A former Rochester, Ill., firefighter was sentenced today to 30 years in prison and lifetime supervised release for child exploitation charges, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois James A. Lewis.

The Department of Justice announced today that Neal Wayne “Bear” Groom, former sheriff of the Worth County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office, pleaded guilty to depriving eight Missouri women of their civil rights by coercing the women to expose parts of their bodies to him, which was in violation of the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable seizures.

David Chui, a resident of Queens, N.Y., pleaded guilty to failing to pay employment taxes in connection with his former ownership of a garment assembly business.

Caridad Guilarte, 54, and Clara Guilarte, 57, each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Tyrone L. Ellis, 56, of Columbus, Ga., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Clay D. Land of the Middle District of Georgia.

Karl Herrington of Parma, Mich., was convicted of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the administration of the Internal Revenue laws, of filing false tax forms with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and of being a felon in possession of six different firearms.

Onuoha “Iggy” Nwokoro pleaded guilty in federal district court in Washington, D.C., to willfully aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return for 2004.

Bernard Joseph Tully, a former Massachusetts state senator, has pleaded guilty for devising a scheme to defraud a Boston-area businessman out of approximately $18,000 by falsely representing that Tully and his co-conspirator were using the funds to bribe public officials.

Thirteen individuals, including five doctors, one pharmacist and one chiropractor, were charged today for their participation in the illegal distribution of pain killers, steroids and human growth hormones through “pill mills” operating in Broward, Palm Beach and Martin Counties in Florida, and through the internet, respectively.

The Justice Department today announced the unsealing of a federal indictment charging former inmate Terry Lashavious McMillian, 26, of Whiteville, N.C., with federal civil rights violations involving the assault of an inmate and related acts of obstruction of justice.

A former member of the Arizona Army National Guard was charged today for his role in a widespread bribery and illegal drug trafficking conspiracy that operated from January 2002 through March 2004.

A federal jury in Opelika, Ala., has convicted a former deputy sheriff with the Russell County, Ala., Sheriff’s Office of a civil rights offense for his role in the assault of a handcuffed man.

The former campaign treasurer for Representative Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for embezzling more than $450,000 from the congressman’s election and re-election campaign accounts.

The owner of First Premium Financial Services and a former employee were sentenced today to federal prison for conspiring to defraud the United States in connection with fraudulent tax returns they prepared for clients.

A former chief executive officer of Florida-based telecommunications company Latin Node Inc. (LatiNode) was sentenced yesterday to 46 months in prison for paying bribes to former government officials in Honduras.

A federal court in California has permanently barred Gwenn Wycoff and Frank Ozak from forming trusts for others.

Maxim Healthcare Services Inc., one of the nation’s leading providers of home healthcare services, has entered into a settlement to resolve criminal and civil charges relating to a nationwide scheme to defraud Medicaid programs and the Veterans Affairs program of more than $61 million.

Maurice Goulet was sentenced today in Charlotte, N.C., by U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. to six months in prison for his conviction for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws.

DeWayne Johnson, 33, of Natchez, Miss., and a former Natchez Police Department officer, was sentenced yesterday to 30 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge David Bramlette for crimes related to the theft and subsequent unlawful use of credit cards that belonged to a person in the custody of Johnson while he was on duty.

April Rampton, formerly a resident of Heber City, Utah, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City with 15 counts of presenting false claims to the United States.

Donald Turner, formerly of Littleton, Colo., was found guilty of conspiring to defraud the United States by a federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in Erie, Pa.

Two former New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officers were sentenced today in relation to the beating death of Raymond Robair and subsequent cover-up.

Former Indianapolis and Marion County, Ind., City-County Councilman Lincoln Plowman was convicted today by a federal jury of attempted extortion and soliciting a bribe.

Six current and former members of the U.S. military have been charged a 41-count indictment in San Antonio for allegedly defrauding various U.S. military components and their contractor of approximately $127,000 by fraudulently obtaining recruiting bonuses.

Attorney General Holder today issued the following statement on the release of the 2010 Uniform Crime Report, which showed a decline in violent crime across the United States for the second straight year.

Thomas Aram Manok, 50, of Chantilly, Va., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga in the Eastern District of Virginia.

The former president and administrator of a fraudulent physical therapy company in Lakeland, Fla., was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare.

Don W. Watson, 55, of Gilbert, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton in the District of Arizona in Phoenix.

Former Milwaukee Police Officer Ladmarald Cates, 43, was indicted today by a federal grand jury for sexually assaulting a woman while he was on duty.

Raymond Quintero, 33, pleaded guilty to willfully depriving a detainee of his constitutional right to be free from excessive force amounting to punishment.

A former project manager of a construction company that had substantial business at Fort Bliss, a U.S. Army installation in El Paso, Texas, pleaded guilty today to soliciting and accepting kickbacks from subcontractors on a federal contract with the U.S. Army.

A former member of the U.S. Army employed by a private security firm was arrested at Miami International Airport today on charges of bribery, fraud and theft of government funds, in connection with the award of a contract to provide services to a U.S. government provincial reconstruction team in Farah, Afghanistan.

A former captain in the U.S. Army Reserve stationed in Afghanistan was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for soliciting $1.3 million in bribes from contractors involved in U.S.-funded reconstruction efforts and participating in a conspiracy to traffic heroin from Southeast Asia.

A Detroit federal grand jury returned an indictment today against three former executives from Panasonic Corporation, a Whirlpool Corporation subsidiary and a Tecumseh Products Company subsidiary for their role in an international conspiracy to fix the prices of refrigerant compressors.

Bryan Underwood, a former contract guard working at a U.S. Consulate in China, has been charged in a superseding indictment with one count of attempting to communicate national defense information to a foreign government, two counts of making false statements and one count of failing to appear in court pursuant to his conditions of release.

Attorney General Eric Holder joined U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington Jenny A. Durkan, the Wales family and the FBI in Seattle today to announce a new media and social media effort to seek information related to the 2001 slaying of Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Wales.

A former Colombian maritime training instructor and a co-conspirator were sentenced to federal prison today for conspiring to transport thousands of kilograms of cocaine from various ports along the coast of Colombia to waiting vessels that transported the cocaine to the United States and other countries.

The United States has filed a lawsuit against Annie P. Williams to bar her from preparing federal tax returns for others.

A settlement agreement has been reached for the cleanup of the Midnite Mine Superfund Site, located on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Northeastern Washington.

Keith Phillips, 61, of Kent, Texas, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik Sr. in the Western District of Louisiana to a two-count indictment charging him with obstruction of justice and perjury.

Former New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) Officer Ignatius Hills was sentenced today by U. S. District Court Judge Martin L.C. Feldman to 78 months in prison.

A former Columbus County, N.C., Sherriff’s Office sergeant pleaded guilty today in federal court in Greenville, N.C., to a civil rights charge related to the assault of a detainee, the Justice Department announced.

The Ryland Group Inc. will pay a civil penalty of $625,000 to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations at its construction sites, including sites located in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Former Hickman County Deputy Sheriff Kenneth H. Smith was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Todd J. Campbell to 24 months in prison for civil rights and false statement charges.

The United States has sued Judy Grace Sellers to bar her from promoting an alleged scheme involving fraudulent tax refund claims.

John R. Brock, 52, of Crofton, Md., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Wilkins in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a criminal information charging him with one count of making a false claim against the United States.

A former owner and operator of a Florida-based airline services company pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, Fla., to participating in a kickback scheme to defraud Ryan International Airlines.

A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chemist pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Deborah K. Chasanow in the District of Maryland to one count of securities fraud and one count of making false statements, related to a $3.7 million insider trading scheme that spanned nearly five years.

The United States has sued Rodney Chestnut and Nafeesah Hines to bar them from promoting an alleged tax fraud scheme.

Jeffery K. Armstrong was found guilty today by a federal jury on nine counts of wire fraud for obtaining more than $100,000 in salary payments by fraudulently holding concurrent jobs at the United Nations (U.N.) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).