Two South Florida residents pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Miami for their participation in separate Medicare fraud schemes.

The United States has sued Gwenn Wycoff and Frank Ozak of Los Angeles seeking to bar them from promoting the formation and operation of “common-law” trusts for the purpose of tax avoidance.

The Justice Department today issued a letter to chief justices and administrators of state courts clarifying the obligation of courts that receive federal financial assistance to provide oral interpretation, written translation and other language services to people who are limited English proficient.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and government, community, public health and law enforcement partners today announced a nationwide prescription drug “Take-Back” initiative that seeks to prevent increased pill abuse and theft.

The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued today revised Horizontal Merger Guidelines that outline how the federal antitrust agencies evaluate the likely competitive impact of mergers and whether those mergers comply with U.S. antitrust law.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Natchez, Miss., Police Department Officers Elvis Prater, 35, and Dewayne Johnson, 32, with civil rights offenses and other offenses related to the beating of two men in custody, the theft of an arrestee’s credit and debit cards, and the officers’ false statements to federal investigators.

Jeffrey Robert Libman, the vice president and co-director of Webe Web Corporation, a Florida corporation, pleaded guilty today to 16 counts of transporting child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance of the Northern District of Alabama.

Cesar Carranza, a resident of Long Beach, Calif., was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for his role in laundering $2.5 million dollars in proceeds derived from several stolen credit card information schemes.

Three Miami-area residents were sentenced to prison today for their participation in a $22 million Medicare fraud scheme operated through two Miami home health agencies, ABC Home Health Care Inc. and Florida Home Health Care Providers Inc.

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.

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.

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.

Sharon D. Thurman, who owned and operated “Sharon’s Tax Services,” was charged with 14 counts of making false claims for tax refunds, two counts of aggravated identity theft and two counts of theft of government money.

John T.C. Yeh, the owner of Viable Communications Inc., and his brother, Joseph Yeh, the former vice president for corporate strategy and second in charge for Viable, pleaded guilty today to engaging in a conspiracy to defraud the Federal Communications Commission’s Video Relay Service program.

Platinum One Contracting, located in Capitol Heights, Md., its president, Anthony Wright, and Capitol Contractors, also located in Capitol Heights, and its president, Vernon J. Smith III, have agreed to pay the United States $200,000 to settle claims that they used false statements to obtain contracts from the Department of Defense.

An Atlanta grand jury returned an indictment today against the former president and chief executive officer of a Lakewood, N.J.-based manufacturer and distributor of food service equipment hardware, for conspiring to allocate customers for the sale of commercial and institutional food service equipment hardware.

James Bradley Branscum, Tony Branscum, both of Salado, Ark., and Curtis Coffee of Batesville, Ark., were indicted this week by a federal grand jury on charges related to their roles in burning a cross in the yard of an African-American resident in Salado on Aug. 28, 2010.

Brooke E. Reyna, 28, of Barrington, N.H., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante in U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire to making false statements.

A federal judge in Providence, R.I., entered a preliminary injunction against Michael Brier, individually, and doing business as Refunds Now Inc., RNTS Inc., FTIRS Inc., POTIRS Inc. and IHIRS Inc. from preparing federal tax returns for others.

“In January 2008, Attorney General Michael Mukasey appointed Assistant United States Attorney John Durham to investigate the destruction by CIA personnel of videotapes of detainee interrogations," said Matthew Miller, Director, Office of Public Affairs.

The Justice Department and Hilton Worldwide Inc. today announced a comprehensive, precedent-setting agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that will make state-of-the-art accessibility changes to approximately 900 hotels nationwide.

CFP Group, located in McLean, Va., and its president, Roberto Clark, have agreed to pay the United States $150,000 to settle claims that they used false statements to obtain a contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Justice Department today made available online the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (2010 Standards or Standards).

Jeffery Leon Ceaser, a resident of Montgomery, Ala., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States and one count of identity theft.

The Department of Justice joined representatives from across the federal government to mark the progress made in modernizing the federal workforce hiring process over the past six months.

“DNA evidence is one of the most powerful tools available to the criminal justice system, and these new steps will ensure the department can use DNA to the greatest extent possible to solve crimes and ensure the guilty are convicted,” Attorney General Holder said.

Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice’s Access to Justice Initiative co-hosted a Middle Class Task Force event today with Vice President Joe Biden, announcing a series of steps designed to help middle class and low-income families secure their legal rights.

Dr. Walter Janke, his wife, Lalita Janke, and Vero Beach, Fla.-based Medical Resources L.L.C. have agreed to pay $22.6 million to resolve allegations that they caused Medicare to pay inflated amounts based upon the submission of false diagnosis codes.

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia and resident of Corvallis, Ore., has been arrested on charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction (explosives) in connection with a plot to detonate a vehicle bomb at an annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony earlier this evening in Portland, Ore., the Justice Department announced.

Beazer Homes USA Inc., a national residential homebuilder, has agreed today to pay a $925,000 civil penalty to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations at its construction sites in 21 states.

Today President Barack Obama granted pardons to nine individuals.

Attorney General Holder announced today the results of Operation Broken Trust, a nationwide operation organized by the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to target investment fraud.

The president of an Iowa ready-mix concrete company pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to fix prices for sales of ready-mix concrete.

Four Detroit-area residents were arrested today by federal agents from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and FBI as part of an ongoing investigation into a $14.5 million home health care fraud scheme, announced the Departments of Justice and HHS.

Charlotte M. Robinson, 46, of Dolton, Ill., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan E. Cox in the Northern District of Illinois to a one-count criminal information charging her with unauthorized computer access.

Five people 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.

Jeffrey Robert Libman, the vice president and co-director of Webe Web Corporation, a Florida corporation, was sentenced yesterday to 108 months in prison for transporting child pornography.

A former Alabama state lobbyist 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.

A former principal of a wealth management firm pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to causing the Hillary Clinton for President Committee unwittingly to submit false statements to the Federal Election Commission.

Marc Velasquez pleaded guilty today to engaging in a conspiracy to defraud the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Video Relay Service (VRS) program.

The president and co-director of a Florida corporation was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for money laundering related to proceeds generated by the corporation through its distribution of child pornography.

The president and the auditor of a Costa Rican company selling reinsurance bonds to life settlement companies were arrested and charged, along with the company itself, in a seven-count indictment unsealed today for their alleged role in a $670 million fraud scheme involving victims throughout the United States and abroad.

Attorney General Eric Holder today joined President Barack Obama and other administration officials to announce the presidential initiative aimed at establishing a coordinated and comprehensive federal approach to supporting military families.

Two individuals pleaded guilty today for their participation in a conspiracy to defraud the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Video Relay Service (VRS) program.

"As part of this fight against human trafficking, specialized Anti-Trafficking Coordination Teams, known as ACTeams, will be convened in a number of pilot districts nationwide," said Attorney General Holder.

A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., today returned an indictment charging William P. Danielczyk Jr. and Eugene R. Biagi with reimbursing $186,600 in contributions to the Senate and Presidential campaign committees of a candidate for federal office, and obstructing the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the FBI.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), a private, non-profit organization that administers the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), a standardized examination related to medical licensing.

The United States has sued two Southern California attorneys and a Kentucky financial professional to bar them from promoting an allegedly abusive tax shelter known as an “intermediary transaction.”

John Pugh, Wilbur Davenport, and Cole Brothers Circus Inc., entered plea agreements yesterday in U.S. District Court in Beaumont, Texas to resolve Endangered Species Act (ESA) violations related to the purchase and sale of two Asian elephants named “Tina” and “Jewel.”

Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 20, a citizen of Saudi Arabia and resident of Lubbock, Texas, was arrested late yesterday by FBI agents in Texas on a federal charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction in connection with his alleged purchase of chemicals and equipment necessary to make an improvised explosive device (IED) and his research of potential U.S. targets.