Jay Lee (aka Michael Smith; John Marks; Ricky Marks; and Anthony Romero) was sentenced today in connection with an odometer tampering scheme that defrauded numerous victims in Wyoming, Colorado and other places, the Justice Department announced.

The United States has settled two whistleblower lawsuits for $16.25 million alleging that Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) violated the competitive bidding rules of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) E-Rate Program at the Dallas and Houston Independent School Districts in connection with technology services contracts with those school districts.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced additional details for the Dec. 8, 2010, public workshop in Washington, which will examine the issue of margins at various levels of the agricultural supply chain.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today held the fifth of five joint public workshops to explore the appropriate role for antitrust and regulatory enforcement in American agriculture.

“The charges announced today send a strong message that we will not tolerate any fraudulent activity designed to profit from this tragic oil spill,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

The Department of Justice has reached a settlement today with Lucasfilm Ltd. that prevents it from entering into agreements restraining employee recruitment.

Yakov Babchinetskiy, 43, of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., was sentenced today in Philadelphia by U.S. District Court Judge Legrome D. Davis to 100 months in prison plus three years of supervised release for his role in a conspiracy to alter odometers on used motor vehicles, provide false odometer statements, and commit wire and securities fraud.

The Department of Justice reached a settlement today with United Regional Health Care System of Wichita Falls, Texas, that prohibits it from entering into contracts that improperly inhibit commercial health insurers from contracting with United Regional’s competitors.

Thomas J. Ernst, formerly a resident of McLean and Arlington, Va., was arraigned today in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Thomas Robert Turner, a resident of Prince George’s County, Md., pleaded guilty to corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the Internal Revenue laws.

UBS AG has entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve anticompetitive activity in the municipal bond investments market and has agreed to pay a total of $160 million in restitution, penalties and disgorgement to federal and state agencies.

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today to block the proposed acquisition by VeriFone Systems Inc. of Hypercom Corp.

Department of Justice Antitrust Division officials will participate in the 10th annual International Competition Network (ICN) conference in The Hague, The Netherlands, from May 18-20, 2011.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that he has chosen Sheila L. Birnbaum to head the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund program. Birnbaum, a life-long New Yorker, has decades of experience resolving complicated litigation.

At its 10th annual conference in The Hague, the Netherlands, the International Competition Network (ICN) adopted new materials on how to assess market dominance, resolve cartel cases and manage competition projects effectively.

One month after assuming the position, September 11th Victim Compensa­tion Fund (VCF) Special Master Sheila L. Birnbaum today published draft regulations to govern the VCF, and asked the public to give her feedback on the proposals before victims can begin submitting claims to the fund later this year.

JPMorgan Chase &s role in anticompetitive activity in the municipal bond investments market and has agreed to pay a total of $228 million in restitution, penalties and disgorgement to federal and state agencies.

Thomas J. Ernst, formerly a resident of McLean and Arlington, Va., pleaded guilty to one count of corruptly endeavoring to impede and impair the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and one count of tax evasion for 2005.

Abby Beard Hogan, 50, was charged with two counts of making false statements to federal law enforcement officials, one count of witness tampering and four counts of obstruction of justice.

With the 10-year anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, approaching, September 11th Victim Compensa¬tion Fund Special Master Sheila L. Birnbaum today announced the final rule governing the fund.

Maurice Goulet was sentenced today in Charlotte, N.C., by U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. to six months in prison for his conviction for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws.

The Department of Justice today reached a settlement with Morgan Stanley that requires Morgan to pay $4.8 million for violating the antitrust laws by entering into an agreement with KeySpan Corporation that restrained competition in the New York City electricity capacity market.

September 11th Victim Compensa¬tion Fund (VCF) Special Master Sheila L. Birnbaum today announced that the fund is officially open for claimants.

The Department of Justice will require New West Health Services Inc. to sell the majority of its commercial health-insurance business to a third-party buyer and provide additional relief in order to preserve health-insurance competition in Montana.

The Justice Department announced today that, as part of its settlement with BAC Home Loans Servicing LP, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation, servicemembers whose homes were unlawfully foreclosed upon will each receive a minimum $116,785 plus compensation for any equity lost to compensate them for the bank’s alleged violation of the Servicemember Civil Relief Act.

"The pillars of the division’s work are civil merger and non-merger enforcement, criminal enforcement, competition advocacy, and international activities and we have been active in all those areas," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Pozen.

Wachovia Bank N.A., which is now known as Wells Fargo Bank N.A., has entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve the company’s role in anticompetitive activity in the municipal bond investments market and has agreed to pay a total of $148 million in restitution, penalties and disgorgement to federal and state agencies.

GE Funding Capital Market Services Inc. entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve the company’s role in anticompetitive activity in the municipal bond investments market and agreed to pay a total of $70 million in restitution, penalties and disgorgement to federal and state agencies.

The director of the school lunch program for the government of the U.S. Territory of American Samoa was convicted today in relation to his efforts to obstruct a federal grand jury and law enforcement investigation into a bribery scheme.

The settlement agreement with the nation’s five largest servicers announced today by Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice’s federal and state partners includes substantial financial compensation to homeowners who are servicemembers and establishes significant new protections for servicemembers in the future.

The International Competition Network (ICN) launched and approved three new initiatives on international enforcement cooperation, the investigative process in competition cases and working with the courts.

Beau Michael Guidry of Baton Rouge, La., pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana to three counts of odometer tampering.

Donald R. Megginson, a former resident of Alexandria, Va., pleaded guilty to corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the Internal Revenue laws, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

The indictment charges Susan Tomsha-Miguel, 51.

Paul Solofa, the former chief financial officer for the Department of Education for the government of the U.S. Territory of American Samoa was sentenced today to 35 months in prison following his conviction earlier this year for his efforts to obstruct a federal grand jury and law enforcement investigation into a bribery scheme.

William R. Herder of Bellville, Ohio, was arrested today on federal tax charges, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division Kathryn Keneally, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio Stephen M. Dettelbach and Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office, Darryl K. Williams announced. On June 19, 2012, a federal grand jury sitting in Cleveland returned an indictment against Herder, charging him with corruptly endeavoring to impair and impede the due administration of the Internal Revenue laws, failure to file tax returns, failure to pay taxes, and structuring transactions to evade currency reporting requirements.

The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Verizon and four of the nation’s largest cable companies—Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Cox Communications—to make changes to a series of agreements concerning both the sale of bundled wireless and wireline services, and the formation of a technology research joint venture. The department said that, if left unaltered, the agreements would have harmed competition by diminishing the companies’ incentive to compete, resulting in higher prices and lower quality for consumers.

A federal judge in Worcester, Mass., sentenced William Scott Dion today to 84 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States, and for obstructing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Justice Department and IRS announced. U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor also ordered Dion to pay restitution in the amount of $3 million.

"This training could not be more timely. The tragic events in Oak Creek, Wisconsin just last month are a chilling reminder of the need to do all we can to foster tolerance, understanding, and respect among the diverse faiths, communities and peoples that make up America," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

"We hope the training will inspire even broader collaborations in communities across the nation and forge lasting partnerships among law enforcement, elected officials, non-Sikh communities, and their Sikh neighbors," said Acting Associate Attorney General West.

A federal judge in Worcester, Mass., sentenced Catherine June Floyd today to 60 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States and for obstructing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Justice Department and IRS announced. U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor also ordered Floyd to pay restitution in the amount of $3 million.

A 22-count federal indictment was unsealed today in federal court in New Orleans charging Connie M. Knight, 46, with impersonating a federal employee for the purpose of enticing people to pay her for fraudulent hazardous waste safety training.

The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) signed an antitrust memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Government of India Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to promote increased cooperation and communication among competition agencies in both countries.

A federal judge in Boston sentenced Charles Adams today to 48 months in prison for tax evasion, conspiring to defraud the United States and obstructing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Justice Department and IRS announced. U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor also ordered Adams to pay restitution in the amount of $401,000.

Roger J. Kiley, 42, of Miami, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Ursula Mancusi Ungaro in Miami to a criminal information charging him with one count of false personation and one count of making a false statement.

A federal judge in Boston sentenced Gary Alcock today to 14 months in prison for tax evasion, for conspiring to defraud the United States, and for willfully failing to file tax returns, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor also ordered Gary Alcock to pay restitution in the amount of $515,518. Alcock pleaded guilty to the charges on Dec. 9, 2011, and provided substantial assistance to the government in prosecuting the case against the remaining defendants, which Judge Saylor cited, among other factors, as a basis for a reduced sentence.

Beau Michael Guidry of Baton Rouge, La., was sentenced today in connection with an odometer tampering scheme that defrauded victims in and around Louisiana, the Justice Department announced. U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Louisiana James J. Brady sentenced Guidry to a term of 20 months in prison and a term of one year of supervised release during which he cannot be involved in the sale of motor vehicles. In addition, the court ordered Guidry to pay $72,805.51 in restitution to the victims of his crimes.

It is an honor and a delight to be back here in Brussels to address the AmCham EU Competition Policy Conference this afternoon. I should like also to congratulate our hosts on this year’s commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Common Market Panel of AmCham Belgium, the forerunner of today’s AmCham EU, which has done so much to foster understanding between the United States and the European Commission in the economic sphere.

A federal grand jury in Philadelphia unsealed an indictment yesterday charging Kyle Novitsky, 45, and Judith Aloe, 52, both of North Miami Beach, Fla., with making false odometer statements, securities fraud and conspiracy to commit these offenses.

Connie M. Knight, 46, previously of Belle Chasse, La., pleaded guilty in federal court in New Orleans today to three felony criminal charges and one misdemeanor criminal charge for creating false identification documents an impersonating a federal official.