U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent pleaded guilty today to obstruction of justice in federal court in Houston. Kent, 59, a district judge in the Southern District of Texas, pleaded guilty to making false statements to a special investigative committee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit during an investigation of a judicial misconduct complaint filed against him.

Gary Moss and Devan Klausegger of Medford, Ore., pleaded guilty today to conspiring to interfere with civil rights. According to facts stipulated in their plea agreements and set forth in the indictment, on May 26, 2008, Moss poured a flammable liquid on the front lawn of the victims’ residence in the shape of a cross and the letters “KKK”.

Soripada Lubis, a naturalized American citizen originally from Indonesia, pleaded guilty today to harboring illegal aliens for commercial advantage and private financial gain. Lubis’ wife, Siti Chadidjah Siregar, a citizen of Indonesia, pleaded guilty to making false statements to federal agents who were investigating the scheme.

An Iraqi-born Dutch citizen today pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to murder Americans overseas, including by planting roadside bombs targeting U.S. soldiers in Fallujah, Iraq, and by demonstrating on video how these explosives would be detonated to destroy American vehicles and their occupants.

An employee of a Sewell, N.J., company that provided temporary electrical utilities pleaded guilty today to participating in a fraud conspiracy at an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-designated Superfund site in New Jersey.

Rodrigo Molina, 33, a Brazilian national who resided in Miami, was found guilty by a federal jury on 11 of 16 charged counts related to a $13.5 million money laundering conspiracy. Molina was found guilty on Feb. 25, 2009, following a seven-day jury trial in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

After nearly 13 years as a fugitive, a former New Jersey resident has been returned to the United States, and pleaded guilty today to conspiring to committing one of the nation’s largest known motor fuel excise tax schemes. Aaron Misulovin a/k/a Albert Friedman, a/k/a Valery Vibornov, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas in Camden, N.J., to one count of conspiracy, three counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering and three counts of tax evasion.

A Middlesex, N.J., industrial pipes, valves and fittings supply company and its co-owner pleaded guilty today to participating in a fraud conspiracy at two U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-designated Superfund sites in New Jersey. The sites are Federal Creosote, located in Manville, N.J., and Diamond Alkali, located in Newark, N.J.

The Department filed a lawsuit today against JPI Construction L.P. (JPI) and six JPI-affiliated companies in U.S. District Court in Dallas for failing to provide accessible features required by the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act at multi-family housing developments in Texas and other states.

A Fairfield, Calif., couple was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Sacramento, Calif., on federal civil rights charges related to an alleged bias-motivated assault on an Indian-American couple. The two-count indictment alleges that on the evening of July 14, 2007, Joseph and Georgia Silva committed a bias-motivated assault on another couple at a public beach in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.

Odell Folks, a resident of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Tanya Smith, a resident of Waterbury, Conn., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to file false claims for tax refunds. Folks also pleaded guilty to mail fraud and making a false tax return.

The United States has intervened in a whistleblower suit filed in the District of New Mexico against Community Health Systems Inc. (CHS) and three of its hospitals in New Mexico: Eastern New Mexico Medical Center in Roswell, Mimbres Memorial Hospital in Deming, and Alta Vista Regional Hospital in Las Vegas. The suit alleges that CHS and its three hospitals violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by knowingly causing to be presented to the United States false claims for federal matching Medicaid funds.

John Joseph Cota, a California ship pilot, pleaded guilty today to negligently causing the discharge of approximately 53,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay in violation of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, a law enacted in the wake of the Exxon Valdez disaster. Cota, who piloted the M/V Cosco Busan when it hit the San Francisco Bay Bridge on Nov. 7, 2007, also pleaded guilty today to violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for the death of protected migratory birds.

A former U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) employee who falsified his performance evaluation to justify an annual performance award to which he was not entitled pleaded guilty today to one count of making false statements.

Carmelo Oria, a Spanish citizen, who was the Chief Engineer on the Cyprus-flagged M/T Nautilus, pleaded guilty today to using falsified records that concealed improper discharges of oil-contaminated bilge water from the M/T Nautilus.

Japanese electronics manufacturer Hitachi Displays Ltd., agreed to plead guilty and pay a $31 million fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the sale of Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display panels (TFT-LCD) sold to Dell Inc.

A former congressional staffer pleaded guilty today to conspiring with others to commit honest services fraud. Ann Copland, 52, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts in the District of Columbia.

Charles Brown, 54, of Mesa, Ariz., pleaded guilty today to one count of receiving child pornography. During the plea hearing before U.S. District Judge Paul G. Rosenblatt, Brown admitted to receiving child pornography.

A securities attorney pleaded guilty today to defrauding investors in stock manipulation schemes involving 19 different publicly traded companies. David B. Stocker, 49, of Phoenix pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., for his participation in a stock manipulation conspiracy known as a “pump-and-dump” scheme.

Beverly L. Masek, a former elected member of the Alaska House of Representatives, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bribery.  Masek pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline in Anchorage to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.

Laura Wang-Woodford, a U.S. citizen who served as a director of Monarch Aviation Pte, Ltd. (“Monarch”), a Singapore company that imported and exported military and commercial aircraft components for more than 20 years, pled guilty today in federal court in Brooklyn to conspiring to violate the U.S. trade embargo by exporting controlled aircraft components to Iran.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Tucson, Ariz., on federal civil rights charges related to an alleged assault on a detainee at a federal detention facility. The two-count indictment, returned on March 11, 2009, alleges that on May 10, 2006, Eduardo Moreno violated the civil rights of a federal detainee by assaulting and causing bodily injury to the individual while Moreno was on duty at the U.S. Border Patrol processing facility in Nogales, Ariz.

Adrian Dicker, a United Kingdom chartered accountant and former vice chairman and board member at a major international accounting firm, pleaded guilty today to conspiring with certain tax shelter promoters to defraud the United States in connection with tax shelter transactions involving clients of the accounting firm and the law firm Jenkens & Gilchrist (J&G).

A stock trader from Jupiter, Fla., pleaded guilty today to engaging in a market manipulation scheme involving several publicly traded companies. Earlier today, Paul M. Gozzo, 33, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one count of securities fraud.

The sister of a U.S. Army officer has pleaded guilty for her participation in a money-laundering scheme related to bribes paid for contracts awarded in support of the Iraq war. Carolyn Blake, of Sunnyvale, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy after accepting more than $3 million in bribe proceeds on behalf of her brother, Major John Cockerham.

Four Miami-area residents pleaded guilty today in connection with a $10 million Medicare fraud scheme involving HIV infusion clinics. Dr. Roberto Rodriguez, 54; Dr. Carlos Garrido, 69; Gonzalo Nodarse, 38; and Alexis Carrazana, 41; all pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

The Associate Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy in Hines, Ill., agreed to plead guilty to being part of a conspiracy to defraud the VA and the Small Business Administration (SBA). His wife and the temporary staffing company she founded agreed to plead guilty to participating in the same conspiracy.

The owner of two elder care homes in Long Beach, Calif., has pleaded guilty on March 23, 2009 to bringing undocumented aliens into the United States and forcing two of them to work at her businesses. Evelyn Pelayo, 53, a resident of Long Beach, pleaded guilty on March 23, 2009 to forced labor and unlawful conduct of holding passports to further forced labor.

Alberto Goachet, 67, a political consultant and aide to former Puerto Rico Sen. Jorge De Castro Font, was sentenced today to three months in prison, three months of home detention and three years of supervised release. Goachet pleaded guilty on Dec. 4, 2008, to a one-count information charging him with conspiring with De Castro Font and others to launder money provided by a Puerto Rico businessman to De Castro Font.

A Newton, Conn., resident who was involved in operating three businesses in Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Mariusz Debowksi pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to conspiracy to aid another in filing false tax returns.

Two Miami-area residents pleaded guilty today in connection with a $10 million Medicare fraud scheme involving HIV infusion clinics. Dr. Carmen Del Cueto, 65, and Alexis Dagnesses, 44, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck. Both defendants admitted to working at Midway Medical Center Inc. (Midway), a Miami clinic that purported to specialize in the treatment of patients with HIV.

A current Baltimore City Police Department officer and two retired officers were charged in a six-count federal indictment unsealed today with civil rights and obstruction of justice violations stemming from an April 2004 incident during which officers allegedly assaulted a handcuffed and shackled juvenile with a baton and pool stick.

Nathan Davis, a former police officer with the Baton Rouge Police Department in Baton Rouge, La., pleaded guilty today to a felony civil rights violation for use of excessive force. At today’s court hearing, defendant Davis admitted that he intentionally used excessive force in March 2007 against a man who had been arrested, handcuffed and taken to a police department holding center.

Traian Bujduveanu has pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to a charge of conspiring to illegally export military and dual use aircraft parts to Iran. Bujduveanu appeared on behalf of himself and his now defunct corporation, Orion Aviation, in federal court in Miami today to announce his guilty plea.

A Trumbull, Conn., resident who was involved in operating three businesses in Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Krzysztof Koczon pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to conspiracy to aid another in filing false tax returns.

Jonathan Haynes, a former police officer with the Jackson Police Department, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Jackson, Miss., to stealing money from a citizen during an off-duty encounter.

As homeowners and communities throughout the country continue to face devastating consequences from the deep contraction in the economy and the housing market, the Obama Administration today announced a new coordinated effort across federal and state government and the private sector to target mortgage loan modification fraud and foreclosure rescue scams that threaten to hurt American homeowners and prevent them from getting the help they need during these challenging times.

A former senior executive of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS), Andrew Bodnar, pleaded guilty for his role in BMS’s dishonest dealings with the federal government relating to a patent deal involving the popular blood-thinning drug Plavix. This plea agreement follows BMS’s June 11, 2007, agreement to plead guilty and pay a $1 million criminal fine – the maximum fine permitted by statute – for misleading the government about the Plavix patent deal.

Consultores De Navegacion, a Spanish company that operates the M/T Nautilus, an ocean-going chemical tanker ship, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston and has agreed to pay a fine of $2.5 million for criminal violations related to the overboard discharge of oil-contaminated bilge waste on the high seas.

Latin Node Inc. (Latinode), a privately held Florida corporation, pleaded guilty today to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with improper payments in Honduras and Yemen. At a hearing before U.S. District Judge Paul Courtney Huck in the Southern District of Florida, Latinode pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging a criminal violation of the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions.

A former owner of an asbestos monitoring contractor that provided services to New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) pleaded guilty today for making false statements to FBI agents and representatives of the Department’s Antitrust Division. Stephen E. McAnulty, of Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, for lying about his knowledge of a kickback and fraud conspiracy that took place at NYPH.

Three international airline companies—Luxembourg-based Cargolux Airlines International S.A., Japan-based Nippon Cargo Airlines Co. Ltd. (NCA), and Korea-based Asiana Airlines Inc.—have each agreed to plead guilty and pay criminal fines totaling $214 million for conspiring to fix prices in the air cargo industry. In addition, Asiana was charged with fixing the passenger fares charged on flights from the United States to Korea.

Adam S. Pretti, 31, a former deputy with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Memphis, Tenn., to using excessive force during an encounter with a citizen. During his plea hearing, Pretti acknowledged that he abused his authority as a law enforcement officer when, in March 2006, he willfully and without justification used excessive force by striking a man in the head.

Two commercial fisherman pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Md., to violations of the Lacey Act, the federal law that prohibits individuals from transporting, selling or buying illegally harvested fish, in this case striped bass or rockfish.

A woman from the Bronx, N.Y., pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to making false claims and mail fraud. The indictment alleged that between approximately May 1, 2003, and Feb. 28, 2005, Sharon Smith and others participated in a scheme to file false and fraudulent individual income tax returns in the names of individuals who were not entitled to the refunds that were claimed.

The Tax Division announced highlights of its work during the past year to defend and enforce the nation’s tax laws. The Tax Division has assisted the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in tracking down tax cheats who use offshore accounts, combating abusive tax shelters, stopping tax defiers and shutting down tax schemes and scams. During FY 2008, the Tax Division also successfully defended refund suits against the United States representing claims of nearly $803 million, and collected, through affirmative litigation, over $178 million.

Waquita Wallace pleaded guilty to the federal civil rights charge of sex trafficking. Wallace admitted to forcing a young woman to engage in commercial sex acts through a combination of force, fraud and coercion. Defendant Wallace also benefitted financially from the sex trafficking. She faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Tax return preparer Lawrence Sperling pleaded guilty today to aiding in the preparation of false tax returns. Sperling was scheduled to begin trial on April 14, 2009 before Judge Deborah Chasanow in Greenbelt, Md. According to the indictment and the plea agreement, Sperling knowingly prepared tax returns for his clients that contained false and fraudulent items, including inflated medial expenses, charitable contributions, miscellaneous employment-related expenses, and child care credits.

Robert Moran, of Lighthouse Point, Fla., pleaded guilty today to a criminal information charging him with filing a false income tax return. Moran appeared today before Judge James I. Cohn in Ft. Lauderdale and accepted responsibility for concealing more than $3 million in assets in a secret bank account at UBS in Switzerland.

Rene Soliz of Alice, Texas, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Corpus Christi, Texas, to a violation of the Lacey Act for attempting to receive fifteen Tanzanian leopard tortoises that were transported into the United States in violation of a law, regulation or treaty, specifically, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).