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Justice Department Files Antitrust Lawsuit Challenging Anheuser-Busch Inbev’s Proposed Acquisition of Grupo Modelo

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today challenging Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (ABI) proposed acquisition of total ownership and control of Grupo Modelo.



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Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Houston Community College to Resolve Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with Houston Community College resolving allegations that the college violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.



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Oregon Man Indicted for Tax Fraud and Identity Theft

Ricky Lee Greenwood, of Portland, Ore., was indicted late last night on nine counts of wire fraud, nine counts of filing false claims for tax refunds, and eight counts of aggravated identity theft.



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District Court Enters Permanent Injunction Against Ohio-Based Drug Manufacturer and Company’s Senior Executives

U.S. District Court Judge Lesley Wells entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against Ben Venue Laboratories Inc., a Bedford, Ohio-based drug manufacturer.



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Two Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Gang Members Plead Guilty to Federal Racketeering Charges

Two members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas gang (ABT) pleaded guilty to racketeering charges related to their membership in the ABT’s criminal enterprise.



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Federal Court Bars Kansas Instant Tax Service Franchisee from Operating and Preparing Tax Returns, Orders Payment of $100,000 in Penalties

A Kansas City, Kan., federal court permanently barred an Instant Tax Service franchisee, A&S Tax Services LLC, from further operating or preparing federal tax returns for others.



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Maryland Man Found Guilty After Trial and Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison in International Child Pornography Conspiracy Case

A Maryland man was found guilty by a federal jury yesterday and sentenced today to serve 30 years in prison for his participation in a global online child pornography conspiracy.



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Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Riverview, Fla., Tax-preparation Office Allegedly Involved in Identity Theft

The United States has asked a federal court to shut down a tax-preparation office in Riverview, Fla.



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Six Sentenced to Prison in Florida for Federal Tax Crimes

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



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Family Members Sentenced in Alabama in $1.9 Million Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Scheme

Several family members were sentenced Friday in the Middle District of Alabama for their involvement in a $1.9 million dollar stolen identity refund fraud scheme.



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Department of Justice Sues Standard &s for Fraud in Rating Mortgage-Backed Securities in the Years Leading Up to the Financial Crisis

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the Department of Justice has filed a civil lawsuit against the credit rating agency Standard &s Ratings Services alleging that S&P engaged in a scheme to defraud investors in structured financial products known as Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities and Collateralized Debt Obligations.



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Former Title Agent and Broker Convicted in Miami for Role in Reverse Mortgage Scheme

A Miami title agent and former mortgage broker was found guilty late yesterday, Feb. 4, 2013, for her role in a “reverse mortgage” fraud scheme in connection with a loan worth more than $400,000.



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RBS Securities Japan Limited Agrees to Plead Guilty in Connection with Long-Running Manipulation of Libor Benchmark Interest Rates

RBS Securities Japan Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS), has agreed to plead guilty to felony wire fraud and admit its role in manipulating the Japanese Yen London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), a leading benchmark used in financial products and transactions around the world.



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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.



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Four Charged with Internet Sales of Industrial Bleach as Miracle Cure

Louis Daniel Smith, 42, and Karis Delong, 38, both of Ashland, Ore., were charged with defrauding regulators and suppliers in a scheme to manufacture and sell industrial bleach as a cure for numerous illnesses, including arthritis, cancer and the seasonal flu.



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Former Jewelry Company Executive Sentenced in U.s.v.i. to Pay $1.1 Million in Fines and Community Service for Illegal Trade of Protected Black Coral

Ashu Bhandari, the former president and CEO of GEM Manufacturing LLC, a U.S. Virgin Islands-based company, was sentenced Thursday in federal court in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., for felony customs violations for his role in a scheme to illegally import protected black coral into the United States.



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Maryland’s St. Joseph’s Medical Center Agrees to Pay $4.9 Million for Medically Unnecessary Hospital Admissions

St. Joseph’s Medical Center, a hospital located in Towson, Md., has reached a settlement with the United States to pay $4.9 million in connection with its submission of false claims to Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs.



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Detroit Man Sentenced for Anti-Gay Hate Crime

Everett Dwayne Avery, 26, of Detroit, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John Corbett O’Meara after pleading guilty to committing a hate crime by assaulting a man because the man was gay.



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California-Based Granite Construction Company to Pay U.S. $367,500 to Resolve False Claims Allegations

Granite Construction Company, a California-based construction company specializing in roads, tunnels, bridges, airports and other infrastructure-related projects, reached a settlement with the United States following an investigation of alleged false claims in connection with federal construction projects across the country.



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Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Avant Healthcare Professionals LLC to Resolve Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices

The Justice Department reached a settlement agreement today with Avant Healthcare Professionals LLC, a healthcare staffing company based in Casselberry, Fla., resolving allegations that the company posted discriminatory job advertisements on the internet.



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Two California Men Indicted in Federal Hate Crime Case Stemming from New Year’s Eve Attack on African-American Youths

A federal grand jury has indicted two members of the Compton 155 street gang on federal hate crime charges related to a racially motivated attack on four African-American juveniles at a residence in the city of Compton, Calif., on New Year’s Eve.



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Sixteen People Sentenced to Prison for Religiously Motivated Assaults on Practitioners of the Amish Religion

Sixteen people were sentenced to prison today for hate crimes arising out of a series of religiously-motivated assaults on practitioners of the Amish religion.



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South Florida Brothers Sentenced for Tax Evasion

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



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Alabama Woman Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Running Sophisticated Million Dollar Identity Theft Tax Scheme

Antoinette Djonret was sentenced today to 144 months in prison for her involvement in two separate tax fraud schemes.



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Former Registered Nurse Sentenced in Miami to 111 Months in Prison in Connection with $63 Million Mental Health Care Fraud Scheme

A former registered nurse was sentenced today to serve 111 months in prison for his role in a health care fraud scheme involving defunct health provider Health Care Solutions Network Inc. (HCSN).



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Former Department of Defense Contractor Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Smuggling Kickback Proceeds from Afghanistan to the United States

A former employee of a Department of Defense contracting company at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, was sentenced today to serve 30 months in prison for attempting to smuggle $150,000 in kickback proceeds he received for steering U.S. government subcontracts to an Afghan company.



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Ohio Federal Court Bars Appraiser of Historic-Preservation Easements

A federal court in Cleveland has barred MAI-designated real estate appraiser Michael Ehrmann and his firm, Jefferson & Lee Appraisals Inc., from preparing property appraisals for federal tax purposes.



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Members of Rhino Smuggling Ring Arrested and Charged

Three people have been charged this week in Newark, Miami and New York City with wildlife smuggling and related charges for their alleged roles in an international rhino horn smuggling ring.



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Colorado Big Game Outfitter Sentenced to Prison for Six Lacey Act Felonies

Big game hunting outfitter Dennis Eugene Rodebaugh, 72, of Meeker, Colo., was sentenced in Denver today to 41 months in prison to be followed by three years supervised release for six felony counts of violating the Lacey Act.



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Former Muskogee, Oklahoma, Detention Officer Indicted for Making False Statements to the FBI

A federal grand jury in Muskogee, Okla., has indicted Dennis Frisbie Jr., 32, a former detention officer at the Muskogee County Jail (MCJ), on one count of making material false statements to the FBI.



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Former Oklahoma Jail Superintendent and Assistant Jail Superintendent Indicted on Multiple Civil Rights Offenses

A federal grand jury in Muskogee, Okla., has indicted Raymond A. Barnes, 42, and Christopher A. Brown, 31, the former jail superintendent and assistant jail superintendent, respectively, of the Muskogee County Jail (MCJ) on multiple counts of civil rights offenses related to allegations of excessive force on inmates at MCJ on or between August 2009 and May 2011.



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Transocean Pleads Guilty, Is Sentenced to Pay $400 Million in Criminal Penalties for Criminal Conduct Leading to Deepwater Horizon Disaster

Transocean Deepwater Inc. pleaded guilty today to a violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for its illegal conduct leading to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, and was sentenced to pay $400 million in criminal fines and penalties.



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Former Executives of Stanford Financial Group Entities Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Roles in Fraud Scheme

Gilbert T. Lopez Jr., the former chief accounting officer of Stanford Financial Group Company, and Mark J. Kuhrt, the former global controller of Stanford Financial Group Global Management, were each sentenced today to 20 years in prison for their roles in helping Robert Allen Stanford perpetrate a fraud scheme involving Stanford International Bank (SIB). Both were convicted by a Houston federal jury on Nov. 19, 2012.



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Antiques Dealer Sentenced in New York City for Crimes Relating to Illegal Trafficking of Endangered Rhinoceros Horns

David Hausman, an antiques dealer in Manhattan, was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to six months in jail for obstruction of justice and creating false records in connection with illegal rhinoceros horn trafficking.



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Florida Woman Sentenced to Prison for Obstruction of Justice in Relation to Her Husband’s Disappearance

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.



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Florida-Based Lender Processing Services Inc. to Pay $35 Million in Agreement to Resolve Criminal Fraud Violations Following Guilty Plea from Subsidiary CEO

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.



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Vice President Biden and Attorney General Holder Honor 18 Public Safety Officers with Medal of Valor

Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder today awarded the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor to 18 public safety officers who exhibited exceptional courage in saving and protecting others and whose heroic actions were above and beyond the call of duty.



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Justice Department Reaches Settlement with FTD Inc. to Resolve Immigration-Related Retaliation Claim

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with FTD Inc., to resolve allegations that the company retaliated against a man for asserting rights under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.



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North Carolina Commodities Firm Owner Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for Multimillion-dollar Fraud

The principal and co-owner of North Carolina-based Integra Capital Management LLC, was sentenced today to serve 36 months in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud commodities trading investors of more than $3.2 million.



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Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Medal of Valor Awards Ceremony

"Through these selfless acts – and through the service you render to your communities and fellow citizens every day – each of you has earned the deepest thanks of a grateful nation. And all of you have incurred a debt of gratitude that this country can only hope to repay," said Attorney General Holder.




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Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs Mary Lou Leary Speaks at the Medal of Valor Awards Ceremony

"We’re here to recognize 18 extraordinary individuals for their quick thinking, selflessness, and exceptional courage. They are law enforcement and corrections officers and firefighters who went beyond the call of duty to risk – and in some cases, to give – their lives for their fellow citizens and colleagues," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.




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Former Officials and Broker of Peanut Corporation of America Indicted Related to Salmonella-Tainted Peanut Products

A 76-count indictment was unsealed yesterday charging four former officials of the Peanut Corporation of America and a related company with numerous charges relating to salmonella-tainted peanuts and peanut products.



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Two Men Arrested for Alleged Extortion of Detroit-Area Restaurant Owner

Two men were arrested today on charges of allegedly extorting a Detroit-area restaurant owner.



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United States Joins Lawsuit Alleging Lance Armstrong and Others Caused the Submission of False Claims to the U.S. Postal Service

The Department of Justice announced today that the government has joined a civil lawsuit alleging that Lance Armstrong, Johan Bruyneel and Tailwind Sports LLC and Tailwind Sports Corporation submitted or caused the submission of false claims to the U.S. Postal Service in connection with its sponsorship of a professional bicycle racing team by regularly employing banned substances and methods to enhance their performance, in violation of the USPS sponsorship agreements.



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Illegal Marketer of Medicare Information Admits Role in Detroit-area Home Health Care Fraud Scheme

A health care worker who sold Medicare beneficiary information to Detroit-area home health agency operators as part of a $24.7 million home health care fraud conspiracy pleaded guilty today for his role in the scheme, which sought to profit by billing for home healthcare services that were medically unnecessary and not provided.



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Singapore-Based Shipping Company to Pay $2.2 Million for Covering up Oil Pollution

Pacific International Lines, a Singapore-based container ship company, was sentenced today in D.C. federal court under the terms of a plea agreement that requires the company to pay $2.2 million in criminal penalties.



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Member of Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra Sentenced to 55 Months in Prison

Louis Fazzini was sentenced today to serve 55 months in prison for his participation in a racketeering conspiracy involving illegal gambling and theft from an employee benefit plan.



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Miami Pharmacy Owner Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison in $23 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

A co-owner and operator of three Miami discount pharmacies was sentenced today to 168 months in prison for his role in a health care fraud scheme that submitted more than $23 million in false claims to Medicare.



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Owner of Mental Health Facilities Sentenced to 168 Months in Prison in Connection with $63 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

A former owner of mental health facilities in Florida and North Carolina was sentenced today to serve 168 months in prison for his leadership role in a health care fraud scheme involving defunct health provider Health Care Solutions Network Inc. (HCSN.



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Former Owners of Los Angeles-Area Medical Equipment Wholesaler Plead Guilty to Conspiring with Customers to Defraud Medicare

Two former owners of a Los Angeles-area medical equipment wholesale supply company pleaded guilty today to conspiring with their customers to defraud Medicare.



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