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Two Oregon Men Sentenced for Role in Federal Hate Crime

Gary Moss, 37, was sentenced to serve 41 months in federal prison for conspiring to deprive individuals of their civil rights, and co-conspirator Devan Klausegger, 30, was sentenced to serve 51 months for the same charge.



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Honolulu Man and Woman Indicted on Federal Sex Trafficking Charges

A federal grand jury in the District of Hawaii has indicted Rodney D. King, 43, and Sharon-Mae Nishimura, 30, both of Honolulu, on multiple counts of federal sex trafficking of adult women and minor female victims.



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Washington State Police Officer Indicted on Federal Civil Rights Charges

A two-count federal grand jury indictment returned against Karl F. Thompson Jr., a Spokane, Wash., police officer, was unsealed today.



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Federal Court Enjoins Las Vegas Man Whose Tax-fraud Scheme Is Estimated to Have Cost Treasury $31 Million

A federal court has permanently enjoined Reinhold Sommerstedt, a Las Vegas-based promoter of a sham trust tax scam.



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Attorney General Holder’s Remarks for the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice and Congressional Black Caucus Symposium “Rethinking Federal Sentencing Policy 25th Anniversary of the Sentencing Reform Act”

There is no tension between a sentencing scheme that is effective and fair and one that is tough and equitable. We must work toward these twin goals and we must do so now.




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Superseding Indictment Returned in Federal Kidnapping and Drug Case

Additional charges and defendants have been added to a federal case arising from the abduction of a boy from his Las Vegas home in October 2008.



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Federal Court Acts to Stop Alleged $30 Million Scam Involving Tax Credits Based on Fictitious Methane Production at Landfills

A federal judge in Tampa, Fla., has permanently barred eight men – including five tax preparers and two Certified Public Accountants (CPA) – from promoting an alleged tax fraud scheme involving bogus income tax credits.



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Federal Jury Rejects Altria Group's $24 Million Tax Shelter Claim

A federal jury in New York has rejected the $24 million tax refund claim filed by Altria Group Inc. relating to its investment in lease-in, lease-out (LILO), and sale-in, lease-out (SILO) tax shelters. The verdict follows a three-week trial in the Southern District of New York before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Holwell.



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Donaldson, Arkansas, Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Civil Rights Charges

Dustin I. Nix, 21, of Donaldson, Ark., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Hot Springs, Ark., to two federal civil rights charges for his role in a conspiracy to force a woman and her young children from their home in Donaldson because she associated with African Americans.



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Little Rock, Arkansas, Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Sex Trafficking and Related Charges

Everett Cooney waived indictment and pleaded guilty in court in Little Rock, Ark., to a federal charge of sex trafficking an underage female. Chief U.S. District Judge J. Leon Holmes accepted Cooney’s guilty plea.



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Former Bell, California, Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Federal Civil Rights Crime

Feliciano Sanchez, 34, a former officer with the Bell, Calif., Police Department, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Los Angeles to a federal civil rights charge for sexually assaulting a female motorist. Sanchez admitted that on May 16, 2007, he sexually assaulted the victim by forcing her to provide oral sex after stopping her for a traffic violation, according to documents filed in court.



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Federal Court Permanently Bars Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Firm from Preparing Federal Tax Returns for Others

A federal court has permanently barred a Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.,-area woman and her company from preparing federal income tax returns for others. According to the government complaint in the case, Carole Exantus of Plantation, Fla., operated a company called J’s Corporation in Miami. The court found that J’s Corporation repeatedly prepared federal income tax returns claiming false tax credits and deductions that it knew would result in understating customers’ tax liabilities.



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St. Louis Woman Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison on Federal Sex Trafficking Charge

A federal judge today sentenced Waquita Wallace to 20 years in prison and five years of supervised release for a federal civil rights charge of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion for compelling a young St. Louis woman to commit acts of prostitution.



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Two Idaho Men Convicted for Federal Hate Crime Assault

Michael Bullard and Richard Armstrong were convicted yesterday by a jury in Boise, Idaho, on federal hate crime and conspiracy charges in connection with the racially-motivated assault of an African American man outside of a Wal-Mart store in July 2008.



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Used Motor Vehicle Dealers Indicted by Federal Grand Jury in Casper, Wyoming for Odometer Tampering

A federal grand jury in Casper, Wyo., Thursday returned an indictment charging Randy Lee (a/k/a Jimmy Lee) and Jay Lee (a/k/a John Marks, a/k/a Anthony Romero) of Cheyenne, Wyo., with odometer tampering, title fraud, securities fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy to commit these offenses. The indictment alleges that the defendants worked as used car dealers at Lee’s RV’s, Inc., a dealership in Cheyenne.



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Federal Corrections Officer Convicted of Civil Rights Charges Related to Fatal Assault

A federal jury in Orlando, Fla, found Erin Sharma, a Bureau of Prisons corrections officer, guilty today on felony federal civil rights charges related to a fatal assault on an inmate in March 2005.



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Federal Judge Sentences Defendants Who Perpetrated $10.9 Million Medicare Fraud HIV Infusion Scheme

Miami physician Keith Russell, 65, and physician’s assistant Jorge Luis Pacheco, 50, were each sentenced to 97 months in prison, and physician’s assistant Eda Marietta Milanes, 43, was sentenced to 63 months in prison, for their roles in fraud schemes that involved billing Medicare for $10,903,509 worth of unnecessary HIV infusion treatments.



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Federal Court Permanently Enjoins Founder of the “Global Prosperity” Tax Scheme

A federal court in Seattle has permanently barred Daniel Andersen from promoting fraudulent tax schemes. Documents the government filed on August 11 requested that the court enjoin Andersen, arguing that he was a founding member of the Institute for Global Prosperity, an entity that promoted both its own fraudulent tax scheme and the fraudulent tax schemes of others.



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Four Puerto Rico Police Officers Convicted of Federal Civil Rights Charges Related to Fatal Assault

A federal jury in San Juan, Puerto Rico, found four San Juan Municipal Police Officers guilty today of felony federal civil rights charges related to the fatal beating of Jose Antonio Rivera Robles.



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Home Development Company Agrees to Settle Federal Lawsuit for Clean Water Act Violations

Cooper Land Development, Inc., a luxury home development company headquartered in Rogers, Ark., has agreed to pay a civil penalty and implement a storm water compliance program at its construction sites to settle allegations that it violated the Clean Water Act.



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Federal Court Permanently Bars Texas Man from Preparing Tax Returns

A federal judge in Dallas has permanently barred Lennon Madzima from preparing federal tax returns for others. The court found Madzima repeatedly understated his customers’ income tax liabilities “by negligently and willfully claiming frivolous and meritless federal fuel tax credits that had no realistic possibility of being sustained on the merits” and “by negligently and willfully inflating or fabricating telephone excise tax refund credits.”



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Son of Imprisoned Spy Pleads Guilty to Two Counts of Federal Indictment

Nathaniel James Nicholson, 25, of Eugene, Oregon, appeared before U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown and pled guilty to the crimes of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government and conspiracy to commit money laundering.



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Maryland Man Sentenced on Federal Sex Trafficking Charge

Defendant Paul Raymond Green was sentenced late last week to 52 months in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in a scheme to prostitute minor females. Green, 23, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.



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Federal Court Shuts Down California Tax Preparer

A federal judge in Sacramento, Calif., has barred Placerville, Calif.-based Teresa Marty and her business, Advanced Financial Services, LLC, from acting as a federal tax return preparer. U.S. District Court Judge Frank C. Damrell, Jr., of the Eastern District of California entered the preliminary injunction order, which adopted an earlier recommendation of U.S. Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan.



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Former Global Director of Security for Stanford Financial Group Indicted for Obstructing a Federal Investigation

Thomas Raffanello, a former global director of security at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., office of Stanford Financial Group (SFG), has been charged today in a three-count superseding indictment with conspiracy to obstruct a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proceeding and to destroy documents in a federal investigation; obstruction of a proceeding before the SEC; and destruction of records in a federal investigation.



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Corrections Officers and Former Inmate Indicted on Federal Civil Rights Charges

A federal grand jury in Miami returned a three-count indictment on Sept. 11, 2009, charging former Dade Correctional Institution (DCI) officers Cordell J. White and Christopher W. Bonnet, current DCI Sergeant Obe D. L’Bert, and former DCI inmate Larry T. Williams with violating, and conspiring to violate, the civil rights of other inmates at DCI.



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Federal Court Shuts Down Nevada Tax Return Preparer

A federal court has permanently barred Francis Kenneth (Frank) Albert of Sparks, Nev., from preparing federal income tax returns for others. The court found that Albert repeatedly engaged in fraudulent or deceptive conduct in preparing returns.



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Federal Court Bars Georgia Man & Tax Preparation Businesses from Preparing Returns

A federal court has permanently barred Wayne Perry, a Macon, Ga., man, and his tax preparation firms, Premier Choice Inc. and Perry Tax Services, from preparing federal tax returns. Perry agreed to the injunction.



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Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to Hold Workshops Concerning Horizontal Merger Guidelines

The Department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that they will solicit public comment and hold joint public workshops to explore the possibility of updating the Horizontal Merger Guidelines that are used by both agencies to evaluate the potential competitive effects of mergers and acquisitions.



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Federal Court Bars Texas Woman from Preparing Tax Returns

A federal district court in Texas has permanently enjoined Ludivina Salinas of Mission, Texas, from preparing federal income tax returns for others.



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Louisiana Man Convicted of Federal Hate Crime for Burning His Neighbors’ Home

A Louisiana man pleaded guilty today to firing three shots from a shotgun at the home of three Hispanic men and, after they fled, entering the home and setting a fire that burned it to the ground.



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Federal Court Permanently Bars Utah Man from Promoting “Asset Protection” Scheme

A federal judge in St. George, Utah, has permanently enjoined Kent Bickmore, the founder of a so-called asset-protection business, from helping customers file fraudulent liens and create hidden nominee bank accounts



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Federal Court Rules That Virginia Violated Voting Rights of Military and Overseas Citizens

A federal district court in Richmond, Va., ruled yesterday that Virginia violated the voting rights of American military personnel and other overseas citizens by failing to mail absentee ballots in sufficient time for them to be counted in the Nov. 4, 2008, general election.



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Little Rock Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Sex Trafficking and Related Charges

Tommy Handy, aka “Tom Tom,” waived indictment and pleaded guilty in federal court in Little Rock, Ark., to a federal charge of sex trafficking of an underage female.



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Former Federal Corrections Officer Sentenced to Life in Prison on Civil Rights Charges Related to Fatal Assault

Erin Sharma, a former corrections officer with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, was sentenced today in federal court in Orlando, Fla., on federal civil rights charges related to the fatal assault of an inmate.



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Former Federal Corrections Officer Indicted on Civil Rights Charges Related to Fatal Assault

Michael Kennedy was charged with one count of conspiring with others to violate the federal civil rights of inmate Richard Delano and one count of violating Delano’s civil rights by arranging for another inmate to assault Delano.



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Three Idaho Men Sentenced for Federal Hate Crime Assault

Michael Bullard, Richard Armstrong and James Whitewater were sentenced today in federal court in Boise, Idaho, for hate crime and conspiracy charges in connection with the racially-motivated assault of an African-American man outside of a Wal-Mart store in July 2008



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Court Bars Milwaukee Heating Contractor from Making Disbursements Before Paying Federal Payroll Taxes

A federal court in Milwaukee, Wis., today issued a preliminary injunction ordering a Milwaukee heating contractor and its owner and president to comply with federal employment tax payment requirements.



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Federal Court Permanently Enjoins Iowa Tax Preparation Firm

A federal judge in Sioux City, Iowa, today barred a Humboldt, Iowa, woman, Gayle Lemmon, and her tax preparation business from claiming improper deductions on federal income tax returns.



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Connecticut Investor Frederic Bourke Sentenced to Prison for Scheme to Bribe Government Officials in Azerbaijan

Frederic A. Bourke Jr., of Greenwich, Conn., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to one year and one day in prison.



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Justice Department Files Fair Housing Lawsuit in Missouri Against Owner and Managers of Federally-Subsidized Property for Race and Sex Discrimination

The department filed a lawsuit today in federal court for the Eastern District of Missouri alleging a pattern or practice of violations of the Fair Housing Act by the owner and managers of Forum Manor Apartments for refusing to rent to African-Americans and males, refusing to allow tenants to have African-American visitors, sexually harassing female tenants and retaliating against tenants who complained about such discrimination.



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Nineteen Alleged Latin Kings Gang Members Indicted on Federal Racketeering Conspiracy Charge

A federal grand jury in Greenbelt, Md., has indicted 19 alleged members of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings) for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise.



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Tennessee Woman Barred from Preparing Federal Tax Returns for Others; Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction

A federal court today issued a preliminary injunction barring Karen Liane Miller of Nashville, Tenn., from preparing federal income tax returns for others.



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Federal Court Shuts Down Los Angeles Area Tax Preparer

A federal court in Los Angeles has issued permanent injunctions barring a Torrance, Calif., tax preparer, Susan Guan and her company, SRN Financial Services Inc., from preparing tax returns for others



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Federal Court Shuts Down Los Angeles Tax Preparer

The government complaint in the civil injunction case alleged that Jacqueline Cornejo promoted a tax fraud scheme designed to siphon millions of dollars from the U.S. Treasury.



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Federal Court Shuts Down Kansas City Tax Preparer

A federal court in Kansas City, Kan., has permanently barred Carlos Cruz, also known as Carlos Ruano-Cruz, from preparing tax returns for others.



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Tewksbury, Mass., Health Care Provider and Its CEO Permanently Enjoined Relating to Failure to Comply with Federal Employment Tax Requirements

A federal court in Boston issued a judgment against Excel Home Care Inc. in the amount of $473,510.76 for unpaid federal employment and unemployment taxes after its owner Diane E. Porter consented to the entry of an order of permanent injunction that prohibits her or anyone else from operating this Tewksbury, Mass., home health care provider.



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Justice Department Releases Video Explaining Federal Protections Against Immigration-Related Discrimination in the Workplace

The Department released a new video aimed at educating employers about worker rights and employer responsibilities under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.



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Three South Carolina Men Plead Guilty to Federal Civil Rights and Carjacking Charges

Thomas Howard Blue Sr., Thomas Howard Blue Jr. and Judson Hartley Talbert pleaded guilty today in federal court in Florence, S.C., to charges relating to the assault of an African-American man and two white men in December 2007.



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Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Police Officer Indicted on Federal Civil Rights Charges

A federal grand jury in Providence, R.I., has indicted an officer with the Woonsocket Police Department, charging him with violating the civil rights of a 16 year-old juvenile by physically assaulting him, as well as obstruction of justice.



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