A company that operates payday loan and check cashing stores in at least nine states has settled with the government over allegations that it violated federal regulations, the Justice Department announced today. In April 2010, law enforcement officers retrieved boxes of intact consumer documents, including credit reports, from trash cans and dumpsters near four PLS Financial Services stores in the Chicago area. The improper disposal of these documents led to an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Bruce Alan Edward, 48, of Atlanta, Mich., was charged in an indictment returned on Oct. 24, 2012, and unsealed on Nov. 1, 2012, by the federal grand jury in Bay City, Mich.

MoneyGram International Inc. – a global money services business headquartered in Dallas – has agreed to forfeit $100 million and enter into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the Justice Department in which it admits to criminally aiding and abetting wire fraud and failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program, as charged in an information filed today in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education announced today a new, nearly $1 million grant fund entitled, “Promoting Reentry Success through Continuity of Educational Opportunities”, that will invest in innovative programs preparing incarcerated individuals to successfully reenter society with the support of education and workforce training.

Anthony Parkman, 41, of Southfield, Mich., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen in the Eastern District of Michigan.

Morton Plant Mease Health Care Inc. and its affiliated hospitals (Morton Plant) have agreed to pay $10,169,114 to the federal government to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims for services rendered to Medicare patients, the Justice Department announced today. Morton Plant owns and operates, or is affiliated with, Morton Plant Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Morton Plant North Bay Hospital, St. Anthony’s Hospital, Mease Countryside Hospital and Mease Dunedin Hospital. These hospitals are part of the BayCare Health System in Florida’s Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties.

The Technological Research and Development Authority (TRDA) has agreed to pay $15 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act in connection with grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the Department of Commerce, the Justice Department announced today. TRDA, which was created by the Florida legislature as a special district, owns and operates a system of incubator facilities to nurture small businesses by providing low-rent office space and business development assistance.

Harmony Care Hospice Inc. (Harmony) and Harmony owner and chief executive officer Daniel J. Burton have agreed to pay the United States $1,286,999.32 to settle allegations that the South Carolina-based company submitted false claims to Medicare for patients under care at its hospice facilities, the Justice Department announced today.

Louisiana Generating, an electric generating company owned by NRG Energy Inc., has agreed to a settlement at its Big Cajun II coal-fired power plant in New Roads, La., which will result in the elimination of over 27,300 tons of harmful emissions per year.

Dr. Juan Tomas Van Putten, 66, of Ladera Heights, Calif., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge George Wu in the Central District of California to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Sanofi-Aventis U.S. Inc. and Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC, subsidiaries of international drug manufacturer Sanofi (collectively, Sanofi US), have agreed to pay $109 million to resolve allegations that Sanofi US violated the False Claims Act by giving physicians free units of Hyalgan, a knee injection, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute, to induce them to purchase and prescribe the product. The settlement also resolves allegations that Sanofi US submitted false average sales price (ASP) reports for Hyalgan that failed to account for free units distributed contingent on Hyalgan purchases. The government alleges that the false ASP reports, which were used to set reimbursement rates, caused government programs to pay inflated amounts for Hyalgan and a competing product.

Victory Pharma Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in San Diego, has agreed to pay $11,420,743 to resolve federal civil and criminal liability arising from its marketing of the pharmaceutical products Naprelan, Xodol, Fexmid and Dolgic, the Justice Department announced today. Under the agreement announced today, Victory entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and paid a criminal forfeiture of $1.4 million to resolve federal Ant-Kickback Statute allegations, and paid $9,938,310 to resolve False Claims Act allegations.

Florida-based American Sleep Medicine LLC has agreed to pay $15,301,341 to resolve allegations that it billed Medicare, TRICARE – the health care program for Uniformed Service members, retirees and their families worldwide – and the Railroad Retirement Medicare Program for sleep diagnostic services that were not eligible for payment.

Thomas William Quintin, 65, formerly of Denver, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims, and one count of misuse of a Social Security number, before U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson.

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.

Several family members were sentenced Friday in the Middle District of Alabama for their involvement in a $1.9 million dollar stolen identity refund fraud scheme.

Ashu Bhandari, the former president and CEO of GEM Manufacturing LLC, a U.S. Virgin Islands-based company, was sentenced Thursday in federal court in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., for felony customs violations for his role in a scheme to illegally import protected black coral into the United States.

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.

An employee of a Texas securities firm and a broker-dealer who conspired with him and others to artificially pump up the stock prices of several publicly traded companies were sentenced to prison terms today for their roles in the $1 million scheme.

A federal court in Baton Rouge, La., on Monday rejected two tax shelter transactions entered into by The Dow Chemical Company that purported to create approximately $1 billion in phony tax deductions.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice announced that CountryMark Refining and Logistics LLC has agreed to pay a $167,000 civil penalty, perform environmental projects totaling more than $180,000, and spend $18 million on new pollution controls to resolve Clean Air Act violations at its refinery, located in Mount Vernon, Ind.

The Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) today announced $12.6 million dollars in grants awarded to 20 communities as part of a new, consolidated program designed to more effectively reduce dating violence.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded $1 million to the National Crime Prevention Council to support the development of a National Public Education Campaign on the subject of responsible gun ownership and safe gun storage.

Colorado-based CH2M Hill Hanford Group Inc. (CHG) and its parent company, CH2M Hill Companies Ltd. (CH2M Hill) have agreed that CHG committed federal criminal violations, defrauding the public by engaging in years of widespread time card fraud.

A Texas doctor was sentenced today to serve 63 months in prison for conspiring to commit health care fraud by falsifying plans of care for Medicare beneficiaries, including patients whom he did not treat, as part of a $17.3 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Hospice of Arizona L.C., along with a related entity, American Hospice Management LLC, and their parent corporation, American Hospice Management Holdings LLC, have agreed to pay $12 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting or causing the submission of false claims to the Medicare program for ineligible hospice services.

Two shipping firms based in Germany and Cyprus today pleaded guilty to felony obstruction of justice charges and violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships related to the deliberate concealment of vessel pollution from four ships that visited U.S. ports in New Jersey, Delaware and Northern California.

The Justice Department announced today that Alabama-based Caddell Construction has agreed to pay to the United States $1,150,000 to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by falsely reporting to the Army Corps of Engineers that it hired and mentored a Native American-owned company to work on construction projects at Fort Bragg, N.C., and Fort Campbell, Ky.

The owner and the director of nursing of a Louisiana home health agency were each convicted late Friday for conspiring to defraud Medicare of $17.1 million.

The Justice Department announced today that Fluor Hanford LLC has agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle allegations that Fluor violated the False Claims Act by using federal funds for lobbying.

Parker Drilling Company, a publicly listed drilling-services company, headquartered in Houston, has agreed to pay an $11.76 million penalty to resolve charges related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for authorizing payment to an intermediary, knowing that the payment would be used to corruptly influence the decisions of a Nigerian government panel reviewing Parker Drilling’s adherence to Nigerian customs and tax laws.

A Southern California physician, a durable medical equipment (DME) supply company employee and a health care professional were found guilty late yesterday by a federal jury in Los Angeles for their roles in a $1.5 million Medicare fraud scheme.

As the United States concludes its recognition of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman announced that the Department of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture Program has returned more than $1.5 billion in forfeited assets to more than 400,000 crime victims since January 2012.

Adventist Health System/West, dba Adventist Health, and its affiliated hospital White Memorial Medical Center have agreed to pay the United States and the state of California $14.1 million to settle claims that they violated the False Claims Act.

Miami residents Raymond Arias, 42, and his wife, Emelitza Arias, 25, have been sentenced in Detroit to 100 months and 12 months in prison, respectively, for their participation in a $13.3 million Medicare fraud scheme.

A Detroit-area home health care agency owner was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for causing the submission of over $1 million in false and fraudulent billing to Medicare as part of a $13.8 million health care fraud conspiracy.

A Detroit-area adult day care center owner was sentenced today to serve 40 months in prison for billing for unnecessary psychotherapy services, or services that were not provided, as part of a health care fraud conspiracy which led to more than $19 million in fraudulent Medicare billings.

Under a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today, Miami-Dade County in Florida has agreed to invest in major upgrades to its wastewater treatment plants and wastewater collection and transmission systems in order to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows.

The Justice Department and U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales of the District of New Mexico announced today that Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has paid $11.75 million to settle allegations filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico that it violated the False Claims Act by charging inflated prices under grants to train first responder personnel to prevent and respond to terrorism attacks.

The Department of Justice today restrained the 1909 Pablo Picasso painting “Compotier et tasse” – estimated to be worth $11.5 million – on behalf of the Italian government.

A Los Angeles-area doctor and a patient recruiter pleaded guilty today for their roles in a power wheelchair fraud scheme that defrauded Medicare of over $10.1 million.

CyTerra Corporation has agreed to pay the federal government $1.9 million to resolve civil liability arising from its failure to provide the U. S. Department of the Army with accurate, complete and current cost or pricing data for its sales of mine detectors.

Sound Inpatient Physicians Inc. will pay $14.5 million to settle allegations that it overbilled Medicare and other federal health care programs.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that Shell Oil and affiliated partnerships (Shell) have agreed to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at a large refinery and chemical plant in Deer Park, Texas, by spending at least $115 million to control harmful air pollution from industrial flares and other processes, and by paying a $2.6 million civil penalty.

Detroit-area resident Javed Rehman pleaded guilty today for his role in a $13.8 million Medicare fraud scheme

Two shipping firms based in Germany and Cyprus were sentenced today in federal court in Newark, N.J., to pay a $10.4 million penalty for felony obstruction of justice charges and violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships related to the deliberate concealment of vessel pollution from four ships that visited ports in New Jersey, Delaware and Northern California, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in New Jersey and Delaware, the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Coast Guard announced.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) has agreed to make significant upgrades to reduce overflows from its sewer system and pay a $2.6 million civil penalty to resolve Clean Water Act (CWA) violations stemming from illegal discharges of raw sewage. The state of Texas is a co-plaintiff in this case and will receive half of the civil penalty.

The daughter of a church pastor and owner of a California-based durable medical equipment (DME) supply company was found guilty by a jury of Medicare fraud charges for her role in a Medicare fraud scheme that resulted in over $11 million in fraudulent billings to Medicare.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has entered judgment for more than $17 million against Dr. Ishtiaq Malik and his two companies, Ishtiaq Malik M.D., P.C. and Advanced Nuclear Diagnostics, for submitting false nuclear cardiology claims to federal and state health care programs.

The owner of South Louisiana Home Health Care Inc. and the director of nursing for the Louisiana home health agency were sentenced today for their roles in a Medicare fraud scheme involving the payment of kickbacks and the falsification of documents.