io Former Military Officer Pleads Guilty to Participating in Scheme to Steal Fuel Worth $39.6 Million from U.S. Army in Iraq By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:55:59 EDT Robert Young, 56, a former captain in the U.S. Army, pleaded guilty today to participating in a scheme to steal fuel worth approximately $39.6 million from the U.S. Army in Iraq. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Seven Charged with Terrorism Violations in North Carolina By www.justice.gov Published On :: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:32:19 EDT Seven individuals have been charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Ship Operator Sentenced to Pay More Than $2 Million Fine for Concealing Pollution on the High Seas By www.justice.gov Published On :: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:37:38 EDT Consultores de Navegacion, a Spanish company that operates the M/T Nautilus, an ocean-going chemical tanker ship, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to pay a fine of more than $2 million and serve three years of probation for criminal violations related to the overboard discharge of oil-contaminated bilge waste on the high seas. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io UBS Client Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax Return, Hid $8 Million in Secret Swiss Bank Accounts By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:05:23 EDT Jeffrey P. Chernick, of Stanfordville, N.Y., pleaded guilty today to charges of filing a false tax return. Chernick, who owns a corporation which represents toy manufacturers in China and Hong Kong, appeared today before Judge James I. Cohn in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and accepted responsibility for concealing more than $8 million in Swiss bank accounts. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Contracting Officer’s Niece Pleads Guilty to Obstructing Money Laundering Investigation Related to Bribe Payments By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:20:53 EDT The niece of a U.S. Army major pleaded guilty today for her role in a conspiracy to cover up her uncle’s role in accepting more than $9 million in bribes as a contracting officer in Kuwait. Nyree Pettaway, 37, of Houston, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to one count of conspiring with her uncle, John C. Cockerham, Carolyn Blake (her aunt and Cockerham’s sister) and others, to obstruct the investigation of money laundering related to Cockerham’s receipt of bribes. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Federal Corrections Officer Convicted of Civil Rights Charges Related to Fatal Assault By www.justice.gov Published On :: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:42:49 EDT A federal jury in Orlando, Fla, found Erin Sharma, a Bureau of Prisons corrections officer, guilty today on felony federal civil rights charges related to a fatal assault on an inmate in March 2005. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Justice Department Requires Divestiture in Sapa’s Acquisition of Indalex By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:30:34 EDT The Department has reached a settlement that will require Sapa Holding AB and Indalex Holdings Finance Inc. to divest a North Carolina aluminum sheathing facility in order to proceed with Sapa’s proposed $150 million acquisition of Indalex. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Justice Department Requires Divestiture in Sapa’s Acquisition of Indalex By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:30:56 EDT The Department has reached a settlement that will require Sapa Holding AB and Indalex Holdings Finance Inc. to divest a North Carolina aluminum sheathing facility in order to proceed with Sapa’s proposed $150 million acquisition of Indalex. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Third Crewmember Pleads Guilty to Charges Related to Pollution from Cargo Ship By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:02:23 EDT A Greek citizen who oversaw the engineering department on board a Dominica-flagged bulk cargo ship pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in New Orleans for violating environmental laws designed to prevent pollution from ships and making false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Helmerich & Payne Agrees to Pay $1 Million Penalty to Resolve Allegations of Foreign Bribery in South America By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:39:34 EDT Helmerich & Payne Inc. (H&P) has entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve improper payments by H&P to government officials in Argentina and Venezuela in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Fourteen Motorcycle Gang Leaders and Members Plead Guilty in Detroit to Violent Crime, Drug and Firearms Charges By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:55:36 EDT Fourteen members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club have pleaded guilty in Detroit to charges including violent crimes in aid of racketeering, illegal drug distribution and firearms violations. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io New Mexico-based Computer Assets Inc. Agrees to Settle False Claims Allegations Involving the E-Rate Program By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:58:21 EDT Computer Assets Inc. and its principals, Abraham Salazar and Damon Salazar, have agreed to pay $350,000 over three years and surrender up to $35 million in pending E-Rate applications to settle allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act in connection with the Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate program. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Former Congressional Chief of Staff Sentenced for Honest Services Fraud Conspiracy By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:19:05 EDT A former chief of staff to a member of the U.S. House of Representatives was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. to three years of probation, including 170 days of home detention, and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io British Citizen Arrested in Connection with Costa Rica-based Business Opportunity Fraud Ventures By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:20:06 EDT A British citizen charged in connection with the operation of a series of fraudulent business opportunities was arrested Thursday evening in Miami following his indictment by a Miami federal grand jury on June 9, 2009. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Control Components Inc. Pleads Guilty to Foreign Bribery Charges and Agrees to Pay $18.2 Million Criminal Fine By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:40:52 EDT Control Components Inc. (CCI), a Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.-based company, pleaded guilty today to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the Travel Act in a decade-long scheme to secure contracts in approximately 36 countries by paying bribes to officials and employees of various foreign state-owned companies as well as foreign and domestic private companies. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Two Chemical Companies Agree to Resolve Environmental Violations in Ohio By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:44:23 EDT The former and current owners and operators of a chemical facility in Addyston, Ohio, LANXESS Corp. and INEOS ABS USA Corp., have agreed to pay a $3.1 million civil penalty and INEOS will spend up to $2 million to install environmental controls and modify operating procedures to resolve violations of multiple environmental laws. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Canadian National Charged with Foreign Bribery and Paying Kickbacks Under the Oil for Food Program By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:23:36 EDT A Canadian citizen has been charged in an indictment unsealed yesterday for his alleged participation in an eight-year conspiracy to defraud the United Nations Oil for Food Program (OFFP) and to bribe Iraqi government officials in connection with the sale of a chemical additive used in the refining of leaded fuel. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Attorney General Holder Appoints New Member to the Board of Immigration Appeals By www.justice.gov Published On :: Mon, 3 Aug 2009 13:00:55 EDT Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., announced today the appointment John H. Guendelsberger as a new member of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The BIA is part of the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review located in Falls Church, Va., and is responsible for hearing appeals of decisions rendered by immigration judges or certain Department of Homeland Security officers. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Five Companies Agree to $21 Million Settlement for Environmental Damages in Pennsylvania By www.justice.gov Published On :: Mon, 3 Aug 2009 13:48:20 EDT Five companies have agreed to compensate the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania nearly $21.4 million in cash and valuable property to address natural resource damages resulting from decades of zinc smelting operations at the Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund site in northeast Pennsylvania. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Aluminum Recycler Agrees to Resolve Clean Air Act Violations By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 4 Aug 2009 11:42:57 EDT Aleris International Inc., one of the nation’s largest aluminum recyclers, and 13 of its subsidiaries have committed to implementing environmental improvements and controls projected to cost $4.2 million at 15 plants located in 11 states. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Boston-Based Bus Company Agrees to $650,000 Penalty for Violating the Clean Air Act and Anti-Idling Regulations By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 4 Aug 2009 13:46:14 EDT Paul Revere Transportation LLC, a bus company based in Boston, has agreed to pay a $650,000 civil penalty after being found liable by a jury in June for violating federal and state clean air laws for idling their buses for extended periods of time. The company was found liable on June 8, 2009, after a six-day trial in U.S. District Court in Boston, for 234 separate violations of the Clean Air Act and a Massachusetts anti-idling regulation. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Justice Department Obtains $35,000 in Disability-Based Housing Discrimination Settlement with Apartment Complex in Longview, Washington By www.justice.gov Published On :: Wed, 5 Aug 2009 12:13:10 EDT The Justice Department announced an agreement with the former owners and managers of Valley View Apartments in Longview, Wash., to settle allegations that they violated the Fair Housing Act by intentionally discriminating against an individual with a disability. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli at the National Conference for the Office of Safe and Drug-free Schools By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 4 Aug 2009 14:11:20 EDT "People who actually work in law enforcement, and people who actually work in our nation’s schools, know that our jobs are closely interwoven. When their neighborhoods and homes don’t feel safe, our children have a tough time paying attention in school. And when our children are not engaged at school, they’re going to be much more likely to get into trouble outside of it." Full Article Speech
io Justice Department Seeks to Bar Couple’s “Asset-protection” Scheme Allegedly Operated from Florida and Bahamas By www.justice.gov Published On :: Wed, 5 Aug 2009 15:50:22 EDT The United States has filed a lawsuit to bar a married couple’s alleged nationwide tax fraud scheme involving so-called asset protection. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Ready-Mix Concrete Producer Agrees to Resolve Clean Water Act Violations By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 6 Aug 2009 12:20:49 EDT Aggregate Industries - Northeast Region Inc., will pay a $2.75 million civil penalty and implement a regional evaluation and compliance program to resolve numerous violations of the Clean Water Act at 23 facilities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Union Pacific Railroad Company Agrees to Settle Clean Water Act Violations in Nevada By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 6 Aug 2009 18:23:11 EDT Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) has agreed to settle alleged violations of the Clean Water Act in Nevada by restoring 122 acres of mountain-desert streams and wetlands, implementing storm water controls at its construction sites, and paying a civil penalty. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Federal Judge Sentences Defendants Who Perpetrated $10.9 Million Medicare Fraud HIV Infusion Scheme By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 7 Aug 2009 16:20:04 EDT Miami physician Keith Russell, 65, and physician’s assistant Jorge Luis Pacheco, 50, were each sentenced to 97 months in prison, and physician’s assistant Eda Marietta Milanes, 43, was sentenced to 63 months in prison, for their roles in fraud schemes that involved billing Medicare for $10,903,509 worth of unnecessary HIV infusion treatments. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io ICE and DOJ Sign Agreements to Share Information on Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime By www.justice.gov Published On :: Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:43:36 EDT U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009, to foster increased communication between participating agencies at the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Fusion Center and the International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2). Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Ohio Edison Agrees to Repower Power Plant with Renewable Biomass Fuel By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:28:31 EDT Ohio Edison Company, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., has agreed in a consent decree to repower one of its coal-fired power plants using primarily renewable biomass fuels. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Boeing Company to Pay U.S. $25 Million to Resolve Allegations Related to Defective Work on KC-10 Aerial Refueling Aircraft By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:26:26 EDT The Boeing Company will pay the United States $25 million to resolve allegations that the company performed defective work on the entire KC-10 Extender fleet. The KC-10 Extender is a mainstay of the Air Force’s aerial refueling fleet in the Iraq and Afghanistan war theaters. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Justice Department Resolves Disability Discrimination Lawsuit Against Indiana Provider of Retirement Housing By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:13:33 EDT The operator and manager of the Rathbone Retirement Community in Evansville, Ind., has agreed to pay up to $116,000 to resolve a housing discrimination lawsuit. The November 2008 lawsuit alleged that the defendants violated the Fair Housing Act by prohibiting the use of motorized wheelchairs and scooters in residents’ apartments and in the home’s common dining room during meals. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Dynamics Research Corporation to Pay $15 Million to Resolve Allegations of Kickbacks and False Claims Related to Air Force Contracts By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:54:17 EDT Dynamics Research Corporation (DRC), a defense contractor based in Andover, Mass., has agreed to pay the United States $15 million plus interest to settle allegations that two of its former executives engaged in a fraudulent kickback scheme in connection with two technical services contracts with the Air Force. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Defendants Sentenced in Connection with Business Opportunity Scams By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:50:13 EDT On Aug.11, 2009, two individuals were sentenced in connection with South Florida business opportunity scams. Stewart Pope was sentenced in connection with his participation in fraudulent business opportunity sales at a Miami firm called Global Resources (“Global”). Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Pipeline Firms to Pay $3.65 Million to Settle Claims Related to 2004 Ammonia Spills in Nebraska and Kansas By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:53:52 EDT A pipeline company and two of its former operating firms will jointly pay a civil penalty of $3.65 million to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act resulting from anhydrous ammonia spills in Nebraska and Kansas, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today. The spills which occurred in 2004 resulted in significant fish kills in surrounding waterways. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Alleged International Hacker Indicted for Massive Attack on U.S. Retail and Banking Networks By www.justice.gov Published On :: Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:48:04 EDT Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, Fla., was indicted today for conspiring to hack into computer networks supporting major American retail and financial organizations, and stealing data relating to more than 130 million credit and debit cards. Among the corporate victims named in the indictment are Heartland Payment Systems, a New Jersey-based card payment processor; 7-Eleven Inc., a Texas-based nationwide convenience store chain; and Hannaford Brothers Co. Inc., a Maine-based supermarket chain. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Detroit Clinic Owner and Patient Recruiter Plead Guilty in $15 Million Fraud Scheme By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:59:38 EDT Miami residents Jose and Arnaldo Rosario pleaded guilty today to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program of approximately $15.3 million. Both defendants pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Home Development Company Agrees to Settle Federal Lawsuit for Clean Water Act Violations By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:02:00 EDT Cooper Land Development, Inc., a luxury home development company headquartered in Rogers, Ark., has agreed to pay a civil penalty and implement a storm water compliance program at its construction sites to settle allegations that it violated the Clean Water Act. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Former Member of Armed Services Sentenced for Participating in Bribery and Extortion Conspiracy By www.justice.gov Published On :: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:05:50 EDT A former member of the U.S. armed services was sentenced today to 28 months in prison for his role in a widespread bribery and extortion conspiracy that operated from January 2002 through March 2004. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Two Manufacturers Agree to Settle Clean Air Act Claims Resulting from Explosions at Plants in Kentucky and Mississippi By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:26:03 EDT Two manufacturing companies, in separate settlements, have agreed to pay civil penalties and take corrective measures to settle Clean Air Act violations resulting from explosions at two plants in 2002 and 2003 in Louisville, Ky., and Pascagoula, Miss. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., to Pay More Than $2 Million for Discharges from Nebraska Plant By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:49:48 EDT Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., the world’s largest supplier of premium beef and pork, has agreed to pay a $2,026,500 civil penalty to settle allegations that it violated terms of a 2002 consent decree and a federally-issued pollution discharge permit at its meat processing facility in Dakota City, Neb. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Two Chief Engineers from Oil Tanker “Georgios M” Indicted for Environmental Crimes By www.justice.gov Published On :: Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:25:36 EDT A federal grand jury in Houston has returned an indictment charging two crewmembers of the oil tanker Georgios M with making false statements, violating federal law designed to prevent pollution from ships and obstruction of justice. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Former UBS Banker Sentenced to 40 Months for Aiding Billionaire American Evade Taxes By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:59:12 EDT Former UBS banker, Bradley Birkenfeld of Weymouth, Mass., has been sentenced to 40 months incarceration by Judge William J. Zloch in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. On June 19, 2008, Birkenfeld pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Former Government Official Indicted on Public Corruption Charges Related to Ongoing Abramoff Investigation By www.justice.gov Published On :: Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:24:11 EDT A former Congressional staffer and chief of staff in two federal agencies was indicted today by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia on public corruption charges, the Justice Department announced. The five-count indictment charges Horace M. Cooper, 44, of Lorton, Va., with one count of conspiracy, one count of fraudulent concealment, two counts of false statements, and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding. U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay today issued a criminal summons directing Cooper to make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, at 1:45 p.m. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Covenant Medical Center to Pay U.S. $4.5 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:16:12 EDT Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, Iowa has agreed to pay the United States $4.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act. This settlement resolves allegations that Covenant submitted false claims to Medicare by having financial relationships with five physicians that violated the Stark Law. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Epson Imaging Devices Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay $26 Million Fine for Participating in LCD Price-Fixing Conspiracy By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:00:42 EDT Japanese electronics manufacturer Epson Imaging Devices Corporation (Epson) agreed to plead guilty and pay a $26 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the sale of Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display panels (TFT-LCD) sold to Motorola Inc. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Former Department of Defense Contractor Sentenced for Participation in Scheme to Steal Fuel from U.S. Army in Iraq By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:29:33 EDT Lee William Dubois, a former Department of Defense contractor, was sentenced today to three years in prison for his participation in a scheme to steal fuel worth approximately $39.6 million from the U.S. Army in Iraq. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Tennessee Demolition and Salvage Companies Indicted for Clean Air Act Violations and Defrauding the United States By www.justice.gov Published On :: Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:25:05 EDT Two demolition and salvage companies and three of their respective owners and supervisors were indicted today by a federal grand jury in Chattanooga, Tenn. The indictment describes a year-long scheme in which the former Standard Coosa Thatcher plant in Chattanooga was illegally demolished while still containing large amounts of asbestos. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Former Texas Correctional Officer Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Providing False Statements in Civil Rights Case By www.justice.gov Published On :: Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:30:39 EDT Eugene Morris, a former correctional officer with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, was sentenced today in federal court in Houston for providing a false statement related to a federal civil rights investigation. Morris was sentenced to two years in prison and two years of supervised release. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Justice Department Files Lawsuit Alleging Disability-Based Housing Discrimination Against Idaho Condominium Developer By www.justice.gov Published On :: Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:35:13 EDT The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the developer of the Riverwalk Condominiums, a condominium apartment complex in Post Falls, Idaho, for violating the Fair Housing Act by constructing apartments that do not have required accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Full Article OPA Press Releases
io Former Sand and Gravel Subcontractor Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison After Conspiracy and Bribery Conviction in Connection with a Levee Reconstruction Project By www.justice.gov Published On :: Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:39:38 EDT A former sand and gravel subcontractor was sentenced today to serve five years in prison and to pay a $5,000 criminal fine by U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier after being convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy and bribery in connection with a $16 million hurricane protection project for the reconstruction a New Orleans levee. Full Article OPA Press Releases