Three Northern California real estate investors have agreed to plead guilty for their roles in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.

The government has intervened in eight False Claims Act lawsuits against Health Management Associates Inc. (HMA) alleging that HMA billed federal health care programs for medically unnecessary inpatient admissions from the emergency departments at HMA hospitals and paid remuneration to physicians in exchange for patient referrals.

Two orthopedic clinics will pay a combined $1.85 million to resolve state and federal False Claims Act allegations that they knowingly billed state and federal health care programs for reimported osteoarthritis medications, known as viscosupplements.

The Justice Department announced the filing of a lawsuit today against the State of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Department of Corrections alleging that the defendants are engaged in a pattern or practice of employment discrimination against African-Americans and Hispanics in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Vector Planning and Services Inc. (VPSI), an information technology, systems engineering, program management and consulting firm headquartered in Chantilly, Va., has agreed to pay the government $6.5 million to settle False Claims Act allegations that the company inflated claims for payment under several Navy contracts.

Dwayne Allen Hardman, 44, of Charleston, W.V., pleaded guilty today to paying bribes to public officials.

The government has intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit against Tenet Healthcare Corp. (Tenet) and four of its hospitals in Georgia and South Carolina, as well as a hospital in Monroe, Ga., owned by Health Management Associates Inc. (HMA), alleging that the hospitals paid kickbacks to obstetric clinics serving primarily undocumented Hispanic women in return for referral of those patients for labor and delivery at the hospitals.

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

The Justice Department announced today that a federal district court judge in Jackson, Miss., approved a settlement of the department’s lawsuit against the original owners and developers of nine multifamily housing complexes located in Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee.

Diagnostic Imaging Group (DIG) has agreed to pay a total of $15.5 million to resolve allegations that its diagnostic testing facility falsely billed federal and state health care programs for tests that were not performed or not medically necessary and by paying kickbacks to physicians.

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.

Gordon D. McDonald, a former project manager for a prime contractor at two U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund sites in New Jersey, was sentenced today to serve 14 years in prison for participating in multiple bid-rigging, fraud and kickback schemes.

Singapore-based ODFJELL ASIA II PTE LTD (ODFJELL) and one of its senior crew members pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Hartford, Conn., for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS).

Two Northern California real estate investors pleaded guilty for their roles in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.

Following a four-week trial, a federal jury today convicted two real estate investors for conspiring to rig bids at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in San Joaquin County, Calif. One of the investors was also convicted of obstruction of justice for destroying evidence related to the crimes

John Bryan Villegas, 23, of Kittery, Maine, was sentenced today in federal court in New Hampshire to serve 33 months in prison for engaging in a type of cyber stalking known as “sextortion.”

The chief executive officer and a managing partner of a New York-based U.S. broker-dealer were arrested today on felony charges arising from a conspiracy to pay bribes to a senior official in Venezuela’s state economic development bank.

A Cleveland federal grand jury returned an indictment against one current executive and two former executives of Bridgestone Corp. for their roles in an international conspiracy to fix prices of automotive anti-vibration rubber parts sold in the United States and elsewhere.

A former Bridgestone Corp. executive has agreed to plead guilty and to serve 18 months in a U.S. prison for his role in an international conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids of automotive anti-vibration rubber parts sold in the United States and elsewhere.

A Georgia 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 Georgia.

Showa Corp., an automotive parts manufacturer based in Saitama, Japan, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $19.9 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for pinion-assist type electric powered steering assemblies installed in cars sold in the United States and elsewhere.

Under an agreement announced today by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice, the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (VIWAPA) will come into compliance with air pollution control requirements in the federal Clean Air Act at its Estate Richmond Generating Facility located on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

A former executive of a rubber hose manufacturer, who was extradited from Germany in early April 2014, today pleaded guilty and was sentenced to serve two years in prison for participating in a conspiracy to rig bids, fix prices and allocate market shares of marine hose sold in the United States and elsewhere.

The Department of Justice announced today that Abdelkader and Hnia Amal pleaded guilty to one count of alien harboring in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The United States has filed a complaint under the False Claims Act against Stevens-Henager College, Inc. and its owner, The Center for Excellence in Higher Education, for illegally compensating recruiters, the Department of Justice announced today.

The former executive director of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands was indicted today by a federal grand jury in the Virgin Islands for accepting bribes and engaging in extortion in the award of contracts with the Legislature.

A former New York-based tax liens company executive pleaded guilty today for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids at auctions conducted by New Jersey municipalities for the sale of tax liens.

Sybil Marshall Coles, 45, of Pamplin, Virginia, was sentenced today to serve five years in prison for aggravated identity theft and preparing a false tax return.

The Department of Justice today announced the federal government’s first lawsuit filed against owners and servicers of student loans for violating the rights of servicemembers eligible for benefits and protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).

“For 27 years, Gina Talamona has been a tremendous asset to the Department of Justice and an exceptionally dedicated public servant. She’s been the backbone of our dedicated Office of Public Affairs team, providing leadership and sound guidance to Attorneys General and other leaders from administrations of both parties."

Jordan-based Arab Ship Management Ltd. pleaded guilty today in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, to one count of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, the Justice Department and the U.S. Coast Guard announced.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against Mississippi-based developer Dawn Properties Inc. and its affiliated companies for violating the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act., alleging that the defendants violated these laws when they designed and constructed five or more residential properties with barriers that make them inaccessible to persons with disabilities

Patrick Brightwell, 48, of Bogart, Georgia, pleaded guilty today to federal charges that he orchestrated the discharge of waste into the Potomac River at East Potomac Park from 2009 through 2011.

William P. Danielczyk Jr., formerly of Oakton, Virginia, pleaded guilty to one count of willful failure to collect and pay over employment taxes for the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2010, and one count of theft or embezzlement from an employee benefit plan for the calendar year 2010, the Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

The Justice Department, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), along with 49 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia’s attorney general have reached a $968 million agreement with SunTrust Mortgage Inc. (SunTrust) to address mortgage origination, servicing, and foreclosure abuses

Roderic J. Smith, 50, the co-founder and former president of a government contracting company, was sentenced yesterday to 48 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for conspiracy to bribe public officials. Smith was ordered to forfeit $175,000

Benjamin David Curell, 28, of Ellettsville, Indiana, pleaded guilty in federal court today to one count of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which makes it a federal crime to damage the property of a reproductive health services facility because of the services offered there. The plea stems from an incident that occurred during the early morning hours on April 11, 2013, when Curell broke into the Bloomington, Indiana, Planned Parenthood Clinic and caused extensive damage to the clinic building and its equipment

RE/MAX Allegiance Relocation Services, a Virginia-based move management company, has agreed to pay the government $509,807 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by overbilling for transportation services, the Department of Justice announced today

Dwayne A. Hardman, 44, co-founder of two government contracting companies that sought business from the United States Navy Military Sealift Command (MSC), and Adam C. White, 40, former vice president and co-owner of one of Hardman’s government contracting companies, were sentenced for bribery and conspiracy. On July 9, 2014, Hardman was sentenced to 96 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release

A Crozet, Virginia man who previously pleaded guilty to child pornography charges was sentenced today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Charlottesville for distribution and possession of child pornography

The Justice Department announced the filing of a lawsuit today against Entergy Corporation for violating Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974

Mobile, Alabama-based Infirmary Health System Inc. (IHS), two IHS-affiliated clinics and Diagnostic Physicians Group P.C. (DPG) have agreed to pay the United States $24.5 million to resolve a lawsuit alleging that they violated the False Claims Act by paying or receiving financial inducements in connection with claims to the Medicare program, the Justice Department announced today

The United States has intervened in a law suit against Symantec Corporation, alleging that Symantec submitted false claims to the United States on a General Services Administration (GSA) software contract, the Justice Department announced today

The Justice Department announced the filing of a lawsuit today against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania State Police, alleging that the defendants are engaged in a pattern or practice of employment discrimination against women in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the lawsuit challenges the state police’s use of two physical fitness tests to screen and select entry-level state troopers

In a new memorandum released Friday, Attorney General Eric Holder urged federal law enforcement agencies to identify, train and equip personnel who may interact with a victim of a heroin overdose with the drug naloxone. This latest step by the Attorney General will pave the way for certain federal agents -- such as emergency medical personnel -- to begin carrying the potentially life-saving drug known for effectively restoring breathing to a victim in the midst of a heroin or opioid overdose

An executive of Japanese auto parts maker G.S. Electech Inc. pleaded guilty and was sentenced today to serve 13 months in a U.S. prison for his role in an international conspiracy to rig bids and fix prices on auto parts used on antilock brake systems installed in U.S. cars, the Department of Justice announced

A former employee of a government contracting company was sentenced today to 36 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to bribe public officials at the United States Navy Military Sealift Command in exchange for favorable treatment in connection with U.S. government contract work

Nureni Abayomi Baruwa, a resident of Alexandria, Virginia, pleaded guilty to employment tax fraud today, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced

A Russian national indicted for hacking into point of sale systems at retailers throughout the United States and operating websites that distributed credit card data of thousands of credit card holders appeared today for arraignment in U.S. federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan of the Western District of Washington and Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division

NGK Spark Plug Co. Ltd., an automotive parts manufacturer based in Nagoya, Japan, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $52.1 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for spark plugs, standard oxygen sensors, and air fuel ratio sensors installed in cars sold to automobile manufacturers in the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice announced today