uil

Former Mississippi County Deputy Sheriffs Plead Guilty to Civil Rights Violations

Former Tippah County, Miss., Deputy Sheriff Jeffrey Rogers, 35, pleaded guilty today to a one-count information charging him and former Deputy Sheriff William Rogers with violating the civil rights of an arrestee. William Rogers, 56, who is Jeffrey Rogers’ father, pleaded guilty on Jan. 20, 2009, to the same charge of violating the civil rights of an arrestee.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Member of Human Trafficking Ring Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking Charges

Raul Cortes-Meza, 21, aka “Oscar”, a Mexican national, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Atlanta to sex trafficking of a minor from Mexico.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Former Employee at U.S. Embassy in Haiti Pleads Guilty to Theft of More Than $800,000

A former employee at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti pleaded guilty today to one count of theft for stealing more than $800,000 from the U.S. Department of State. According to court documents, Jean G. Saint-Joy, 25, a citizen of Haiti, was employed as a cashier by the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, from approximately 1995 until July 2008.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Former Memphis Police Officer Found Guilty on 44 Counts of Civil Rights, Narcotics, Robbery and Firearms Charges

A federal jury in Memphis, Tenn., today found Arthur Sease IV, a former Memphis Police Department officer, guilty on forty-four counts of civil rights, narcotics, robbery and firearms offenses. The evidence at trial showed that from November 2003 through April 2006, Sease conspired with other Memphis police officers to use their authority as law enforcement officers, including their service weapons, to rob suspected drug dealers of cash, cocaine and marijuana. Sease and his co-conspirators would then resell the stolen drugs for their own profit.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Former Velda City, Mo., Reserve Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights and Obstruction Charges

A former Velda City, Mo., auxiliary reserve police officer pleaded guilty today to violating the federal civil rights of a woman he sexually assaulted during a traffic stop and to concealing evidence of his crime from federal investigators. According to facts presented in court, on or about July 9, 2006, Joe Ernest Phillips, 38, then an auxiliary reserve police officer for the Velda City Police Department sexually assaulted a woman while acting under color of law and deprived her of her civil rights.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Former Member of Armed Services Pleads Guilty to Participating in Bribery and Extortion Conspiracy

A former member of the U.S. armed services pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in Tucson for his role in a widespread bribery and extortion conspiracy. The charges arise from Operation Lively Green, an undercover investigation conducted by the FBI that began in December 2001. To date, 56 additional defendants have been sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Kellogg Brown & Root LLC Pleads Guilty to Foreign Bribery Charges and Agrees to Pay $402 Million Criminal Fine

Kellogg Brown & Root LLC (KBR), a global engineering, construction and services company based in Houston, pleaded guilty today to charges related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for its participation in a decade-long scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts. The EPC contracts to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities on Bonny Island, Nigeria, were valued at more than $6 billion.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Hyannis, Mass., Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving and Possessing Child Pornography

Harris Taubman, of Hyannis, Mass., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston to receiving and possessing child pornography. Taubman, 48, pleaded before U.S. District Judge William G. Young to three counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He was indicted on those charges on Feb. 6, 2008.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

District of Columbia Seafood Company, Owner and Employee Plead Guilty to Federal Trafficking Charges

A fish wholesaler, its owner and an employee have all pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for the illegal purchase and sale of striped bass from the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River from 2003 through 2007.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Co-Founder of Casino-Cheating Criminal Enterprise Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy Targeting Casinos in the United States and Canada

Tai Khiem Tran, 47, pleaded guilty today in San Diego to conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise, the “Tran Organization,” in a scheme to cheat casinos across the United States and Canada. Tran admitted that he and his co-conspirators unlawfully obtained up to $1 million during card cheats.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Pornography

Timothy Christenbury, of Charlotte, N.C., pleaded guilty today to possessing child pornography. Christenbury, 46, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carl Horn III to one count of possession of child pornography. He was indicted on those charges on Dec. 16, 2008. According to the indictment, Christenbury possessed computer files containing child pornography from on or about Sept. 2 to Sept. 4, 2007.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Kentucky Man Pleads Guilty to Producing Child Pornography and Is Sentenced to 20 Years

Jack A. Taylor, 68, a resident of Rolling Springs, Ky., pleaded guilty today to producing child pornography and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Taylor, appearing before U.S. District Court Judge David F. Hamilton in Indianapolis, was also ordered to serve a lifetime of supervised release following completion of his prison term, forfeit all items seized during the investigation that were used to commit his offense, and to pay $4,000 in restitution to his victim.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Five Maryland Commercial Fishermen Plead Guilty to Illegally Overfishing Striped Bass

Five St. Mary’s County, Md., commercial fisherman pleaded guilty today to illegally overfishing striped bass also known as rockfish.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Memphis Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Sex Trafficking Charges

Leonard Fox a/k/a Anton a/k/a “Daddy” pleaded guilty today to a federal civil rights charge for sex trafficking of minors. In U.S. District Court in Memphis, Fox admitted to recruiting and obtaining underage girls and arranging for those girls to engage in commercial sex acts for his financial benefit.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

U.S. District Court Judge Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of Justice

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Two Oregon Men Plead Guilty to Federal Hate Crime

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”.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Falls Church, Va., Man Pleads Guilty to Harboring Indonesian Aliens for Financial Gain

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Iraqi-Born Dutch Citizen Pleads Guilty to Terrorism Conspiracy Against Americans in Iraq

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

N.J. Electrical Company Employee Pleads Guilty to Defrauding the Environmental Protection Agency at Superfund Site

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Miami Man Found Guilty in $13.5 Million International Money Laundering Scheme

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

International Criminal Figure Pleads Guilty to $138 Million Fuel Tax Scheme After Nearly 13 Years as a Fugitive

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

N.J. Industrial Pipes Supply Company and Its Co-Owner Plead Guilty to Fraud at Two N.J. Superfund Sites

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Two Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to File False Claims for Tax Refunds

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Guilty Plea in Case of <i>Cosco Busan</i> Ship Pilot

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Former Department of Energy Employee Pleads Guilty to Falsifying Performance Evaluation for Monetary Award

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Chief Engineer Pleads Guilty to Concealing Vessel Pollution

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Hitachi Displays Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay $31 Million Fine for Participating in LCD Price-Fixing Conspiracy

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Former Congressional Staffer Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Fraud

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Arizona Man Pleads Guilty to Receipt of Child Pornography

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Attorney Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Former Alaska State Representative Pleads Guilty to Public Corruption Charges

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Director of Singapore Firm Pleads Guilty to Illegally Exporting Controlled Aircraft Components to Iran

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Former Accounting Firm Vice Chairman/Board Member Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud Related to Tax Shelters

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).



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

South Florida Stock Trader Pleads Guilty to Market Manipulation Scheme

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Third Defendant Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Scheme Involving Bribes for Contracts at Kuwait Army Base

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Two Doctors and Two Medical Assistants Plead Guilty in $10 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Veterans Affairs Official to Plead Guilty to Conspiracy and Wire 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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

California Couple Plead Guilty in Alien Smuggling Scheme in Which Some Were Forced to Work at Elder Care Homes

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Connecticut Resident Pleads Guilty to Multi-Million Dollar Tax Fraud Conspiracy

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Miami Doctor and Chemist Plead Guilty in HIV Infusion Fraud Scheme

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Former Baton Rouge, Louisiana Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Violation

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Defendant Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Export Military Aircraft Parts to Iran

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Connecticut Resident Pleads Guilty to Multi-Million Dollar Tax Fraud Conspiracy Involving New York City Hospital

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Former Jackson Police Department Officer Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Violation

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Former Bristol-Myers Squibb Senior Executive Pleads Guilty for Role in Dishonest Dealings with the Federal Government

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Ship Operator Pleads Guilty and Agrees to Pay $2.5 Million Fine for Concealing Vessel Pollution

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Latin Node Inc., Pleads Guilty to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Violation and Agrees to Pay $2 Million Criminal Fine

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Former Asbestos Monitoring Contractor Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Three International Airline Companies Agree to Plead Guilty to Price Fixing on Air Cargo Shipments

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.



  • OPA Press Releases

uil

Former Shelby County, Tenn., Deputy Sheriff Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Violations

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.



  • OPA Press Releases