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BP Products to Pay Largest Single-facility Clean Air Act Penalty for Releases of Hazardous Pollutants at Texas City Refinery

BP Products North America Inc. has agreed to pay a $15 million penalty to resolve federal Clean Air Act violations at its Texas City, Texas, petroleum refinery.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Six International Freight Forwarding Companies Agree to Plead Guilty to Criminal Price-fixing Charges

Six international freight forwarders have agreed to plead guilty and to pay criminal fines totaling $50.27 million for their roles in several conspiracies to fix a variety of fees and charges in connection with the provision of freight forwarding services for international air cargo shipments.



  • OPA Press Releases

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United States Sues Marine Engine Manufacturer and Shipbuilder Under Clean Air Act

The United States filed a civil complaint today against Coltec Industries Inc., a subsidiary of EnPro Industries Inc., and the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corp.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Signs Agreements with Fort Myers, Fla., and Newport, R.I.; Ensures Civic Access for Four Million People with Disabilities

The Justice Department today announced agreements with the cities of Fort Myers, Fla., and Newport, R.I., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for individuals with disabilities.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Honolulu Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison on Sex Trafficking Charges

Rodney D. King, 44, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge David Alan Ezra to 300 months in prison followed by a life term of supervised release in federal court.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Departments of Justice and Education Reach Settlement with Boston School Committee to Ensure Equal Opportunities for ELL Students

Today, the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, and the Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, reached a settlement agreement with the Boston School Committee, the governing body of the Boston Public Schools, and its superintendent.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Maryland Contractors and Their President to Pay Settlement for Falsely Obtaining Hubzone Contracts

CSI Engineering and CSI Design Build, located in Beltsville, Md., and their president, Debdas Ghosal, have agreed to pay the United States $200,000 to settle claims that they used false statements to obtain contracts from several government agencies.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Alabama Legislators, Staff Member, Lobbyists and Businessmen Charged in 39-count Indictment for Roles in Wide-ranging Conspiracy to Influence and Corrupt Votes Related to Electronic Bingo Legislation

Eleven individuals, including four current Alabama state legislators, three lobbyists, two business owners and one of their employees, and an employee of the Alabama legislature have been charged for their roles in a conspiracy to offer to and to bribe legislators for their votes and influence on proposed legislation.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Sues American Express, Mastercard and Visa to Eliminate Rules Restricting Price Competition; Reaches Settlement with Visa and Mastercard

The Department of Justice announced today that it filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York challenging rules that American Express, MasterCard and Visa have in place that prevent merchants from offering consumers discounts, rewards and information about card costs, ultimately resulting in consumers paying more for their purchases.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Bank to Pay $2.2 Million to Settle Allegations of False Claims to Small Business Administration

Saehan Bank has agreed to pay the United States $2.2 million to settle allegations arising under the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act with respect to a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan, the Justice Department announced.



  • OPA Press Releases

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New Orleans Doctor and Owner of Medical Equipment Company Each Plead Guilty for Their Roles in Baton Rouge-area Health Care Fraud Scheme

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Los Angeles Medical Equipment Supplier Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison for Role in Power Wheelchair Scheme to Defraud Medicare

The owner and operator of a Los Angeles durable medical equipment company was sentenced to 46 months in prison in connection with a power wheelchair scheme to defraud Medicare.



  • OPA Press Releases

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California Man Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Child Pornography Offenses

Elden Ray Cibart, 61, of Redding, Calif., was sentenced today to 60 months in prison and a lifetime term of supervised release for possession and receipt of child pornography.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer Speaks at the Alabama Public Corruption Investigation Press Conference

"This morning, federal agents began arresting 11 individuals on charges that they conspired over an approximately 19-month period to corrupt the legislative process in Alabama," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.




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Attorney General Holder Speaks at the Visa, Mastercard, American Express Press Conference

"Today, the Department of Justice, along with seven state attorneys general, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York challenging rules that Visa, MasterCard and American Express have put in place that prevent merchants from providing discounts to consumers."




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Federal Agencies Host National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention

At the direction of President Obama, the Departments of Justice and Education officially launched the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention (the forum) along with participating localities and other federal agencies.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Announces Lawsuit to Protect Rights of Military and Overseas Voters in Guam

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Guam and its election officials seeking emergency relief to help ensure that military service members and other U.S. citizens living overseas have the opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 2, 2010, federal general election.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Eighty-Nine Law Enforcement Officers and 44 Others Indicted for Drug Trafficking Crimes in Puerto Rico

Eighty-nine law enforcement officers and 44 others in Puerto Rico have been charged in 26 indictments unsealed today and returned by a grand jury in San Juan, Puerto Rico, during the month of September 2010.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Operation Guard Shack Press Conference

"Today I’m pleased to be joined by the United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez, and FBI Executive Assistant Director, Shawn Henry, to announce the results of Operation Guard Shack – the largest police corruption investigation in FBI history."




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Four California Police Officers Indicted for Civil Rights Charges

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging former Fresno, Calif., Police Department (FPD) Officers Christopher Coleman, 42; Paul Van Dalen, 44; and Sean Plymale, 41; and current FPD Sergeant Michael Manfredi, 50, with civil rights and obstruction of justice offenses related to the assault of a man in their custody in October 2005.



  • 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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Department Announces Agreement to Protect Rights of Military and Overseas Voters from Nevada

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached an agreement with Nevada officials to help ensure that military service members and U.S. citizens living overseas have an opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 2, 2010, federal general election.



  • 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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Foreign National Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Role in International Money Laundering Scheme Involving Online Sales

A Bulgarian national was sentenced today to 15 months in prison for his role as a money launderer for a transnational criminal group based in Eastern Europe, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Army Major Sentenced to 21 Months in Prison for False Statements Charge Related to Attempt to Smuggle Currency from Iraq to the United States

U.S. Army Major Charles E. Sublett, 46, of Huntsville, Ala., was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for making false statements to a federal agency, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Announces Lawsuit to Protect Rights of Military and Overseas Voters in New York

The Justice Department today announced that it has filed a lawsuit against the state of New York seeking relief to help ensure that military service members and other U.S. citizens living overseas have the opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 2, 2010, federal general election and future federal elections.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Owner of Two Houston Health Care Companies Pleads Guilty in Connection with Schemes to Defraud Medicare of $6.3 Million

Princewill Njoku, 51, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Gray Miller in Houston to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Reaches Agreement to Protect Rights of Military and Overseas Voters in New Mexico

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached an agreement with New Mexico officials to help ensure that military service members and other U.S. citizens living overseas have an opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 2, 2010, federal general election.



  • OPA Press Releases

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ConocoPhillips Company and Sasol North America Agree to Reimburse Costs for Calcasieu Estuary, Bayou Verdine Cleanup

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

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73 Members and Associates of Organized Crime Enterprise, Others Indicted for Health Care Fraud Crimes Involving More Than $163 Million

Seventy-three defendants, including a number of alleged members and associates of an Armenian-American organized crime enterprise, were charged in indictments unsealed today in five judicial districts with various health care fraud-related crimes involving more than $163 million in fraudulent billing.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Concludes No Federal Criminal Violation in the Death of Imam Abdullah in Dearborn

The Justice Department announced today that the evidence does not reveal a violation of the applicable federal criminal civil rights statute or warrant further federal criminal investigation in the death of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah, a Detroit Muslim cleric, who was shot during an Oct. 28, 2009, arrest by FBI agents in Dearborn, Mich.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Jury Finds Asbestos Air Monitoring Company and Employees Guilty of Clean Air Act and Fraud Violations

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Files Fair Housing Lawsuit Alleging Discrimination at Royal Arms Apartment Complex in Ohio

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the owner and manager of Royal Arms Apartments, a 26-unit apartment building in Ravenna, Ohio, for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating on the basis of familial status in the rental of apartments.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Hawaii Man Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison for Molesting Minor on an Airplane

Curtis Keith Cooper of Princeville, Hawaii, was sentenced today to 97 months in prison for molesting a minor while aboard a flight from Hawaii to California in July 2003, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii Florence T. Nakakuni.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Announces Public Education Campaign Grants to Fight Immigration-related Employment Discrimination

The Justice Department today announced that it has awarded $720,321 in grants to 13 organizations throughout the country to conduct public education programs for workers and employers about federal protections against immigration-related job discrimination.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Sues to Shut Down North Carolina Tax Preparer

The United States has sued a Bryson City, N.C., tax return preparer seeking to bar her and her company from preparing federal tax returns for others.



  • OPA Press Releases

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U.S. Files PCB Cleanup Lawsuit Against 12 Polluters of Wisconsin’s Fox River

The Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division announced the filing of a major lawsuit today against 10 companies and two municipalities to require continued environmental cleanup work at Wisconsin’s Lower Fox River and Green Bay Site.



  • OPA Press Releases

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7 More Houston-area Residents Charged in $5 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

Seven additional Houston-area residents who allegedly served as patient recruiters and a nurse have been charged for their alleged participation in a $5 million Medicare home healthcare fraud scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

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U.S. Embassy Employee in Iraq Charged with Theft of Public Funds and Conflict of Interest

A foreign national employed at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, was charged today with theft of public money and acts affecting a personal financial interest in connection with $237,236 in U.S. Government funds.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) alleging that provisions of its agreements with hospitals raise hospital prices, prevent other insurers from entering the marketplace and discourage discounts.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Files Brief in Support of Continued Construction of Murfreesboro, Tenn., Mosque

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division today filed an amicus brief in support of a mosque in Murfreesboro, Tenn., that has met with community opposition and a lawsuit.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Settles Allegations of Immigration-related Employment Discrimination Against Catholic Healthcare West

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) to resolve allegations that CHW engaged in a pattern or practice of citizenship status discrimination by imposing unnecessary and discriminatory hurdles to employment for work-authorized individuals.



  • OPA Press Releases

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North Carolina Doctor Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Tax Crimes

Rodney K. Justin, a medical doctor from Woodleaf, N.C., was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay over $600,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for obstructing the internal revenue laws and for failing to file tax returns for several years.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Man Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison for Attempting to Use a Weapon of Mass Destruction to Bomb Skyscraper in Downtown Dallas

Hosam Maher Husein Smadi was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to 24 years in prison for his attempted bombing of a downtown Dallas skyscraper in September 2009.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer Delivers Keynote Address at Money Laundering Enforcement Conference

"Over the last quarter century, asset forfeiture and money laundering prosecutions have become integral to our country’s law enforcement strategy," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.




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United States Announces Approximately $773 Million Settlement with GM to Resolve Environmental Liabilities

The United States, 14 states and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe have entered into a settlement agreement with Chapter 11 debtor Motors Liquidation Companyformerly known as General Motors Corporation, to settle certain environmental liabilities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and state environmental laws.



  • OPA Press Releases

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New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Threatening Employees of Latino Civil Rights Organizations

Vincent Johnson of Brick, N.J., who went by the internet pseudonym “Devilfish,” pleaded guilty in federal court in Trenton, N.J., to multiple charges related to a series of threatening communications he sent to employees of five civil rights organizations that work to improve opportunities for, and challenge discrimination against, Latinos in the United States.



  • OPA Press Releases

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California-based Mailing Firms to Pay $4.2 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations for Underpayment of Postage

California-based companies Quicksort Inc., Quicksort LA Inc. and Quicksort Sacramento Inc. have agreed to pay the United States $4.2 million to settle allegations that Quicksort violated the False Claims Act by falsely representing the level to which it had pre-sorted mailings in order to obtain discounted postage rates from the U.S. Postal Service.



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Massachusetts Businessman Pleads Guilty to Multiple Frauds and Tax Evasion Over More Than a Decade

A former Pittsfield, Mass., man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to his role in a series of frauds and attempts to avoid paying taxes over more than a decade, as well as lying to federal authorities and financial institutions about his illegal activities.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Laurence Tribe, Senior Counselor for Access to Justice, Speaks at the Bronx Defenders Annual Gala Dinner

"I’m enormously pleased that we at the Justice Department are supporting your important work through the Office of Justice Programs and are thereby helping you expand the reach of the holistic community oriented model to defender agencies across the country through the Center for Holistic Defense."