A Florida physician was sentenced today to four years in prison for his role in a fraud scheme involving lobbying and fund raising for political candidates and organizations.

Wesley William Brandt, 46, of Davenport, Fla., pleaded guilty today to three counts of production of child pornography.

Friday James, who according to the government complaint is from Landsdowne, Pa., and his business agreed to the permanent injunction order without admitting the allegations against them.

The U.S. subsidiary of Belgian pharmaceutical manufacturer UCB SA. pleaded guilty today to the off-label promotion of its epilepsy drug Keppra and will pay more than $34 million to resolve criminal and civil liability arising out of its illegal conduct.

Two Miami-area residents who were officers of a fraudulent physical therapy company in Lakeland, Fla., pleaded guilty today for their roles in a scheme to defraud Medicare.

Novo Nordisk Inc., a Danish pharmaceutical manufacturer, has agreed to pay $25 million to resolve its civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of its hemostasis management drug, NovoSeven.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius visited Philadelphia today where they participated in the sixth regional health care fraud prevention summit.

"By coming together, we’re signaling – to the citizens we serve and to those who would threaten the strength of our health care system – that a new era of communication and cooperation has begun, and that this Administration’s commitment to fighting health care fraud has never been stronger."

George H. Lunt, 27, of Plymouth, Mass., was sentenced today to 96 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release for his transportation and possession of child pornography.

Three employees of the Solstice Wellness Center, a Brooklyn-area clinic that purported to specialize in providing physical therapy and various diagnostic tests, have pleaded guilty in connection with a $3.4 million Medicare fraud scheme.

“We expect that physicians who participate in federal health care programs will bill for their services accurately and honestly,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Department’s Civil Division.

A Miami-area resident and owner of a fraudulent physical therapy company in Lakeland, Fla., pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare.

Gino Carlucci and Wayne Mounts, both residents of Arizona, have been convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Department of Justice and IRS announced today.

Two defendants who co-owned and operated two Brooklyn,N.Y.,-area pharmacies were arrested today on health care fraud charges for their alleged participation in a scheme to defraud Medicare Part D that resulted in more than $3 million in fraudulent billings, announced the Department of Justice, FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its Office of Inspector General (OIG).

"This successful operation marks another step forward in our work to protect children across, and beyond, our country," said Attorney General Holder.

Rodger Dale DeVries, 73, a resident of Jenison, Mich., has pleaded guilty to illegally importing a polar bear trophy mount in 2007 from Canada into Michigan in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Online search engine Google Inc. has agreed to forfeit $500 million for allowing online Canadian pharmacies to place advertisements through its AdWords program targeting consumers in the United States, resulting in the unlawful importation of controlled and non-controlled prescription drugs into the United States.

Anthony Moreno, 25, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 80 months in prison for one count of possession of child pornography.

Leonard Wasylyk, 49, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sue L. Robinson in the District of Delaware.

The former president and administrator of a fraudulent physical therapy company in Lakeland, Fla., was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare.

The Board of Immigration Appeals has dismissed the appeal of John (Ivan) Kalymon of Troy, Mich., who was ordered removed from the United States earlier this year because of his participation in lethal acts of Nazi-sponsored persecution of Jews during World War II.

After a five-day trial, a federal jury in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found Irina Rakhman, 54, guilty of conspiracy to produce fraudulent identification documents.

Billy Wade Carroll, 51, of Dayton, Ohio, was found guilty today in U.S. District Court in Riverside, Calif., for his participation in an online child pornography bulletin board.

Miami-area residents Angel Gonzalez and Jorge Zamora, who were the owners and operators of a fraudulent physical therapy company in Lakeland, Fla., were sentenced yesterday and today to 42 months in prison and 46 months in prison, respectively, for their leading roles in a scheme to defraud Medicare.

A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chemist pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Deborah K. Chasanow in the District of Maryland to one count of securities fraud and one count of making false statements, related to a $3.7 million insider trading scheme that spanned nearly five years.

According to his plea agreement, from approximately December 2006 through August 2008, Terry Lee Nolley, 47, and others conspired to operate “Country Lounge,” a secure web-based bulletin board dedicated to trading images of child pornography.

DFine Inc. of San Jose, Calif., has agreed to pay the United States $2.39 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that the company paid kickbacks to induce physicians to use certain of the company’s devices that are used in treating spinal fractures.

The former asphalt facilities manager of Pelican Refining Company LLC (PRC), pleaded guilty today to the crime of negligent endangerment under the Clean Air Act in federal court in Lafayette, La.

"The work of the Justice Department on health care fraud is part of a comprehensive approach this Administration has taken toward improving the Nation’s overall health care delivery system; an approach that aims to secure better, quality coverage at lower costs for all of us," said Assistant Attorney General West.

Wesley William Brandt of Davenport, Fla., was sentenced today to 90 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for production of child pornography.

American pharmaceutical company Merck, Sharp &.

“The tragedy at Upper Big Branch will never be forgotten, and the families affected by it will never be made completely whole again. Today’s agreement represents the largest-ever resolution in a criminal investigation of a mine disaster and will ensure appropriate steps are taken to improve mine safety now and will fund research to enhance mine safety in the future,” said Attorney General Holder.

KV Pharmaceutical Company, which was the St. Louis-based parent company of now-defunct Ethex Corporation, will pay $17 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that Ethex failed to advise the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that two unapproved products did not qualify for coverage under federal health care programs, the Justice Department announced today.

Medtronic Inc. of Fridley, Minn., has agreed to pay the United States $23.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claim Act by using physician payments related to post-market studies and device registries as kickbacks to induce doctors to implant the company’s pacemakers and defibrillators.

The country’s two biggest tobacco companies have agreed to improve public access to internal tobacco-industry documents and to pay $6.25 million into a court fund that will go to support the country’s largest online collection of tobacco documents.

Keith Strimple, 57, of Tulsa, Okla., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell in the Northern District of Oklahoma to one count of attempted possession of a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Leonard Wasylyk, 49, was also sentenced to lifetime supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction in which he lives, works or attends school.

Sergio Santiago de Leon Syjuco, aka “Yogi,” 25, of Muntinlupa City, Philippines; Cesar Paolo Inciong Ubaldo, aka “Arvi,” 26, of Paranaque City, Philippines; and Arjyl Revereza, 25, of Manila, Philippines, were charged in criminal complaint unsealed yesterday in the Central District of California with importing defense articles into the United States without a license, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act.

Robert Rosenbeck, 49, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper in Boston.

A Maryland man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Indianapolis to seven counts of child pornography production and was sentenced to 33 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Hogsett of the Southern District of Indiana.

Joshua Boras of Lapeer, Mich., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips.

After a four-day trial, a federal jury in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found Tahn Le, 44, guilty on Jan. 20, 2012, of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce through multiple home invasion robberies and related firearms violations.

The United States has filed a consent decree for permanent injunction against the generic drug manufacturer Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., an Indian corporation, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the Department of Justice announced today.

Charles Kizer, 53, from Memphis, Tenn., was sentenced late Friday by U.S. District Judge Samuel H. Mays, Jr. to 10 years in prison for violating the Mann Act.

Phoenix-area businessmen Stephen M. Kerr and Michael Quiel and former San Diego attorney Christopher M. Rusch were charged in Phoenix with conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for concealing millions of dollars in assets in numerous secret Swiss bank accounts held at UBS and elsewhere, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

Billy Wade Carroll of Dayton, Ohio, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips.

Michael Wayne Wooten, 60, of Alabaster, Ala., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Inge P. Johnson in the Northern District of Alabama.

Nine men have been indicted in the Western District of Virginia for allegedly conspiring to receive, distribute, possess and access with intent to view child pornography/

Smith & Nephew Inc. has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve improper payments by the company and certain affiliates in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Fourteen hospitals located in New York, Mississippi, North Carolina, Washington, Indiana, Missouri and Florida have agreed to pay the United States a total of more than $12 million to settle allegations that the health care facilities submitted false claims to Medicare, the Justice Department announced today.