wit

Two Individuals Charged with Attempting to Bribe U.S. Army Contracting Official

Two dual Afghan/U.S. citizens were charged today with conspiracy and bribery in connection with a scheme to offer $1 million in bribes to a U.S. Army contracting official in order to influence the award of a road construction contract in Afghanistan.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

British Citizen Arrested in Connection with Costa Rica-based Business Opportunity Fraud Ventures

A British citizen charged in connection with the operation of a series of fraudulent business opportunities was arrested Thursday evening in Miami following his indictment by a Miami federal grand jury on June 9, 2009.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Canadian National Charged with Foreign Bribery and Paying Kickbacks Under the Oil for Food Program

A Canadian citizen has been charged in an indictment unsealed yesterday for his alleged participation in an eight-year conspiracy to defraud the United Nations Oil for Food Program (OFFP) and to bribe Iraqi government officials in connection with the sale of a chemical additive used in the refining of leaded fuel.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Announces Disabled Access Settlement with Developers of Woodbridge, Virginia, Apartment Complex

The Justice Department today announced a settlement that, pending court approval, will resolve allegations that those involved in the design and construction of the Summerland Heights Apartments, a 318-unit apartment complex in Woodbridge, Va., discriminated on the basis of disability in the design and construction of the project.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Signs Agreement with Wendell, Idaho, to Ensure Civic Access for People with Disabilities

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the city of Wendell, Idaho, to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities. The agreement was reached under the Department’s Project Civic Access initiative, which aims to bring state and local governments into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Signs Agreement with Chautauqua County, New York, to Ensure Civic Access for People with Disabilities

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Chautauqua County, N.Y., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities. The agreement was reached under the Department’s Project Civic Access initiative, which aims to bring state and local governments into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Obtains $35,000 in Disability-Based Housing Discrimination Settlement with Apartment Complex in Longview, Washington

The Justice Department announced an agreement with the former owners and managers of Valley View Apartments in Longview, Wash., to settle allegations that they violated the Fair Housing Act by intentionally discriminating against an individual with a disability.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Signs Agreement with Fayette County, Pennsylvania, to Ensure Civic Access for People with Disabilities

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Fayette County, Pa., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities. The agreement was reached under the Department’s Project Civic Access initiative, which aims to bring state and local governments into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Signs Agreement with Port St. Lucie, Florida, to Ensure Civic Access for People with Disabilities

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the city of Port St. Lucie, Fla., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities. The agreement was reached under the Department’s Project Civic Access initiative to bring state and local governments into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Ohio Edison Agrees to Repower Power Plant with Renewable Biomass Fuel

Ohio Edison Company, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., has agreed in a consent decree to repower one of its coal-fired power plants using primarily renewable biomass fuels.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Former Tamimi Global Executive Convicted of Witness Tampering Following Reinstatement of Charges

Mohammad Shabbir Khan, the former director of operations in Kuwait and Iraq for Tamimi Global Company, a Saudi Arabian company, has been convicted of witness tampering and conspiracy to commit witness tampering.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Defendants Sentenced in Connection with Business Opportunity Scams

On Aug.11, 2009, two individuals were sentenced in connection with South Florida business opportunity scams. Stewart Pope was sentenced in connection with his participation in fraudulent business opportunity sales at a Miami firm called Global Resources (“Global”).



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

San Diego Attorney and Accountant Charged with Tax Crimes

Craig Shaber, an attorney from San Diego was arraigned today before Magistrate Judge Anthony J. Battaglia in that city on charges of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and tax evasion for years 2000 to 2002. On Aug. 14, 2009, Steven Wright, an accountant, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jan M. Adler to one count of tax evasion for the 2000 tax year.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

New Mexico Farmer Charged with Tax Fraud, Fraudulently Collecting Farm Subsidies

Bill Melot, a resident of Hobbs, N.M., appeared in federal court today before Magistrate Karen B. Molzen in Las Cruces, N.M., on tax and false statement charges. Melot, a farmer who owns approximately 250 acres in Lea County, N.M., was charged with tax evasion, failing to file tax returns, corruptly impeding the IRS, and making false statements to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

U.S. Discloses Terms of Agreement with Swiss Government Regarding UBS

The Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today announced that the agreement with the Swiss government has been finalized. As a result of the agreement, the United States will receive substantially all of the accounts of interest when it initiated the John Doe summons against UBS on June 30, 2008.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Swiss Banking Executive and Swiss Lawyer Charged with Conspiring to Defraud the United States

Hansruedi Schumacher and Matthias Rickenbach, both of Switzerland, were indicted today for conspiring to defraud the United States. According to the indictment, Schumacher worked as an executive manager at Neue Zuercher Bank (NZB), a Swiss private bank located in Zurich, Switzerland. Rickenbach worked as a Swiss attorney who provided legal advice and services to U.S. clients.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Microsemi Corp.

The Department has reached a proposed settlement with Microsemi Corporation that requires the company to divest all of the assets that it acquired from Semicoa Inc. on July 14, 2008. The Department said that without this divestiture, there would be little or no competition in the development, manufacture and sale of certain semiconductor devices used in military and space programs essential to the security of the United States.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Former Sand and Gravel Subcontractor Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison After Conspiracy and Bribery Conviction in Connection with a Levee Reconstruction Project

A former sand and gravel subcontractor was sentenced today to serve five years in prison and to pay a $5,000 criminal fine by U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier after being convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy and bribery in connection with a $16 million hurricane protection project for the reconstruction a New Orleans levee.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

U.S. Court Rejects Efforts by Schering-Plough Corporation to Repatriate $690 Million in Offshore Earnings Without Paying Taxes

A federal court in Newark, N.J., denied Schering-Plough Corp. a $473 million refund in connection with two transactions in which Schering-Plough sought to avoid taxation on $690 million in profits it repatriated from offshore subsidiaries into the United States.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Oklahoma Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Solicit Kickbacks in Connection with Government Contract in Afghanistan

An Oklahoma man pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to solicit kickbacks in connection with the award of a private security services subcontract to protect U.S. government personnel and contractors in Afghanistan. Bryan Lee Burrows, 42, of Wagoner, Okla., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of conspiracy to solicit a kickback.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Former Pacific Consolidated Industries LP Executive Pleads Guilty in Connection with Bribes Paid to U.K. Ministry of Defense Official

The former director of sales and marketing for Pacific Consolidated Industries LP (PCI) pleaded guilty today to charges related to the bribery of a U.K. Ministry of Defense (UK-MOD) official in order to obtain lucrative equipment contracts with the U.K. Royal Air Force, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Lawsuit Charges Atlanta Condominium with Discrimination Against Families with Children

The Department filed a lawsuit against an Atlanta condominium association, as well as the owner of a unit and the real estate agent who sold it, for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against families with children.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Four Members of Alleged Internet Music Piracy Group Charged with Copyright Infringement Conspiracy

Four individuals were indicted today by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia with conspiracy to commit copyright infringement for allegedly obtaining and illegally releasing copyrighted music.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

City of Jeffersonville, Indiana, Agrees to Upgrade Sewer Systems to Comply with Clean Water Act

The city of Jeffersonville, Ind., has agreed to make extensive improvements to its sewer systems that will significantly reduce the city’s longstanding sewage overflows into the Ohio River in a comprehensive Clean Water Act settlement with federal and state government.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Texas Man Sentenced to 76 Months in Prison for Travel with Intent to Engage in Sex with Minors

Patrick Cochran, 47, of Lake Jackson, Texas, was sentenced late on Monday in Phoenix to 76 months in prison for travel with intent to engage in sex with minors and possession of child pornography.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Obtains $134,000 in Discrimination Settlement with Mobile Home Park in Daphne, Alabama

The Department’s Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today jointly announced an agreement with the owners and managers of Pina’s Mobile Home Park in Daphne, Ala., to settle allegations of discrimination against families with children. Under the consent decree, approved today in federal court in Mobile, Ala., the defendants must pay up to $104,130 to victims of discrimination and an additional $30,000 to the government as a civil penalty.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Superseding Indictment in Boyd Matter Charges Defendants with Conspiring to Murder U.S. Military Personnel, Weapons Violations

Today, a federal grand jury returned a superseding criminal indictment in the Daniel Patrick Boyd matter. While the superseding indictment returned today includes all of the charges alleged in the original indictment of July 22, 2009, it also includes new charges against three defendants, Daniel Patrick Boyd, aka "Saifullah," Hysen Sherifi, and Zakariya Boyd, aka "Zak."



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Man Indicted for Civil Rights Violations in Connection with Cross-Burning in Athens, Louisiana

Daniel Earl Danforth, 30, of Minden, La., has been indicted by a federal grand jury for hate crime violations and obstruction of justice charges stemming from a cross-burning in Athens, La., last year near the home of an interracial couple. Danforth was arrested today following the return of the indictment on Sept. 25, 2009.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

AGCO Corp. to Pay $1.6 Million in Connection with Payments to the Former Iraqi Government Under the U.N. Oil-For-Food Program

AGCO Corp., a U.S. corporation based in Duluth, Ga., has agreed to pay a $1.6 million penalty for illegal kickbacks paid to the former government of Iraq.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Reaches Settlement with First United Security Bank of Thomasville, Alabama, Regarding Alleged Discrimination in Lending

The Bank will invest more than $600,000, open a new branch in an African-American neighborhood in west central Alabama and take other steps as part of a settlement.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Oklahoma Man Indicted in Kickback Scheme in Connection with Government Contract in Afghanistan

Ryan Scott McMonigle, 37, of Ponca City, Okla., was indicted today for his alleged role in a scheme to solicit kickbacks in connection with the award of a security services subcontract to protect U.S. government personnel and contractors in Afghanistan.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Ohio Home Builder Charged with Filing False Tax Returns

Roy W. Bradford of Ludlow Falls, Ohio, was indicted on two counts of filing a false tax return and one count of corruptly endeavoring to impede the IRS.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Reaches ADA Settlement with Fort Wayne, Indiana, Day Care Center Regarding Children with Diabetes

Pine Hills Kiddie Garden of Fort Wayne, Ind., will take necessary steps to ensure that a child’s diabetes care is integrated into the usual routine of its day care center and programs as part of a settlement to resolve allegations that it discriminated on the basis of disability.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Maryland Scientist Charged with Attempted Espionage

A Maryland scientist who once worked for the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been arrested for attempted espionage



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Reaches ADA Settlement with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

The department today announced a comprehensive settlement agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Brookline, Mass., to ensure access to medical facilities and services for individuals with disabilities.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Alabama Resident Sentenced to Prison for Filing False Tax Returns in Connection with Embezzlement Scheme

Sims Lawson Jr., a resident of Killen, Ala., was sentenced to 70 months in prison by Judge R. David Proctor.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Virginian Accountant, Attorney and Investment Firm Officer Charged with Conspiracy in Tax Shelter Case

Daryl Haynor, an accountant who was a tax partner at an accounting firm in Tysons Corner, Va., and Jon Flask, an attorney who was a partner at a law firm in Vienna, Va., were indicted today for conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Settles Voting Rights Case with Lake Park, Florida

The department announced the filing of a consent decree settling a Voting Rights Act lawsuit against the town of Lake Park, Fla., that, subject to court approval, will alter the method of electing the town commission.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Two Chicago Men Charged in Connection with Alleged Roles in Foreign Terror Plot That Focused on Targets in Denmark

Two Chicago men have been arrested on federal charges for their alleged roles in conspiracies to provide material support and/or to commit terrorist acts against overseas targets.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Signs Agreement with Laporte County, Indiana, to Ensure Civic Access for People with Disabilities

"Civic access is a civil right, and individuals with disabilities must have the opportunity to participate in public programs, services and activities on an equal basis with their neighbors," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Alabama Grease Haulers Charged with Clean Water Act Violations for Dumping into Mobile Area Sewers

A Mobile, Ala., grand jury has indicted a waste disposal company, its president and top manager for offenses involving the illegal disposal of waste into the sewage treatment systems of Mobile and of neighboring municipalities.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Michigan Attorney and Client Sentenced for Tax Crimes in Connection with a Fraudulent Insurance Tax Shelter

John A. Campbell, a resident of Portage, Mich., was sentenced to 60 months in prison today by the Honorable Janet T. Neff of the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Michigan for conspiring to defraud the United States.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Signs Agreement with Glynn County, Georgia, to Ensure Civic Access for Persons with Disabilities

The department announced a settlement agreement with Glynn County, Ga., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

U.S. Sues Former Army Officer & Three Contracting Firms in Connection with Bribery Scheme

A civil lawsuit was filed today against a former U.S. Army officer and three contracting firms related to an alleged bribery scheme in connection with the awarding of contracts for services in Kuwait.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Obtains $131,500 in Discrimination Settlement with Chattanooga, Tennessee, Apartment Complex

The United States has reached a settlement resolving a housing discrimination lawsuit in Tennessee concerning discrimination against families with children, the Justice Department announced.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Signs Agreement with Wilmington, North Carolina, to Ensure Civic Access for People with Disabilities

The agreement was reached under “Project Civic Access,” a Justice Department initiative to bring state and local governments into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Australian Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Solicit Kickbacks in Connection with Government Contract in Afghanistan

Scott Anthony Walker, 36, of Australia, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of conspiracy to solicit a kickback.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Arizona Man Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Travel with Intent to Engage in Sex with Minors

Richard Hendryx, 79, of Morristown, Ariz., was sentenced today to two years in prison and lifetime supervised release to follow his prison term for travel with intent to engage in sex with minors.



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Justice Department Signs Agreement with Fargo, North Dakota, to Ensure Civic Access for People with Disabilities

The agreement was reached under “Project Civic Access,” a Department initiative to bring state and local governments into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).



  • OPA Press Releases

wit

Four Indicted for Conspiring to Support Hizballah; Six Others Charged with Related Crimes

Ten individuals were indicted today, charged with, among other things, conspiring to export weapons from Philadelphia to the Port of Latakia, Syria.



  • OPA Press Releases