Thierno M. Diallo of Cincinnati was sentenced to 24 months in prison by U.S District Court Judge Sandra Beckwith in Cincinnati for aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns.

The Medicare Fraud Strike Force today charged 111 defendants in nine cities, including doctors, nurses, health care company owners and executives, and others, for their alleged participation in Medicare fraud schemes involving more than $225 million in false billing.

The government has intervened in a lawsuit against Kellogg Brown & Root Services Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois.

General Communication Inc. (GCI) has paid $1,556,075 to settle allegations that Alaska DigiTel LLC, a former Alaska limited liability company now owned by GCI, submitted false claims to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Low Income Support Program, the Justice Department announced today.

A former resident of Cincinnati was sentenced to 30 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Sandra S. Beckwith for aiding and assisting in the preparation of false client tax returns and for filing a false individual income return.

BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois, a division of Health Care Service Corporation, has agreed to pay the United States and the state of Illinois $25 million to settle False Claims Act allegations.

The United States has asked a federal court to stop an Atlanta-area financial planner from assisting persons in preparing false tax returns claiming fraudulent tax refunds based on fabricated income tax withholdings.

A Las Vegas woman pleaded guilty today to falsely representing to Medicare that she owned a Los Angeles-area durable medical equipment (DME) company that was actually owned and operated by her brother, and used by her brother and others to submit more than $3.5 million in false claims to Medicare.

A former correctional officer from Cohoes, N.Y., was convicted following a jury trial in Albany, N.Y., of violating the civil rights of an inmate while working at the Rensselaer County Correctional Facility, and making false statements to the FBI regarding the incident.

John Jackson, the former mayor of White Hall, Ala., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Walker in U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Ala., to one count of filing a false tax return.

In response to a pending lawsuit from Kellogg Brown & Root Services Inc. (KBR) in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the Department of Justice has filed counterclaims alleging that KBR managers had received kickbacks from a dining facility subcontractor in violation of the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Act.

A Maryland woman has been charged by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., with making false statements and submitting false documents in multiple job applications to U.S. federal government agencies.

The United States has filed a complaint against Healthpoint Ltd., alleging civil False Claims Act violations arising from the company’s sale of an unapproved prescription drug that was ineligible for payment under Medicaid and Medicare.

Securitas GmbH Werkschutz has paid the United States 6,529,042 Euros (approximately $9.1 million) to settle allegations that the German company billed the Army, under contracts to provide security at U.S. Army installations in Germany, for guard hours not actually worked.

Verizon Communications Inc. has paid the United States $93,525,410.96 in order to resolve allegations that the company overcharged the General Services Administration (GSA) on invoices dealing with government-wide voice and data telecommunications services contracts.

Mark D. Leitner has been indicted by a grand jury in the Northern District of Florida for filing false liens against federal law enforcement, corruptly endeavoring to impede and impair the Internal Revenue Service, and public disclosure of another’s Social Security number in the commission of illegal activity.

Stephen C. Delaney, 55, of Quincy, Mass., was found guilty on April 8, 2011, by a federal jury in Boston of falsely labeling frozen fish fillets from China.

The new indictment identifies GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as Lauren Stevens’ employer at the time of the alleged obstruction and false statements.

W. Scott Harkonen, M.D., the former chief executive office (CEO) of InterMune Inc., was sentenced Wednesday before U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel for wire fraud relating to the dissemination of false and misleading statements about the results of a clinical trial of InterMune’s drug Actimmune.

Karl B. Rodney, the chief executive officer of the Carib News Foundation and publisher of Carib News, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to making a false statement to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Two former Washington, D.C., tax preparers have been indicted on tax charges.

CVS Pharmacy Inc., the retail pharmacy division of CVS Caremark Corporation that operates more than 7,000 retail pharmacies in 41 states and the District of Columbia, has agreed to pay the United States and 10 states $17.5 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations.

Cardinal Health Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $8 million to resolve claims that it violated the False Claims Act by making payments to induce referral orders for its prescription drugs in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute.

The United States has settled a whistleblower lawsuit against DynCorp International LLC and The Sandi Group.

Cynthia Peters was sentenced to 27 months in prison based on her plea of guilty to one count of willfully aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of a false income tax return.

An Oakland, Calif., woman was sentenced today to 57 months in prison for her role in a scam to bill Medicare for more than $1.2 million in claims for expensive, high-end power wheelchairs and other durable medical equipment (DME) that were not medically necessary.

Alchico Grant and Melinda Clayton were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama on a variety of charges stemming from an identity theft and tax fraud scheme.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers Serono Laboratories Inc., EMD Serono Inc., Merck Serono S.A, and Ares Trading S.A. have agreed to pay $44.3 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations in connection with the marketing of the drug Rebif.

Karen L. Blyth and David H. M. Phelps were sentenced yesterday in federal court in Mobile, Ala., to 33 months and 24 months in prison, respectively. The pair was also fined $5,000 each, and barred for three years from working in the seafood industry or owning any seafood related business.

A Brooklyn physical therapist pleaded guilty today for his role in submitting false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for physical therapy services that were medically unnecessary and never provided.

The owner of a Houston-area durable medical equipment (DME) company was sentenced to 84 months in prison for her role in a Medicare fraud scheme.

On Feb. 22, 2011, after a four-day trial, a jury in Montgomery, Ala., convicted Sharon Thurman of 14 counts of making false claims, two counts of theft of government money and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

Charles Alexander Davis formerly of Mooresville, N.C., was indicted by a federal grand jury in Charlotte, N.C., on 10 counts of willfully filing materially false tax returns and one count of obstructing and impeding the Internal Revenue Service.

Areté Sleep LLC, Areté Sleep Therapy LLC and Areté Holdings LLC have agreed to pay the United States $650,000 to settle allegations that their sleep medicine and durable medical equipment facilities in Arizona and Texas submitted false claims to Medicare.

Newark, N.Y.-based Ultralife Corporation, formerly known as Ultralife Batteries Inc., has agreed to pay $2.7 million to resolve allegations that the battery manufacturer violated the False Claims Act.

Thanh Viet Jeremy Cao of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., pleaded guilty today in Las Vegas before Judge Kent J. Dawson to six counts of filing false liens against employees and officers of the federal government.

Midtown Imaging LLC, a radiology clinic, and its former owners Midtown Imaging P.A. and PBC Medical Imaging have agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that the clinic violated the False Claims Act.

Charles Hollie, a resident of Tyler, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Schneider to 24 months in prison for filing false tax returns.

Fluor Hanford Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fluor Federal Services Inc. and Fluor Corporation, has agreed to pay the United States $4 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted false claims, and paid and received kickbacks.

Kenneth H. Nix and Velma I. Salinas-Nix, both of Boerne, Texas, were indicted by a federal grand jury in San Antonio on a multi-count indictment alleging tax fraud and false statements to the U.S. government.

Dr. Arvind Ahuja of Greendale, Wis., was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Milwaukee on four counts of willfully filing materially false tax returns and four counts of failing to file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts.

“We expect that physicians who participate in federal health care programs will bill for their services accurately and honestly,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Department’s Civil Division.

The Academy for Educational Development (AED) in Washington, D.C., has agreed to settle allegations that the company submitted false claims to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in connection with two cooperative agreements under which AED provided foreign assistance in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Armor Group North America Inc. (AGNA) and its affiliates have paid the United States $7.5 million to resolve allegations that AGNA submitted false claims for payment on a State Department contract to provide armed guard services at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

PRIDE Industries, and its subsidiary, PRIDE Industries One, has agreed to pay the United States $400,000 to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted false claims relating to a contract to provide maintenance services at the Department of the Army’s Ft. Bliss Army Base in El Paso, Texas.

A founder and president of a Washington-area design firm was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for her role in a conspiracy to defraud the United States in the award of a government contract for U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

John Jackson, the former mayor of White Hall, Ala., was sentenced to two years in prison today, the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

Mark D. Leitner entered a plea of guilty in the Northern District of Florida to filing false liens against federal law enforcement and corruptly endeavoring to impede and impair the Internal Revenue Service.

Eliseo Roquiz of Erie, Penn., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sean J. McLaughlin of the Western District of Pennsylvania to charges of filing a false document with the Internal Revenue Service.

The United States has intervened in a lawsuit against Nurses’ Registry and Home Health Corporation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.