A federal court has permanently barred Larry Carnell Dixon Sr., a Louisiana tax return preparer, and his business, Dixon’s Tax Service, LLC from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The civil injunction order, to which Dixon and Dixon’s Tax Service LLC, consented without admitting the allegations against them, was signed by Judge James Brady of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.

A Nevada federal court has permanently barred Benyam Tewolde from preparing tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. Tewolde and his wife, Yordanos Kidanits, are the alleged co-owners of an Instant Tax Service franchise that operates at multiple locations in the Las Vegas area. Instant Tax Service is a nationally franchised tax preparation company based in Dayton, Ohio.

Transocean Deepwater Inc. has agreed to plead guilty to violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) and to pay a total of $1.4 billion in civil and criminal fines and penalties, for its conduct in relation to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Department of Justice announced today

Amazon.com; Leon Max Inc., d/b/a Max Studio; Macy’s Inc.; and Sears, Roebuck and Co., Kmart Corporation and Kmart.com (collectively, Sears) have agreed to settle civil lawsuits concerning alleged violations of the Textile Fiber Product Identification Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act.

A Romanian national was sentenced today to serve 21 months in prison for his role in an international, multimillion-dollar scheme to remotely hack into and steal payment card data from hundreds of U.S. merchants’ computers.

Mary Estelle Curran of Palm Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to filing false tax returns for tax years 2006 and 2007.

A federal court has permanently barred Pete Escalante Gutierrez and Jeanette Gutierrez from preparing federal tax returns for others.

A federal court has permanently barred Nafeesah H. Hines and Rodney N. Chestnut from promoting an alleged tax fraud scheme, as well as preparing tax returns for anyone other than themselves.

A former Texas state parole officer pleaded guilty today in Dallas for taking bribes from one of her assigned parolees in exchange for not reporting his parole violations.

The Justice Department announced today that Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division will leave the department on March 1, 2013.

A federal court in Indianapolis has barred David Ray Franklin and his company, Instant Refund Tax Service (IRTS) – which does business as Instant Tax Service—from preparing tax returns and from operating a tax-preparation business.

A Kansas City, Kan., federal court permanently barred an Instant Tax Service franchisee, A&S Tax Services LLC, from further operating or preparing federal tax returns for others.

The company that operates Path, an online social networking application, agreed to pay an $800,000 penalty to settle charges that it violated the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule.

A federal grand jury has indicted two members of the Compton 155 street gang on federal hate crime charges related to a racially motivated attack on four African-American juveniles at a residence in the city of Compton, Calif., on New Year’s Eve.

A federal district judge in Florence, S.C., permanently barred Rachel D. Watson, of Florence, and Susann Allen of Darlington, S.C., from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

A former employee of a Department of Defense contracting company at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, was sentenced today to serve 30 months in prison for attempting to smuggle $150,000 in kickback proceeds he received for steering U.S. government subcontracts to an Afghan company.

A retired employee of the Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany (MCLB-Albany) pleaded guilty today to receiving bribes in exchange for allowing heavy equipment to be stolen from the base for resale.

Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS), a publicly traded mortgage servicing company based in Jacksonville, Fla., has agreed to pay $35 million in criminal penalties and forfeiture to address its participation in a six-year scheme to prepare and file more than 1 million fraudulently signed and notarized mortgage-related documents with property recorders’ offices throughout the United States.

A federal court permanently barred Toney Fields and Trumekia Shaw, who do business as Fields Mo’ Money Taxes in Nashville, Tenn., from preparing federal tax returns.

A federal district judge in Jacksonville, Fla., permanently barred Thomas G. Bandzul from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

A federal district judge in Miami permanently barred Marlen Monzon, her son Yanko Rodriguez, and their Miami business, Tri Stars Multiservices Corporation, from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

A federal court has permanently barred Crystal Ireland, of Detroit, who does business as Master Mind Preparation, from preparing federal tax returns that claim the earned income tax credit.

Executives at two Arlington, Va.-based businesses have pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining more than $31 million in government contract payments that should have gone to disadvantaged small businesses.

The Department of Justice today filed a motion to dismiss its antitrust lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan after the state of Michigan passed a law that prohibits health insurers from using most favored nation clauses in contracts with health care providers.

A federal court permanently barred a Gary, Ind., tax-preparation firm and its owner, John Newlin, from preparing tax returns for others.

The founder and president of the National Association of Special Police and Security Officers (NASPSO) was sentenced to 76 months in prison today for stealing union treasury and pension funds.

Derek Matthews, 46, of Harwood, Md., pleaded guilty today to accepting bribes from a government contracting company in exchange for using his position to help the company find and win contracts.

A former Texas state parole officer was sentenced to 20 months in prison today for taking bribes from one of her assigned parolees in exchange for not reporting his parole violations.

Algerian national Hamza Bendelladj, aka “Bx1,” has been extradited from Thailand to the United States to face charges in Atlanta for allegedly playing a critical role in developing, marketing, distributing and controlling “SpyEye,” a pernicious computer virus designed to steal unsuspecting victims’ financial and personally identifying information.

A Romanian national pleaded guilty today to participating in an international, multimillion-dollar scheme to remotely hack into and steal payment card data from hundreds of U.S. merchants’ computers.

Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, announced today that she will be leaving the Department of Justice on June 7, 2013.

Two federal judges in separate cases entered orders permanently barring Marvin Binion Sr., his son Marvin Binion II, Binion Sr.’s ex-wife Tonya Hubbard and her firm Universal Tax Service LLC from preparing tax returns for others.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has issued an order permanently barring Nataki Davis, (formerly known as Nataki Barnes), a Southfield, Mich., tax preparer, from preparing federal tax returns for others for a period of five years, the Justice Department announced today.

The former president and chief executive officer of U.S. Mortgage, a loan servicing company in Nevada, pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to defraud Wells Fargo Bank out of more than $8 million.

The former president and chief executive officer of U.S. Mortgage, a loan servicing company in Nevada, pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to defraud Wells Fargo Bank out of more than $8 million.

A federal jury today convicted four individuals for their participation in a Medicare fraud scheme involving nearly $70 million in fraudulent billings by Hollywood Pavilion (HP), a mental health care hospital.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement with XTO Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation, to resolve an alleged violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) related to the discharge of wastewater from XTO’s Penn Township, Lycoming County, Pa. facility used for the storage of wastewater generated by natural gas exploration, commonly known as fracking, and production.

Ammie Brothers, 29, of Columbus, Ga., a sergeant in the U.S. Army, pleaded guilty today to unlawfully obtaining personal information from the U.S. Army’s Army Knowledge Online computer system.

The Justice Department announced today that a federal district judge in Charleston, S.C. permanently barred Stacy Middleton from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

The Justice Department announced today that the United States has filed a civil injunction suit against Michael I. Turner, of San Diego to stop him from preparing federal tax returns.

A federal court in Indianapolis permanently barred David Franklin and his company, Instant Refund Tax Service (IRTS), from preparing tax returns and from operating a tax-preparation business, the Justice Department announced today.

The Justice Department announced that yesterday a federal court in Ft. Worth, Texas permanently barred Karena Mondrianh, of Southlake, Texas, from preparing tax returns and from operating a tax-preparation business.

Two Los Angeles-based consulting firms, MotorScience Inc., and MotorScience Enterprise Inc., (MotorScience) and their owner, Chi Zheng, have agreed to settle alleged Clean Air Act (CAA) violations stemming from the illegal import of 24,478 all-terrain, recreational vehicles into the U.S. from China without testing to ensure emissions would meet applicable limits on harmful air pollution, announced the Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (ARB).

The Justice Department announced today that a federal court has permanently barred Nina Thompson Price from preparing federal tax returns for others.

A federal court in Memphis, Tenn., permanently barred the owners of Mo’ Money Taxes, Markey Granberry and Derrick Robinson, as well as a former Mo’ Money manager, Eumora Reese, from preparing tax returns for others and owning or operating a tax return preparation business, the Justice Department announced today.

The Justice Department announced today that a federal district judge in Kansas City, Mo., permanently barred Mark Steven Hall from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

The following message from the Attorney General was emailed to Justice Department employees on October 1, 2013.

The following message from the Attorney General was emailed to Justice Department employees on October 10, 2013.

Two Latino men associated with the Compton 155 street gang pleaded guilty today to federal hate crime charges related to a racially motivated attack on African-American juveniles at a residence in Compton, Calif. on New Year’s Eve.

Judge Finds that Instant Tax Service Franchisor Defrauded Customers, Obstructed the IRS and Violated Court Orders on Lending Practices