A federal court has permanently barred John Lewis, Artels James and Perry Wright from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Loretta and Tracey Fergerson were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama on a variety of charges stemming from an identity theft and tax fraud conspiracy.

Donna Paul and her husband, William Paul, formerly of Montgomery, Ala., were indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with four counts of tax evasion for the tax years 2004 through 2007.

Eric Bernard Caldwell, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States.

An Alabama businessman pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel Jr. to his role in conspiring to bribe legislators in exchange for their favorable votes on pro-gambling legislation.

Alchico Grant and Melinda Clayton were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama on a variety of charges stemming from an identity theft and tax fraud scheme.

Karen L. Blyth and David H. M. Phelps were sentenced yesterday in federal court in Mobile, Ala., to 33 months and 24 months in prison, respectively. The pair was also fined $5,000 each, and barred for three years from working in the seafood industry or owning any seafood related business.

On Feb. 22, 2011, after a four-day trial, a jury in Montgomery, Ala., convicted Sharon Thurman of 14 counts of making false claims, two counts of theft of government money and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

Laquanta Grant, a resident of Montgomery, Ala., has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to file false claims for refunds.

James E. Moss, who owned and operated “Flash Tax,” was charged with four of his employees by a grand jury sitting in Montgomery, Ala.

Betty Washington, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., was sentenced today to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,440,632 for conspiring to file false claims for refunds.

A federal court has permanently barred Aurelia Sanderson Johnson from preparing federal tax returns for others.

John Jackson, the former mayor of White Hall, Ala., was sentenced to two years in prison today, the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

A Scottsboro, Ala., man was indicted today for the illegal possession, transportation and sale of protected reptiles in violation of the Lacey Act.

The Justice Department announced today that a federal grand jury in Birmingham, Ala., returned a three-count indictment charging former Tuscaloosa Sheriff’s sergeant, Althea Mallisham, 52, with federal civil rights crimes for using a stun gun on three jail detainees in 2008.

The Department of Justice challenged the state of Alabama’s recently passed immigration law, H.B. 56, in federal court today.

Yumeitrius Manuel and Margaret Kirksey, both of Montgomery, Ala., were indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges of conspiracy, identity theft, wire fraud, false claims and lying to federal agents.

The United States has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop Lakeisha Pearson from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Eric Bernard Caldwell, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., was sentenced today to 30 months in prison.

Melinda M. Lambert, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting the filing of a false tax return.

Three separate indictments were returned by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama charging six different individuals on a variety of charges stemming from tax fraud and identity theft schemes.

Laquanta Grant, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., was sentenced to 33 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,326,738.08.

Two Mobile, Ala., real estate investors and one real estate investment company have agreed to plead guilty today for their roles in a conspiracy to rig bids for the purchase of real estate at public foreclosure auctions in southern Alabama.

Future Research Corp., located in Huntsville, Ala., and its president, Jesse Nunn, have agreed to pay the United States $200,000 to settle claims that they inappropriately obtained contracts from the Navy.

Janika Fernae Bates Millbrook, Ala., was convicted of identity theft, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to make false claims for tax refunds.

Melinda Clayton of Montgomery, Ala., pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiring to defraud the United States by filing false claims, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Veronica Dale, a resident of Montgomery, Ala., pleaded guilty today to two tax fraud and identity theft conspiracies.

James E. Moss and Avada L. Jenkins were found guilty today of tax crimes relating to “Flash Tax,” a Montgomery, Ala., tax preparation business owned by Moss.

A federal jury in Montgomery, Ala., today convicted Monty Ervin and Patricia Ervin of conspiracy to defraud the United States and three counts of tax evasion.

Terry Spicer, a former Alabama state legislator, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama to a one-count criminal information charging him with federal program bribery for accepting cash and other things of value from a businessman and his lobbyist in return for the use of his official position and influence.

Marsha Elmore of Wetumpka, Ala., the owner of a tax preparation business called Community Tax, pleaded guilty today to charges related to her use of stolen identities to fraudulently obtain tax refunds.

Chiquita Q. Broadnax, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., was sentenced today to 18 months in prison by Judge Mark Fuller of the Middle District of Alabama for her involvement in a fraudulent tax return perpetration scheme.

The Justice Department announced today that Scottie T. Glenn, 28, a former corrections officer of the Alabama Department of Corrections, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Ala., to one count of violating the civil rights of a former inmate and to one count of conspiring with other corrections officers to cover up the incident.

William Paul, formerly of Montgomery, Ala., was convicted today by a federal jury in Montgomery on four counts of tax evasion for the tax years 2004 through 2007, and of one count of failing to file a tax return.

A Mobile, Ala., real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty today for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in southern Alabama.

A federal court in Mobile, Ala., has permanently barred Delois Warren from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Janika Fernae Bates, a resident of Millbrook, Ala., was sentenced today in the Middle District of Alabama to 94 months in federal prison for stealing identities of student loan borrowers and providing them to a co-conspirator, who used them to file false tax returns.

The Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that Loretta Fergerson pleaded guilty today before Magistrate Judge Charles S. Coody in Montgomery, Ala., to conspiring to defraud the United States government, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Fergerson and a co-defendant were charged by a grand jury in a 22-count indictment that was unsealed on March 30, 2011.

Judge Mark Fuller of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama sentenced Lutoyua N. Thompson and Melinda M. Lambert to prison today for their involvement in a fraudulent tax return preparation scheme, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

Kirby Dollar and Timothy Watford, former deputies with the Russell County, Ala., Sheriff’s Office, were sentenced in federal court in Montgomery, Ala., for their participation in the beating of a handcuffed man who had been taken into official custody.

The Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that Tracey Fergerson pleaded guilty today before Magistrate Judge Charles S. Coody in Montgomery, Ala., to conspiring to defraud the United States government.

Crystal Sayles was arrested today on charges stemming from her use of stolen identities to commit federal tax fraud, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

Chiquanta Davis, Terrence Davis and Laurekshia Blakely were charged in a superseding indictment by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama on multiple counts stemming from an identity theft and tax fraud scheme, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

Natacia Webster was arrested today as part of a federal crackdown on identity theft and tax refund fraud.

Marsha Elmore of Wetumpka, Ala., the owner of a tax preparation business called Community Tax, was sentenced today to 184 months in prison, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

Yumeitrius Manuel and Margaret Kirksey, both of Montgomery, Ala., pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud the government and aggravated identity theft, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

A federal court has permanently barred Lakeisha Pearson from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

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

A federal court has permanently barred Paul E. Foster Jr. and Sheree McDade, both of Montgomery, Ala., from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

Alexander D. Alvarez of Atmore, Ala., pleaded guilty in federal court today to violating the Lacey Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) for illegally selling and possessing the feathers of anhingas and other migratory birds protected under the MBTA.