Irma Azrelyant and Joshua Finkle, the former co-owners of New York and New Jersey-based Deaf and Hard of Hearing Interpreting Services Inc. (DHIS), pleaded guilty today to engaging in a conspiracy to defraud the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Video Relay Service (VRS) program of more than $7 million.

Without the divestitures, the department said the acquisition would lead to higher prices, lower quality, less favorable supply-chain options, reduced technical support and less innovation.

Norfolk Southern Railway Company has agreed to pay a $4 million penalty to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and hazardous materials laws for a 2005 chlorine spill in Graniteville, S.C.

A Texas-based pipeline company has agreed to pay a $450,000 civil penalty to the United States to settle allegations that it failed to prepare and maintain proper facility response plans to deal with spills and environmental accidents at eight of its oil storage terminal facilities in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.

Leonard Nwafor, 44, was sentenced in absentia by U.S. District Judge John F. Walter of the Central District of California to nine years in prison.

The Department has entered into a consent decree with Milne Enterprises Inc., d/b/a Milne, Nail, Power Tool &s complaint alleging violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

Westward Seafoods Inc., the operator of a seafood processing plant in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, will pay a $570,000 civil penalty as part of a settlement agreement to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.

A former executive of an Iowa ready-mix concrete company has agreed to plead guilty and serve 19 months in jail for participating in three separate conspiracies to fix prices and rig bids for the sales of ready-mix concrete.

Houston-area residents Doris Vinitski and John Lachman pleaded guilty today in connection with their roles in a durable medical equipment Medicare fraud scheme.

A federal grand jury in Corpus Christi, Texas, returned an indictment today charging Fleet Management Limited with obstruction of agency proceedings, making false statements and failing to keep accurate pollution control records.

Houston-area residents Basil Kalu and Ju-Ying Qian, and Louisiana resident Darnell Willis pleaded guilty today in connection with their roles in a durable medical equipment Medicare fraud scheme.

A former employee of a financial services company pleaded guilty today for his participation in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies related to contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other related municipal finance contracts, the Department of Justice announced.

William M. Reece Jr., 54, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Judge David Hittner in U.S. District Court in Houston. 

According to a one-count felony charge filed on May 6, 2010 in U.S. District Court in Sioux City, Iowa, Kent Robert Stewart, aka Kent Stewart, president of a ready-mix concrete company located in Iowa, participated in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for ready-mix concrete sold to various companies in Iowa between approximately January 2008 and August 2009.

The former managing director of Pamrapo Saving Bank’s investment company was arrested today and charged with allegedly diverting and embezzling more than $600,000.

A federal court in Detroit has denied Ford Motor Company’s $445 million complaint against the United States for alleged tax overpayment interest.

Two U.S. military officials deployed to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, two Department of Defense (DOD) contractors and a contracting company were charged late yesterday for their roles in an alleged bribery and money laundering scheme related to the award of a DOD trucking services contract in Afghanistan.

Ninety-four people have been charged for their alleged participation in schemes to collectively submit more than $251 million in false claims to the Medicare program in the continuing operation of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in Miami; Baton Rouge, La.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Detroit and Houston.

Offshore Vessels LLC has entered a plea of guilty to knowingly discharging waste oil from one of its vessels, in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.

A former agent of a financial products and services company pleaded guilty today for his participation in fraud conspiracies related to contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts.

The owner of a guiding and outfitting company was charged today in a three count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Baton Rouge, La., for illegally hunting a threatened species of alligator, the Justice Department announced.

The Justice Department and the Department of Transportation announced $55,000 in fines against Tornado Bus Company Inc., of Dallas, for violating passenger carrier accessibility requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

A New Orleans-area medical doctor and the owner and operator of a medical equipment company each pleaded guilty today for their roles in a Baton Rouge-area durable medical equipment (DME) health care fraud scheme.

The Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Attorney’s Office announced today, the settlement of claims against ConocoPhillips Company and Sasol North America Inc. to resolve their liability to EPA under CERCLA for contamination in the Calcasieu Estuary of Louisiana.

A federal jury in Utica, N.Y. has found Certified Environmental Services Inc. (CES); two of its managers, Nicole Copeland and Elisa Dunn; and one of its employees, Sandy Allen, guilty of conspiring to aid and abet Clean Air Act violations, commit mail fraud, and defraud the United States.

Lindsey Manufacturing Company, an Azusa, Calif., company and two of its executives were indicted today for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to pay bribes to Mexican government officials at the Comisión Federal de Electricidad, a state-owned utility company.

John T.C. Yeh, the owner of Viable Communications Inc., and his brother, Joseph Yeh, the former vice president for corporate strategy and second in charge for Viable, pleaded guilty today to engaging in a conspiracy to defraud the Federal Communications Commission’s Video Relay Service program.

A Philadelphia man has pleaded guilty for his role in organizing and financing a network of high-tech, indoor marijuana grow facilities stretching from Florida to Connecticut.

A global freight forwarding company, as well as five oil and gas service companies and subsidiaries, have all agreed to resolve investigations of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.

Offshore Vessels LLC (OSV) was sentenced to pay a criminal fine of $1,750,000 and remit a payment of $350,000 as community service to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.

Lauren Stevens of Durham, N.C., was charged with one count of obstructing an official proceeding, one count of concealing and falsifying documents to influence a federal agency, and four counts of making false statements to the Food and Drug Administration.

Houston-area residents Oliver Nkuku and Callistus Edozie were sentenced to 120 months in prison and 41 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in a durable medical equipment (DME) Medicare fraud scheme.

Atlas Ship Management Ltd., a Turkish Corporation, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla. to federal charges of making false statements and knowingly failing to accurately maintain an Oil Record Book as required by international treaty and U.S. law.

A former residential sales manager at a Florida property management company pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with housing repair contracts for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The president of an Iowa ready-mix concrete company pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to fix prices for sales of ready-mix concrete.

A Florida man and two U.K. nationals pleaded guilty Dec.10, 2010, to immigration fraud charges for their roles in a scheme to fraudulently procure visas from the U.S. Embassy in London through a Florida property development company called Royal Development.

A former managing executive of a construction company that had substantial business at Fort Carson, a U.S. Army installation in Colorado Springs, Colo., pleaded guilty to providing an illegal gratuity to a contracting officer.

The Justice Department today announced a $1.25 million agreement with Warren Properties Inc., Warren Village (Mobile) Limited Partnership, and Frank R. Warren, to settle allegations that the defendants violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to grant a tenant’s requests for a reasonable accommodation.

A New Orleans-area medical doctor and the owner and operator of a medical equipment company were sentenced today to 48 and 30 months in prison.

St. Jude Medical Inc. of St. Paul, Minn., has agreed to pay the United States $16 million to resolve allegations that the company used post-market studies and a registry to pay kickbacks to induce physicians to implant the company’s pacemakers and defibrillators, the Justice Department announced today.

Two owners of a Houston health care company pleaded guilty today in connection with an alleged $5.2 million Medicare fraud scheme.

The former controller of a Miami-Dade County, Fla., telecommunications company was sentenced to 24 months in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to pay and conceal bribes to former Haitian government officials.

The former owner of Buddy’s Carpet, Leif D. Rozin, and Alan W. Koehler, the company’s former in-house counsel, were sentenced to prison for their roles in a tax fraud scheme for which they were convicted in 2008.

Five individuals and a Nashville, Tenn., firearms manufacturer have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges relating to international firearms and trafficking violations of the Arms Export Control Act.

The owners and operators of a Brooklyn-area durable medical equipment (DME) company pleaded guilty yesterday to defrauding the Medicare program, announced the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS).

General Communication Inc. (GCI) has paid $1,556,075 to settle allegations that Alaska DigiTel LLC, a former Alaska limited liability company now owned by GCI, submitted false claims to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Low Income Support Program, the Justice Department announced today.

Cardiff Marine Inc, a Liberian-registered shipping company, was sentenced today in federal court in Baltimore after pleading guilty to a felony violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.

Barrett C. White was originally charged in U.S. District Court in New Orleans on Nov. 18, 2010, for his role in the conspiracy to defraud the E-Rate program.

A Las Vegas woman pleaded guilty today to falsely representing to Medicare that she owned a Los Angeles-area durable medical equipment (DME) company that was actually owned and operated by her brother, and used by her brother and others to submit more than $3.5 million in false claims to Medicare.

A Houston bus company was fined $55,000 for violating passenger carrier accessibility requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).