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Conspiracy Charge Filed Against Former Convergex Trader

A former trader for ConvergEx Global Markets Limited (CGM Limited) — a former securities broker-dealer registered in Bermuda — has been charged in the District of New Jersey with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.



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Former Top Executive of Japanese Automotive Parts Manufacturer Indicted for Role in Conspiracy to Fix Prices

A Detroit federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment against a former top executive of a Japanese manufacturer of automotive parts for his participation in a conspiracy to fix prices of seatbelts.



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Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges for Discharging Waste into Potomac River

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.



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Detroit Tax Preparer, Previously Convicted on Tax Charges, Found Guilty of Failing to Appear at 2013 Bond Hearing

The Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration announced that Matthew Bender, of Detroit, was convicted yesterday following a jury trial of failing to appear at a bond hearing on July 2, 2013.



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Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Fourth Annual Tribal Consultation Conference Hosted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of North Dakota

"And as I look around this crowd – of colleagues, friends, and distinguished tribal leaders – despite the wrongs and injustices of our troubled past and the obstacles that undoubtedly lie ahead, I can’t help but feel confident in our ability to move forward together – speaking with one voice, standing as one people, and building on the legacies of those who have gone before."




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Justice Department and CNCS Announce New Partnership to Enhance Immigration Courts and Provide Critical Legal Assistance to Unaccompanied Minors

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which administers AmeriCorps, and the Department of Justice today announced “justice AmeriCorps,” a strategic partnership to increase national service opportunities while enhancing the effective and efficient adjudication of immigration proceedings involving certain children who have crossed the U.S. border without a parent or legal guardian.



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Reputed Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Gang Leader Pleads Guilty to Federal Racketeering Charges

Terry Ross Blake, aka “Big Terry,” 56, of Corpus Christi, Texas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake in the Southern District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity.



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Justice Department and Montana Officials to Hold Press Conference Announcing Negotiated Agreements Regarding the Handling of Sexual Assault Cases

Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Michael Cotter, Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, Missoula County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg and Missoula County Commissioner Bill Carey will hold a press conference TOMORROW, TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. EDT (11:00 a.m. MDT), to announce negotiated agreements regarding the handling of sexual assault cases



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Justice Department Officials to Hold Press Call Announcing Negotiated Agreements Regarding the Handling of Sexual Assault Cases

Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels and U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Michael Cotter will hold a press call TOMORROW, TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014 at 1:45 p.m. EDT (11:45 a.m. MDT), for reporters who are unable to attend in person the 1:00 p.m. EDT (11:00 a.m. MDT), press conference announcing negotiated agreements regarding the handling of sexual assault cases



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Justice Department Urges U.S. Sentencing Commission to Make Certain Individuals Incarcerated for Drug Offenses Retroactively Eligible for Reduced Sentences

Attorney General Eric Holder announced Tuesday that the Justice Department would formally support a proposal under consideration by the U.S. Sentencing Commission to allow certain individuals serving time in federal prison for nonviolent drug offenses to be eligible for reduced sentences.



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Two Charged with Leading a Conspiracy to Defraud and Extort Spanish-Speaking Consumers Through Fraudulent Call Centers

A grand jury in Miami, Florida, indicted two individuals and two corporations for allegedly operating call centers in Peru that lied to and threatened Spanish-speaking victims into paying fraudulent settlements.



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Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole Delivers Remarks at the “Pills to Needles: the Pathway to Rising Heroin Deaths” Event

As the Attorney General recently observed, heroin and opiate addiction and abuse “is impacting the lives of Americans in every state, in every region, and from every background and walk of life.”




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Advisory Committee on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence Holds Final Public Hearing

The Advisory Committee of the Attorney General’s Task Force on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence convenes its final public hearing in Anchorage, Alaska, today and tomorrow



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Associate Attorney Tony West Speaks at the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence Hearing

"We have come to Anchorage to lessen the number of suffering children. We come to continue the important work we began six months ago when this Advisory Committee held its first hearing in Bismarck," said Associate Attorney General West




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Justice Department Settles Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim Against Commercial Cleaning Systems

The Justice Department reached an agreement today with Commercial Cleaning Systems, a janitorial services company with headquarters in Denver. The agreement resolves claims that the company discriminated against work-authorized non-U.S. citizens in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)



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Romanian National “Guccifer” Charged with Hacking into Personal Email Accounts

Marcel Lehel Lazar, 42, of Arad, Romania, also known as the hacker “Guccifer,” was indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges of wire fraud, unauthorized access to a protected computer, aggravated identity theft, cyberstalking and obstruction of justice



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Federal District Court Shut Down California Tax Return Preparers

A federal court in Fresno, California, has permanently barred Ken Mendoza and Alice Mendoza from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. Ken Mendoza and Alice Mendoza, who operated under the business name “Mendoza Business Services” in Fresno, consented to the civil injunction order, which was signed by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California



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Houston Ambulance Operator Sentenced for Her Role in $2.4 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

The owner and operator of a Houston area ambulance company was sentenced today to serve 97 months in prison for her role in a $2.4 million Medicare fraud scheme



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Georgia Resident Pleads Guilty in Connection with International Lottery Scheme Based in Jamaica

A man from Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty today for his role in a Jamaican-based fraudulent lottery scheme



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Federal Inmate Convicted of Murder

Federal inmate Kevin Marquette Bellinger, a former resident of Washington, D.C., and an inmate at the United States Penitentiary in Hazelton, West Virginia, was convicted this week for the murder of another inmate after a 5-day federal jury trial before U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley of the Northern District of West Virginia



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Attorney General Holder Delivers Statement on the Arrest of Ahmed Abu Khatallah for His Role in Attack in Benghazi, Libya

Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement Tuesday regarding the arrest of Ahmed Abu Khatallah for his role in the attack on the U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya



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Federal Government and State Attorneys General Reach Nearly $1 Billion Agreement with SunTrust to Address Mortgage Loan Origination as Well as Servicing and Foreclosure Abuses

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



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Former Maryland Division of Corrections Lieutenant Sentenced for Obstruction of Justice

Edwin Stigile III, formerly a lieutenant at the Roxbury Correctional Institution (RCI) in Hagerstown, Maryland, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge James K. Bredar to serve 36 months in prison for obstruction of justice in connection with his involvement in a series of assaults against an inmate, Kenneth Davis, at RCI



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Libyan National Charged with Federal Offenses in 2012 Attack on U.S. Special Mission and Annex in Benghazi

Ahmed Abu Khatallah, aka Ahmed Mukatalah, a Libyan national approximately 43 years of age, has been charged for his alleged participation in the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. Special Mission and Annex in Benghazi, Libya, which resulted in the deaths of four Americans



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Credit Repair Company Agrees to Pay $400,000 Civil Penalty and Halt Illegal Credit Repair Practices

The Justice Department’s Civil Division announced today that RMCN Credit Services Inc. (RMCN), of McKinney, Texas, and the Texas residents who own it, Doug and Julie Parker, have agreed to settle a federal court case charging them with falsely disputing negative information on consumers’ credit reports and collecting illegal upfront fees from customers



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Former Owner of Physical Therapy Clinic Sentenced to Prison in Connection with Health Care Fraud Scheme

A Florida man who was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud was sentenced to serve 27 months in prison today in federal court in Tampa, Florida



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Justice Department and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Reach $169 Million Settlement to Resolve Allegations of Credit Card Lending Discrimination by GE Capital Retail Bank

The Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today announced a settlement to resolve allegations that GE Capital Retail Bank, known as of this month as Synchrony Bank, engaged in a nationwide pattern or practice of discrimination by excluding Hispanic borrowers from two of its credit card debt-repayment programs



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Houston Man Charged with Biofuels Fraud Scheme

A federal grand jury in Houston, Texas, today indicted Philip Joseph Rivkin, a/k/a Felipe Poitan Arriaga, for offenses involving a federal renewable fuel program that allegedly netted him more than $29 million, the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division announced. The 68-count indictment against Rivkin, 49, of Houston and most recently, Guatemala City, Guatemala, includes allegations of wire fraud, mail fraud, Clean Air Act false statements, and money laundering



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One Year After Supreme Court’s Historic Windsor Decision, Attorney General Holder Issues Report Outlining Obama Administration’s Work to Extend Federal Benefits to Same-sex Married Couples

Following the Supreme Court’s historic decision striking down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday issued a formal report on the yearlong effort by the Justice Department and other federal agencies to implement the decision smoothly across the entire government



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Owners of Two Houston-Area Home Health Care Companies, Doctor, and Hospital Employee Sentenced for Their Roles in $3 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

Owners of two home health agencies, a doctor, and a hospital employee who sold patient information were all sentenced today for their roles in an $3 million Medicare fraud scheme



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Attorney General Holder Vows Justice Department Will Continue to Look at Banks That Help Payment Processors Carry out Consumer Scams, Says More Cases to Be Resolved Soon

Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday said that the Justice Department will continue to investigate financial institutions that knowingly facilitate consumer scams, or that willfully look the other way in processing such fraudulent transactions. He acknowledged that multiple investigations were ongoing in this area, and said he expected several of those cases to be resolved in the coming months



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District Court Enters Permanent Injunction Against California-Based Firm and Individuals to Prevent Distribution of Adulterated Dietary Supplements

The Justice Department announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Otis D. Wright II of the Central District of California entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against GM Manufacturing Inc. (GMM) and Mao L. Yang, Mary Chen and David Yang on Friday, June 20, 2014, to prevent the distribution of adulterated dietary supplements



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Three Former Georgia Correctional Officers Convicted for Offenses Related to Beating of Inmate and Ensuing Cover-Up

The Justice Department announced that Christopher Hall, a former sergeant for the Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) at Macon State Prison (MSP) in Oglethorpe, Georgia, and two former CERT officers, Ronald Lach and Delton Rushin, were convicted on Friday night by a federal jury on federal offenses related to the beating of an MSP inmate in 2010 and the cover-up that followed



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168 Juveniles Recovered in Nationwide Operation Targeting Commercial Child Sex Trafficking

During the past week, the FBI, its local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) conducted Operation Cross Country VIII, a week-long enforcement action to address commercial child sex trafficking throughout the United States



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Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Computer Hacking and Credit Card Theft

A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty today to hacking into computer networks around the country – including networks belonging to law enforcement agencies, a local police department and a local college – to obtain highly sensitive law enforcement data and alter academic records



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Air Force NCO Sentenced to 120 years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting Toddlers and Children to Produce Child Pornography

Earlier today, William S. Gazafi, age 44, of Lusby, Maryland, was sentenced to 120 years in prison, for six counts of sexually exploiting a minor to produce child pornography



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Former Chesapeake, Virginia Subcontractor Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Bribery

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



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Attorney General Holder Pledges Support for Legislation to Provide E.U. Citizens with Judicial Redress in Cases of Wrongful Disclosure of Their Personal Data Transferred to the U.S. for Law Enforcement Purposes

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the Obama administration, as part of successfully concluding negotiations on the E.U.-U.S. Data Protection and Privacy Agreement (DPPA), would seek to work with Congress to enact legislation that would provide E.U. citizens with the right to seek redress in U.S. courts if personal data shared with U.S. authorities by their home countries for law enforcement purposes under the proposed agreement is subsequently intentionally or willfully disclosed, to the same extent that U.S. citizens could seek judicial redress in U.S. courts for such disclosures of their own law enforcement information under the Privacy Act



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Criticizing Wisconsin’s Voter Id Statute, Attorney General Holder Pledges Aggressive Enforcement of Remaining Parts of Voting Rights Act

On the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act, Attorney General Eric Holder pledged Wednesday that the Justice Department would remain aggressive in using Section 2 of the law—which was left intact by the Court’s decision—to guard against unjust voting restrictions



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Nation’s Largest Nursing Home Pharmacy Company to Pay $124 Million to Settle Allegations Involving False Billings to Federal Health Care Programs

Omnicare Inc., the nation’s largest provider of pharmaceuticals and pharmacy services to nursing homes, has agreed to pay $124.24 million for allegedly offering improper financial incentives to skilled nursing facilities in return for their continued selection of Omnicare to supply drugs to elderly Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, the Justice Department announced today



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Former Jenkens & Gilchrist Attorney Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Orchestrating Multibillion Dollar Criminal Tax Fraud Scheme

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ronald A. Cimino for the Tax Division of the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for the Southern District of New York announced that Paul M. Daugerdas, 63, a tax attorney and certified public accountant, was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to serve 15 years in prison for orchestrating a massive fraudulent tax shelter scheme in which he and his co-conspirators designed, marketed and implemented fraudulent tax shelters used by wealthy individuals to evade over $1.6 billion in taxes owed to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).



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California Operators of Myredbook.com Website Arrested for Facilitating Prostitution and Money Laundering

Eric Omuro, of Mountain View, California, a.k.a “Red,” was arrested today following his indictment by a federal grand jury on charges involving the use of the mail and the Internet to facilitate prostitution, and multiple counts of money laundering



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Justice Department and State of Texas Require Martin Marietta to Divest a Quarry and Two Rail Yards to Proceed with Acquisition of Texas Industries

The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Martin Marietta Materials Inc. to divest one Oklahoma quarry and two Texas rail yards in order to proceed with its proposed $2.7 billion acquisition of Texas Industries Inc.



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Former Army Soldier Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder of His Five Year Old Daughter

Army Soldier Naeem Williams, 34, will receive a life sentence for murdering his five-year-old daughter, Talia Williams, after a federal jury in Honolulu, Hawaii, reported today it was unable to reach a unanimous decision on whether to impose the death penalty



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Former Bail Bondsman Indicted in Stolen Identity Tax Refund Fraud Scheme

Roderick Neal, of Dothan, Alabama, was indicted for stolen identity refund fraud crimes, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ronald A. Cimino of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. for the Middle District of Alabama announced today following the unsealing of the indictment



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Ahmed Abu Khatallah Indicted for Terrorist Conspiracy Stemming from September 2012 Attack in Benghazi, Libya

Ahmed Abu Khatallah, aka Ahmed Mukatallah, made his first appearance today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on a federal terrorism offense arising from his alleged participation in the Sept. 11 through 12, 2012, terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, which resulted in the deaths of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty



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Denso Corp. Executive Agrees to Plead Guilty to Price Fixing on Automobile Parts Installed in U.S. Cars

An executive of Japan-based Denso Corp. has agreed to plead guilty and to serve one year and one day in a U.S. prison in connection with the Antitrust Division’s investigation into a conspiracy to fix the prices of instrument panel clusters, also known as meters, installed in cars sold in the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice announced today



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U.S. Bank to Pay $200 Million to Resolve Alleged FHA Mortgage Lending Violations

U.S. Bank has agreed to pay the United States $200 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly originating and underwriting mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that did not meet applicable requirements, the Justice Department announced today



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Houston Man Sentenced for Threatening to Bomb Synagogue

Dante Phearse, 33, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt to serve 33 months in prison for calling in a bomb threat to Congregation Beth Israel, a synagogue in Houston



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Three Indicted in a Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Ring

Robert Walker, Charnesha Alexander and Ladonna Conley were indicted for their roles in a stolen identity refund fraud conspiracy, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ronald A. Cimino of the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. for the Middle District of Alabama announced today following the unsealing of the indictment



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