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Atlanta Defendant Found Guilty of Supporting Terrorists

A federal jury has found Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, 23, of Roswell, Ga., guilty on all four counts of an indictment charging him with supporting terrorists and a foreign terrorist organization, after a trial that lasted seven days.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Two Defendants Plead Guilty in Counterfeit Pipe Coupling Scheme

Hayden B. Greene, 31, of Tulsa, Okla., and James Robert Roy, 42, of Tomball, Texas, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to manufacture and sell counterfeit pipe couplings.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Defendants Sentenced in Connection with Business Opportunity Scams

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”).



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Indiana Water Treatment Plant Superintendent Sentenced to Prison for Falsifying Reports

The former superintendent of a wastewater treatment facility in Rochester, Ind., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in South Bend, Ind., to serve one year in prison for falsifying discharge monitoring reports that concealed violations of the Clean Water Act.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Last Defendant in Tennessee Islamic Center Burning Pleads Guilty

Eric Ian Baker pleaded guilty today in federal court in Nashville, Tenn., for his role in burning and vandalizing the Islamic Center of Columbia, Tenn., on Feb. 9, 2008. Baker was charged with violating civil rights that protect religious property and for using fire in the commission of a felony.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Superseding Indictment in Boyd Matter Charges Defendants with Conspiring to Murder U.S. Military Personnel, Weapons Violations

Today, a federal grand jury returned a superseding criminal indictment in the Daniel Patrick Boyd matter. While the superseding indictment returned today includes all of the charges alleged in the original indictment of July 22, 2009, it also includes new charges against three defendants, Daniel Patrick Boyd, aka "Saifullah," Hysen Sherifi, and Zakariya Boyd, aka "Zak."



  • OPA Press Releases

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Formosa Plastics Corp., Texas, and Formosa Plastics Corp., Louisiana, will spend more than $10 million on pollution controls to address air, water, and hazardous waste violations at two petrochemical plants in Point Comfort, Texas, and Baton Rouge, La.

Formosa Plastics Corp., Texas, and Formosa Plastics Corp., Louisiana, will spend more than $10 million on pollution controls to address air, water, and hazardous waste violations at two petrochemical plants in Point Comfort, Texas, and Baton Rouge, La.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Reaches Settlement with First United Security Bank of Thomasville, Alabama, Regarding Alleged Discrimination in Lending

The Bank will invest more than $600,000, open a new branch in an African-American neighborhood in west central Alabama and take other steps as part of a settlement.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Files Lawsuit Alleging Auto Lending Discrimination in Los Angeles

The United States has filed a lawsuit alleging that a bank and two automobile dealerships in Los Angeles violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by charging non-Asian-American customers higher interest rate mark-ups for a period of at least two years.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Defendants Sentenced to Prison for Role in Counterfeit Pipe Coupling Scheme

Hayden B. Greene, 32, of Tulsa, Okla., and James Robert Roy, 42, of Tomball, Texas, were sentenced today to 30 months and 15 months in prison, respectively, for conspiring to manufacture and sell counterfeit pipe couplings.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Terrorism Defendants Sentenced in Atlanta

Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, 23, of Roswell, Ga., and Syed Haris Ahmed, 25, of Atlanta, were sentenced today in federal court following their convictions earlier this year in separate but related criminal trials.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Presidential Task Force on Controlled Unclassified Information Releases Report and Recommendations

Attorney General Holder and Secretary Janet Napolitano announced two major steps in their efforts to implement reforms to enhance information sharing among federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and safeguard sensitive information used by the government—designed to expand joint capabilities to protect the United States from terrorist activity, violent crime and other threats to the homeland.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Duke Energy to Spend Approximately $93 Million to Resolve Clean Air Act Violations

“This important settlement resolves lengthy litigation on very favorable terms,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Indiana Man to Spend 42 Months in Prison for Cross Burning

This is the fourth Indiana man in two months to be sentenced to prison time for burning a cross.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Westar Energy to Spend Approximately $500 Million to Settle Clean Air Act Violations

Westar Energy has agreed to spend approximately $500 million to significantly reduce harmful air pollution from a Kansas power plant and pay a $3 million civil penalty, under a settlement to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Department of Justice Officials, Actress Mariska Hargitay Urge Team Response to End Violence Against Women

President Obama’s FY2011 budget request provides $461 million for OVW to provide communities with resources to combat sexual assault and violence against women.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Serial Sex Offender Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison on Sex Tourism and Failure to Register Charges in Delaware

Thomas S. Pendleton, 66, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Gregory M. Sleet in Wilmington, Del., to the statutory maximum of 30 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for traveling to Germany to have sex with a minor.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Submits Views on Amended Google Book Search Settlement

The Department said that despite the substantial progress reflected in the proposed amended settlement agreement in The Authors Guild Inc. et al. v. Google Inc., class certification, copyright and antitrust issues remain.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Settles with Ohio Child Care Center to End Discrimination Against Children with Asthma

The Department announced a settlement agreement with The Children’s House Inc. of Broadview Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, to provide services for children with asthma as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).



  • OPA Press Releases

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Three Houston Defendants Plead Guilty in Connection With “Arthritis Kit” Fraud Scheme

Bassey Monday Idiong, Linda Eteimo Ere Kendabie and Modupe Babanumi each pleaded guilty today in connection with their roles in an "arthritis kit" Medicare fraud scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force Announces Settlement with AIG Subsidiaries to Resolve Allegations of Lending Discrimination

Two subsidiaries of American International Group Inc. have agreed to pay a minimum of $6.1 million to resolve allegations that they engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against African American borrowers.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Houston Independent School District Agrees to Settle False Claims Allegations Involving the E-rate Program

The Houston Independent School District has agreed to relinquish millions of dollars in requests for federal funds and to pay a total of $850,000 as part of a civil settlement relating to allegations that the school district violated the False Claims Act in connection with the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) E-Rate program.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Houston Defendants Plead Guilty to “Arthritis Kit” Medicare Fraud Scheme

Rolondae Mitchell-Straughter and Ana Quinteros each pleaded guilty yesterday in connection with their roles in an "arthritis kit" Medicare fraud scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Chicago Man Charged with Providing Material Support to Al Qaeda by Attempting to Send Funds Overseas

Raja Lahrasib Khan was charged with two counts of providing material support to terrorism in a criminal complaint that was filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Chicago and unsealed today following his arrest.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force Hosts Fair Lending Forum in Chicago

Representatives of the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) met in Chicago today with community stakeholders to discuss national, state and local elements of the banking and housing crisis.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Four Defendants Sentenced in Human Trafficking Ring

Juan Cortes-Meza, 33, of  Mexico; Raul Cortes-Meza, 22, of Mexico; Edison Wagner Rosa Tort, 71, of Cartersville, Ga.; and Otto Jaime Larios Perez, 27, of Guatemala were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story for participating in sex trafficking in an organization targeting young Mexican women.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority to Spend More Than $195 Million on Improvements to 126 Drinking Water Plants

The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) has agreed to implement major capital improvements and upgrades to resolve alleged longstanding violations of the Clean Water Act at 126 drinking water plants across the island and violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act at three others.



  • OPA Press Releases

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New York Small Business Lender to Pay U.S. $26.3 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

Ciena Capital LLC, a private, non-depository lender located in New York City, has reached an agreement with the United States to settle fraud claims related to its small business lending for $26.3 million.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Medicare Fraud Fugitive Taken into Custody at Miami International Airport and Ordered Held in Pre-trial Detention Pending Trial

Jose Garcia, 55, who has been a fugitive since 2008, was taken into federal custody yesterday at Miami International Airport.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Kansas City, Missouri, to Spend $2.5 Billion to Eliminate Sewer Overflows

The city of Kansas City, Mo., has agreed to make extensive improvements to its sewer systems, at a cost estimated to exceed $2.5 billion over 25 years, to eliminate unauthorized overflows of untreated raw sewage and to reduce pollution levels in urban storm water.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Final U.S. Defendant to Face Charges Related to International Child Pornography Conspiracy Case

Edward Oedewaldt, 47, was arrested in Arcadia, La., on April 23, 2010, after an extensive search involving assistance from law enforcement in the United States and abroad.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Attorney General Holder, Secretary Sebelius Send Letter to State Attorneys General on New Outreach and Education Efforts to Combat Medicare Fraud

Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius today sent a letter to state attorneys general urging them to work with HHS and federal, state and local law enforcement officials to mount a substantial outreach campaign, beginning this summer, to educate seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries about how to prevent scams and fraud.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Indian Government Officials Provided Access to Terror Defendant David Headley

As part of the cooperation and partnership between the United States and India in the fight against international terrorism, Indian law enforcement officials were provided direct access to interview David Coleman Headley.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Department of Justice and USDA Announce Agenda for June 25 Dairy Workshop

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today the agenda and panelists for the June 25 workshop examining competition in the dairy industry.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Department of Justice’s 2010 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month Program

"With your help and engagement, we’re working to ensure that the Justice Department lives up to its responsibility to provide a work environment where every employee is respected and given an equal opportunity to thrive," said Attorney General Holder.




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Second Defendant in Springfield, Massachusetts, Church Arson Pleads Guilty

Thomas Gleason, 22, of Springfield, Mass., pleaded guilty to a superseding information charging him with two crimes related to the burning of the Macedonia Church of God in Christ, a predominantly African-American church, in Springfield on the morning after President Barack Obama was elected as the first African-American President of the United States.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez Delivers Remarks on Fair Lending and Fair Housing at the Brookings Institution

"As we emerge from this recession, it is critical that we not only look for ways to hold those who discriminated in the past accountable. We must also find ways to repair some of the damage done to families and to communities. We must use the power of the law to encourage innovative strategies for rebuilding, and be sure that decades of investment have not been permanently lost," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.




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Five Defendants Sentenced for Child Pornography Crimes Uncovered as a Result of International Investigation

Four defendants were sentenced today in connection with their participation in an online child pornography conspiracy, while a fifth defendant was sentenced for receiving child pornography.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Two Defendants Sentenced to Prison in International Child Pornography Conspiracy Case

Thomas Attebury, 40, of Bakersfield, Calif., was sentenced yesterday to 38 years in prison for his role in the child pornography conspiracy and David Williams, 46, of Selinsgrove, Pa., was sentenced yesterday to 25 years in prison for his participation in the conspiracy.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to Spend Millions to Reduce Commuter Train Emissions in Clean Air Act Settlement

In response to a federal enforcement action for excessive train engine idling, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR) will spend more than $2 million to reduce diesel locomotive emissions throughout the MBTA’s commuter rail system.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Houston-based Plains Pipeline to Spend More Than $44 Million to Resolve Clean Water Act Violations

Plains All American Pipeline L.P. and several of its operating subsidiaries will spend approximately $41 million over the next three years to prevent and remediate corrosion, improve leak detection practices and capabilities, and enhance pipeline oversight on 10,420 miles of crude oil pipeline operated in the United States.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Two Defendants Sentenced to Prison in International Child Pornography Conspiracy Case

Two defendants were sentenced today to prison in connection with a series of superseding indictments charging 26 individuals for their participation in an online child pornography conspiracy.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Department of Justice and USDA Announce Agenda for August 27 Livestock Workshop in Colorado

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today the agenda and panelists for the Aug. 27, 2010, joint public workshop in Fort Collins, Colo., on competition in the livestock industry.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Hawaiian County Agrees to Pay Restitution and Modify Operations to Resolve Endangered Species Act & Migratory Bird Treaty Act Violations

The county of Kauai, Hawaii, has entered into a plea agreement to resolve alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).



  • OPA Press Releases

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Attorney General Holder Unveils Defending Childhood Initiative

Attorney General Holder officially unveiled Defending Childhood, a new Department of Justice initiative focused on addressing children’s exposure to violence.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Repeat Sex Offender Convicted in Delaware of Child Exploitation Offenses

Paul Edward Pavulak, 66, of New Castle, Del., was convicted today by a federal jury in Wilmington of child exploitation offenses.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Murphy Oil USA to Spend More Than $142 Million Upgrading Pollution Controls at Refineries in Louisiana & Wisconsin

Murphy Oil USA has agreed to spend more than $142 million to install new and upgraded pollution reduction equipment at its two petroleum refineries in Wisconsin and Louisiana as part of a comprehensive Clean Air Act settlement.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Department Announces $110 Million for Reentry Programs; Efforts to Reduce Spending on Corrections

Speaking at the European Offenders Employment Forum today, Attorney General Eric Holder announced $110 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 funding for the Second Chance Act reentry grants and the Justice Reinvestment Initiative.



  • OPA Press Releases

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North America’s Largest Lead Producer to Spend $65 Million to Correct Environmental Violations at Missouri Facilities

Doe Run Resources Corp. of St. Louis, North America’s largest lead producer, has agreed to spend approximately $65 million to correct violations of several environmental laws at 10 of its lead mining, milling and smelting facilities in southeast Missouri, the Justice Department, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Attorney General Holder Speaks at the European Offenders Employment Forum

"Today, we have a unique, and critically important, opportunity – the chance to identify and to advance some of the world’s most effective public safety and prisoner reentry strategies."