Philip Butcher pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz in Miami to filing a false claim for a tax refund, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

Karen Rayburn, 47, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of the Middle District of Louisiana to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Rudolf L. Cheung, 57, a resident of Massachusetts, pleaded guilty today in federal court in the District of Columba to conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act in connection with the unlawful export of 55 military antennae from the United States to Singapore and Hong Kong.

Thomas B. Evans, 47, of Centennial, Colo., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Christine M. Arguello in Denver to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Jorge Pineiro, 42, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

A former executive of Miami-based Ocean Bank pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Miami to participating in a scheme to accept bribes and to failing to report the income on federal income tax returns.

A Barrio Azteca (BA) gang member currently serving a jail sentence on Texas state murder charges pleaded guilty today for his participation in a racketeering conspiracy.

A U.S. military recruiter pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to obtain approximately $190,000 in fraudulent recruiting bonuses from various U.S. military components and their contractor, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

– A former soldier who also served as a contract military recruiter pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to obtain more than $200,000 in fraudulent recruiting bonuses from various U.S. military components and their contractor.

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

Fred D. Belcher, 61, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of the Middle District of Louisiana to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Teresa Witthar, 43, of Independence, Mo., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Kansas City to federal hate crime charges in connection with the vandalism and arson of a bi-racial man’s mobile home in 2006.

A former soldier pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to obtain a total of at least approximately $240,000 in fraudulent recruiting bonuses from various U.S. military components and their contractor, and to one count of aggravated identity theft for unlawfully using the means of identification of a potential soldier.

Chikenna D. Jones, 36, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of the Middle District of Louisiana to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks.

Rodney D. Taylor, 45, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of the Middle District of Louisiana to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks.

Austin Galvan, 30, was charged in a two-count indictment unsealed on Aug. 29, 2011, with wire fraud and obstruction of justice.

Gregory K. Dupont, 38, of Plaquemine, La., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Baton Rouge, La., to one felony count of illegally guiding out-of-state sport hunters to unauthorized areas to hunt American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) in violation of the Lacey Act, the U.S. Endangered Species Act and Louisiana law.

Sergeant Amasha M. King, 33, of Forsyth, Ga., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell in Macon, Ga., to criminal information charging her with one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Department of Defense.

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.

Julius DeSimone of Rome, N.Y., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Utica, N.Y., for conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act and to defraud the United States, and to making false statements to federal law enforcement.

Michael Schoenwald of Hollywood, Fla., has pleaded guilty before Judge Herman Weber in Cincinnati to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with a drug diversion scheme in which he was involved, the Justice Department announced.

Mohammad Khan, 62, of Houston, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake in the Southern District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks, and five counts of paying or offering to pay health care kickbacks.

Brandon Rhodes, 20, of Marengo, Ohio, pleaded guilty yesterday to a charge related to the burning of a cross in the yard of an African-American juvenile in March 2011.

Alexey Li, 21, a citizen of Kazakhstan who entered the United States on a student visa, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein, Jr. to aiding and abetting money laundering.

Joshua Wall, 20, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Baltimore for his involvement in hanging a dead raccoon from a noose on the porch of an African-American family.

Michael George Rutecki, 33, of North Pole, Alaska, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Beistline in the District of Alaska to a criminal information charging him with one count of accepting illegal gratuities.

Mathis Moore, 56, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry L. Garber in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks.

The former director of corporate maintenance and renovations at Medical Facilities of America Inc. pleaded guilty today to accepting kickbacks and evading taxes.

Richard David Miranda, a former Arizona state representative, pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona to a two-count information charging him with defrauding a charity of more than $140,000 and evading income tax related to those unlawfully obtained funds.

A Miami-area resident pleaded guilty yesterday for his role in a fraud scheme that resulted in the submission of more than $200 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare.

The Justice Department announced today that former Thomas County Sheriff’s Deputy Julian Scott Law pleaded guilty today to assaulting a detainee inside of the Thomas County Jail in Thomasville, Georgia, thereby depriving the detainee of his civil rights.

Delton de Armas, a former chief financial officer of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. (TBW), pleaded guilty today to making false statements and conspiring to commit bank and wire fraud for his role in a more than $2.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failures of TBW and Colonial Bank.

Brent E. Wells, a former police sergeant with the East Alton, Ill., Police Department, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis, Ill., to violating the civil rights of a civilian by assaulting the man during an arrest in front of Wells’s home on Sept. 11, 2010.

A financial investor who purchased municipal tax liens at auctions in New Jersey pleaded guilty today for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids for the sale of tax liens auctioned by municipalities throughout the state.

Juan Villa, 29, of Miami, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow in the Eastern District of Michigan to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Abby Beard Hogan, 50, pleaded guilty yesterday in the Northern District of Florida for her role in the obstruction of a multinational investigation into the disappearance of her husband, James Hogan, then an employee in the U.S. Consulate in Curacao, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Pamela Cothran Marsh for the Northern District of Florida, U.S. Department of State Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security Eric J. Boswell and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office.

Lazaro Acosta, 41, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz in Miami to one count of currency structuring to avoid reporting requirements.

David John Welch, 36, of Hope Mills, N.C., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt to a criminal information charging him with one count of conspiracy to steal property under the control of a government contractor.

Billy Denica, 50, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

The Justice Department announced today that former jail trustee Willie James Caruthers pleaded guilty yesterday to acting with several others, including law enforcement officials, to assault an inmate inside of the Wilcox County, Ga., Jail on July 23, 2009.

Jose Antonio Acosta-Hernandez, 34, aka “Diego,” “Dienton,” “Diez” and “Bablazo,” of Chihuahua, was extradited to the United States from Mexico on March 16, 2012.

Thomas Mitchell of Mansfield, Ohio pleaded guilty before United States District Judge George J. Limbert of the Northern District of Ohio to criminal information charging him with willfully failing to file an income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Justice Department and IRS announced today.

A former executive of a New York-based tax liens company who supervised the purchasing of municipal tax liens at auctions in New Jersey pleaded guilty today for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids for the sale of tax liens auctioned by municipalities throughout the state.

A former chief engineer from the tuna fishing vessel San Nikunau pleaded guilty today in federal court to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.

Alejandro Curbelo, 32, aka Alex Curbelo, of Miami, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard. Curbelo was indicted and arrested on Jan. 24, 2012.

Daron Elder, 28, of Southfield, Mich., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow in the Eastern District of Michigan to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Stephen Murphy, a Utah resident, pleaded guilty in federal court in Salt Lake City to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, and was sentenced the same day to 24 months in prison, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. U.S. District Court Judge Dee Benson presided over the plea hearing and sentencing, which took place yesterday.

Daniyar Zhaxalyk, 25, a citizen of Kazakhstan who entered the United States on a student visa, pleaded guilty today in Houston to one count of money laundering.

Ernst Pierre, a Port St. Lucie, Fla., tax preparer, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Pierre was charged with a scheme to file false federal income tax returns using stolen identity information.

Gary D. Osborn and his corporation, ApothéCure Inc., pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to two misdemeanor criminal violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). The pleas are in connection with ApothéCure’s interstate shipment of two lots of misbranded colchicine injectable solution that led to the deaths of three people in the Pacific Northwest.