment to Medicare beneficiaries and agreed to forfeit more than $1.2 million in illegal profits.



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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).



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Former U.S. Postal Service Mail Carrier Sentenced to Prison for Role in Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Scheme

Vernon Harrison, of Montgomery, Ala., was sentenced to serve 111 months in prison and three years supervised release, along with an order to pay $82,791 restitution, for his role in a stolen identity refund fraud scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama George L. Beck Jr.



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California Woman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud the IRS and Aggravated Identity Theft

Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division Kathryn Keneally and U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag for the Northern District of California announced that Noemi Rubio Baez, of Salinas, Calif., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to file false claims for tax refunds with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and to aggravated identity theft.



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Owner and Marketer of Louisiana Medical Equipment Supply Company Indicted for Roles in $3 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

The owner of a Louisiana medical equipment supply company and a marketer who worked for the company have been indicted for allegedly engaging in a $3 million Medicare fraud scheme.



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Former Corrections Officers Sentenced for Federal Civil Rights Offenses and Obstruction of Justice for Beating Death of an Inmate at Ventress Correctional Facility in Alabama

The Justice Department announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Myron H. Thompson sentenced four former corrections officers of the Alabama Department of Corrections – Michael Smith, Matthew Davidson, Joseph Sanders and Scottie Glenn – in connection with the beating death of former inmate Rocrast Mack.



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Northern California Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging at Public Foreclosure Auctions

Northern California real estate investor pleaded guilty today for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.



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Debt Collection Employee and Son-in-Law Sent to Prison for Identity Theft Tax Scheme

Quentin Collick of Montgomery, Ala., and Deatrice Williams of Duluth, Ga., were sentenced Nov. 1, 2013, to serve 85 and 51 months in prison, respectively, announced Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama George L. Beck Jr.



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Orlando, Fla., Area Hospice to Pay $3 Million to Resolve Allegations That It Billed Medicare for Patients Not Terminally Ill

Hospice of the Comforter Inc. (HOTCI) has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to the Medicare program for hospice services provided to patients who were not eligible for the Medicare hospice benefit.



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New York Check Cashing Company and Owner Plead Guilty for Roles in $19 Million Scheme

Belair Payroll Services Inc. (Belair), a multi-branch check cashing company in Flushing, N.Y., and its owner, Craig Panzera, 47, pleaded guilty today for failing to follow reporting and anti-money laundering requirements for more than $19 million in transactions, in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).



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Patient Broker of South Florida Psychiatric Hospital Sentenced for Role in $67 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

A patient broker of a South Florida psychiatric hospital was sentenced today to serve 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for her participation in a $67 million Medicare fraud scheme.



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Former Tennessee Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Handcuffed Arrestee

Christopher Eugene Reynolds, 39, a former police officer of the Selmer, Tenn., Police Department (SPD), pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee to violating the civil rights of an arrestee, the Justice Department announced.



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Former Mental-Health Clinic Therapist Sentenced for Role in $55 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

A former therapist for Biscayne Milieu, a Miami-based mental-health clinic, was sentenced today to serve 120 in prison for his participation in a $55 million Medicare fraud scheme.



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New Hampshire Man Charged with Passing Fraudulent Documents in Connection with His Sale of Black Rhinoceros Horns for $35,000

Ari B. Goldenberg, 46, of Milton, N.H., was charged today with trafficking in and making a false record for illegally selling a black rhinoceros head mount to an undercover U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) special agent.



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Detroit-Area Home Health Care Agency Owner Sentenced for Role in $2.2 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

The owner of a Detroit-area home health care agency was sentenced today to serve 65 months in prison for her leading role in a $2.2 million Medicare fraud scheme.



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Northern California Real Estate Investor Agrees to Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging at Public Foreclosure Auctions

A Northern California real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.



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Home Health Agency Owner Sentenced for Role in $13.8 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

Detroit-area resident Javed Rehman was sentenced to serve 60 months in prison today for his role in a $13.8 million Medicare fraud scheme.



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Former Belen, N.M., Police Department Detective Indicted for Using Excessive Force Against Arrestee

A federal grand jury in Albuquerque, N.M., has returned a one-count indictment charging former Belen Police Department Detective John Lytle with unlawfully assaulting a victim, identified in the indictment as R.A., during an investigative stop and arrest on March 15, 2012.



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Former Defense Contractor Employee and Wife Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Defraud Millions in Scheme Involving Supplies to Afghan National Army

Keith Johnson, 46, and his wife, Angela Johnson, 44, of Maryville, Tenn., pleaded guilty today to their roles in a $9.7 million procurement fraud scheme.



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Brooklyn Clinic Owner Sentenced for Role in $77 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

The owner of a Brooklyn medical clinic was sentenced today to serve 15 years in prison for her leading role in a $77 million Medicare fraud scheme.



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Court Authorizes IRS to Issue Summonses for Records Relating to U.S. Taxpayers with Offshore Bank Accounts

Five Banks Directed to Produce Records for Accounts at Zurcher Kantonalbank, The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited and Affiliates



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Attorney General Eric Holder Delivers Remarks at the Memorial Service for TSA Officer Gerardo Hernandez

No one understood this better than Gerardo Hernandez – a passionate public servant who stood on the front lines of our struggle to prevent terrorism. But what made Gerardo Hernandez a hero was not only how he died – in the line of duty, becoming the first member of the Transportation Security Administration to lose his life in service of his country.




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Attorney General Eric Holder Announces First Public Hearing of Task Force to Examine Impact of Violence on American Indian and Alaska Native Children

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the first public hearing of a new task force to examine the impact of exposure to violence on American Indian and Alaska Native children. Joining President Obama and other officials at the Department of the Interior for the White House Tribal Nations Conference, Attorney General Holder shared the announcement with leaders from the 566 federally recognized tribes and emphasized the Justice Department’s long-standing collaboration with leaders in American Indian and Alaska Native communities to improve public safety.



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Department of Defense Employee Pleads Guilty to Submitting False Claim for Housing Allowance

A Department of Defense (DOD) employee has pleaded guilty to filing a false claim with the DOD while stationed in the Republic of Korea (ROK) to fraudulently obtain $64,000 in housing allowance, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada.



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Alabama Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Role in Identity Theft and Tax Refund Scheme

Kevin Jackson of Montgomery, Ala., was sentenced to serve 102 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release, along with an order to pay $150,840.49 in restitution, for his role in a stolen identity refund fraud scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama George L. Beck Jr.



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Ohio-Based Basco Manufacturing Co. to Pay $1.1 Million for Allegedly Falsifying Customs Documents to Evade Import Duties on Chinese Products

Ohio-based Basco Manufacturing Co. (Basco) has agreed to pay $1.1 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by making false customs declarations to avoid paying duties on products imported from a Chinese manufacturer, and that it has filed a complaint against four other companies and two individuals based on similar allegations.



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