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Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to Production of Child Pornography Using Hidden Videos in Store Bathrooms

Jeffrey Alan Wasley of Kennesaw, Ga., pleaded guilty today to production of child pornography related to surreptitiously videotaping young boys using public restrooms in Atlanta-area establishments.



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Attorney General Eric Holder Testifies Before the House Appropriations Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee

"Although unprecedented challenges and new demands have emerged, our key priorities remain clear," Attorney General Holder said.




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Salt Lake City Escort Service Operator Found Guilty of Income Tax Evasion

Jodi Hoskins, the operator of an escort service in Salt Lake City, Utah, has been found guilty of one count of tax evasion.



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Two Alligator Guides Charged in Louisiana for Illegally Hunting Alligators

Two individuals were charged today in a nine count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Baton Rouge, La., for illegally hunting threatened species of alligators.



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Chicago Resident David Coleman Headley Pleads Guilty to Role in India and Denmark Terrorism Conspiracies

David Coleman Headley, a U.S. citizen of partial Pakistani descent, pleaded guilty today to a dozen federal terrorism charges, admitting that he participated in planning the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, as well as later planning to attack a Danish newspaper.



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Innospec Inc. Pleads Guilty to FCPA Charges and Defrauding the United Nations; Admits to Violating the U.S. Embargo Against Cuba

Innospec Inc., a Delaware corporation, pleaded guilty today to defrauding the United Nations (UN), to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and to violating the U.S. embargo against Cuba.



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Texas Pipeline Company Agrees to Pay Civil Penalty to Resolve Clean Water Act Violations

A Texas-based pipeline company has agreed to pay a $450,000 civil penalty to the United States to settle allegations that it failed to prepare and maintain proper facility response plans to deal with spills and environmental accidents at eight of its oil storage terminal facilities in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.



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Justice Department Reaches Americans with Disabilities Act Settlement with Florida Income Tax Preparation Service

The Department announced a comprehensive settlement agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with HRB Businesses of Florida Inc., to ensure effective communication with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing in the provision of tax preparation services and courses.



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Justice Department Resolves Discrimination Lawsuit with Scranton, Pennsylvania, Apartment Complex

The United States has reached a settlement resolving a housing discrimination lawsuit in Pennsylvania concerning discrimination against families with children.



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New Jersey Hospital to Pay $6.35 Million to Resolve Allegations of Inflating Charges to Obtain Higher Medicare Reimbursement

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton, a New Jersey-based hospital, has agreed to pay $6.35 million to settle allegations that the hospital defrauded Medicare.



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Attorney General Eric Holder Addresses the Pro Bono Institute

Those who reaffirm our nation’s most essential and enduring values do not deserve to have their own values questioned. Let me be clear about this: Lawyers who provide counsel for the unpopular are, and should be treated as what they are: patriots.




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United States Transfers Three Guantanamo Bay Detainees to Georgia

The United States is grateful to Georgia for its willingness to support U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.



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Former West Point Employee Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison for Role in $3 Million Embezzlement Scheme

A Highland Falls, N.Y., woman was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for her role in a scheme to defraud and embezzle funds from the U.S. government by authorizing nearly $3 million in payments from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., to a bogus corporation she controlled.



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Florida Health Care Provider & Individual Physician to Pay $12 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations

“The Justice Department is committed to vigorously pursuing those who defraud Medicare,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice.



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Houston Defendants Plead Guilty to “Arthritis Kit” Medicare Fraud Scheme

Rolondae Mitchell-Straughter and Ana Quinteros each pleaded guilty yesterday in connection with their roles in an "arthritis kit" Medicare fraud scheme.



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United States Transfers Two Uighur Detainees from Guantanamo Bay to Switzerland

The Swiss Government, with the support of the Canton of Jura, accepted the two Chinese nationals of Uighur ethnicity for resettlement in Switzerland.



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Justice Department Resolves Americans with Disabilities Act Lawsuit with Jackson, Mississippi, Public Transportation System

The United States has reached a comprehensive settlement agreement with the city of Jackson, Miss., to improve access to public transportation for individuals with disabilities.



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State Department Employee Sentenced for Illegally Accessing Confidential Passport Files

A State Department employee was sentenced today to 12 months of probation for illegally accessing more than 60 confidential passport application files.



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Detroit-area Physical Therapist Sentenced to 62 Months in Prison for Role in Medicare Fraud Scheme

Sterling Heights, Mich., resident Solomon Nathaniel was sentenced today to 62 months in prison for his role in a wide-ranging conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade;



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Nigerian National Found Guilty for Role in “Advance-Fee” Fraud Scheme

A federal jury in the Western District of North Carolina convicted Ugochukwu Enwerem yesterday on charges stemming from an advance-fee fraud scheme.



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Maryland MS-13 Gang Leader Convicted of Racketeering Charges Related to Murder; Sentenced to Life in Prison

U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow today sentenced Roberto Antonio Argueta, aka "Alex Antonio Cruz," aka "Buda," 29, of Hyattsville, Md., to life in prison, plus an additional 35 years, for ordering the murder of Nancy Diaz and the attempted murder of another juvenile girl.



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California Man Convicted of Federal Hate Crime for Race-Motivated Assault

A federal jury in Sacramento, Calif., today convicted, Eric Clawson, 28, of San Francisco, of a federal hate crime for assaulting an African-American man in a Chico, Calif. bar.



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Maryland Man Convicted of Sex Trafficking, Firearm and Drug Charges

Lloyd Mack Royal, III aka “Blyss”, aka “B”, aka “Furious” was convicted late yesterday of sex trafficking of minors and sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion, as well as firearm and drug charges.



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Federal Court Orders Kansas Tax Preparer to Stop False Claims

A federal judge in Kansas City, Kan., has issued a preliminary injunction barring a Garden City, Kan., tax preparer, Jose Lares, from preparing returns with false dependent exemptions and false filing statuses.



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Court Issues Order Barring Michigan Tax Preparer from Preparing Federal Tax Returns for Others

A U.S. District Court has issued an order permanently barring Shawn Robin Gibson, a Detroit tax preparer, from preparing federal tax returns for others.



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Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Miami Tax Preparer

The United States has asked a federal court to permanently shut down a Miami tax return preparer and his business.



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Justice Department Sues to Permanently Enjoin Orlando Tax Preparer

The United States filed suit today asking the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida to permanently bar Elisa Veronica Barron from preparing federal tax returns.



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National Drug Intelligence Center Releases National Drug Threat Assessment 2010

The National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), a component of the Department of Justice and the nation’s principal center for strategic drug intelligence, has released the National Drug Threat Assessment 2010 (NDTA 2010), detailing drug trafficking and abuse trends within the United States.



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Owner of Los Angeles-Area Company Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Medicare Fraud

Leonard Nwafor, 44, was sentenced in absentia by U.S. District Judge John F. Walter of the Central District of California to nine years in prison.



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Attorney General Holder, Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force Announce New Funding Distribution for Enforcement Efforts at Mortgage Fraud Summit in Phoenix

The Attorney General announced that new investments included in the FY 2010 budget will soon be distributed to combat mortgage fraud.



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Detroit Woman Who Opened Clinics to Fraudulently Bill Medicare Sentenced to 96 Months in Prison

Miami resident Daisy Martinez was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for her role in a series of Detroit Medicare fraud schemes, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan; Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office



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Two Puerto Rico Police Officers Sentenced for Federal Civil Rights Charges Related to Fatal Assault

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel R. Dominguez sentenced former San Juan, Puerto Rico Police Officers, Carlos Pagan Ferrer, 32, and Juan Morales Rosado, 32, today for their role in the fatal assault by San Juan officers against Jose Rivera Robles, an unarmed civilian.



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Tennessee Man Sentenced to 183 Months in Prison for Burning Islamic Center

Senior Judge Robert L. Echols of the Middle District of Tennessee today sentenced Eric Ian Baker to 183 months in prison for vandalizing and burning down the Islamic Center of Columbia, Tenn.



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Attorney General Eric Holder Delivers Remarks at the Phoenix Mortgage Fraud Summit

"Mortgage fraud schemes must be stopped in their tracks. And those willing to exploit our national financial crisis for personal gain will be brought to justice," said Attorney General Holder.




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Mobile, Alabama, Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Civil Rights Charges Related to Desecration of Synagogue

Christian Rodney Ice, of Mobile, Ala., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Mobile to one count of violating the Church Arson Act by placing threatening graffitti and neo-Nazi markings on a synagogue in Mobile.



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Former Department of Energy Employee Pleads Guilty to Criminal Conflict of Interest

Donna J. Scott, a former U.S. Department of Energy employee, pleaded guilty to criminal conflict of interest for personally participating in DOE’s purchase of furniture when she knew her husband had a financial interest in the deals.



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Kentucky Attorney Pleads Guilty for Role in Stock Manipulation Scheme and Obstruction of Justice

Louisville, Ky., attorney James Reskin, 51, pleaded guilty late yesterday in U.S. District Court in Tulsa for his role in a scheme to defraud investors through the manipulation of the publicly traded stocks of three companies.



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Chicago Man Charged with Providing Material Support to Al Qaeda by Attempting to Send Funds Overseas

Raja Lahrasib Khan was charged with two counts of providing material support to terrorism in a criminal complaint that was filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Chicago and unsealed today following his arrest.



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Justice Department Settles with Louisiana School District to Ensure Students Have Equal Opportunities

The Department entered into a settlement agreement with the Monroe City School District to address the educational inequities between schools serving virtually all black student populations and those schools that serve most of the district’s white students.



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Leader of Hacking Ring Sentenced for Massive Identity Thefts from Payment Processor and U.S. Retail Networks

Albert Gonzalez, of Miami, the leader of the largest hacking and identity theft ring ever prosecuted by the U.S. government, has been sentenced to 20 years and one day in prison for his role in a series of hacks into a major payment processor and several retail networks.



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Justice Department Will Not Challenge Cisco’s Acquisition of Tandberg

“This investigation was a model of international cooperation between the United States and the European Commission,” said Christine Varney, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department’s Antitrust Division.



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Nine Members of a Militia Group Charged with Seditious Conspiracy and Related Charges

Six Michigan residents, along with two residents of Ohio and a resident of Indiana, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Detroit on charges of seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence.



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Pamrapo Savings Bank of New Jersey Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Bank Secrecy Act Violations and Forfeits $5 Million

Pamrapo Savings Bank S.L.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pamrapo Bancorp Inc., based in Bayonne, N.J., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey to conspiracy to violate the Bank Secrecy Act and has agreed to forfeit $5 million to the United States



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Mississippi Man Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for Involuntary Manslaughter of Co-worker in Iraq

Kyle Palmer, 27, of Biloxi, Miss., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr., in the Southern District of Mississippi to 36 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter.



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Tennessee Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Commit Murders of African-Americans

Daniel Cowart pleaded guilty today to eight counts in a federal indictment charging him with crimes related to a racially-motivated plot to murder dozens of people.



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Federal Court Permanently Bars Stratham, N.h., Tax Preparer from Preparing Taxes for Others

A federal district judge in New Hampshire has permanently barred Faith A. Bartlett, individually and operating as Atlantic Bookkeeping & Tax Services and Newbury Business Services Inc., from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today



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Justice Department Settles with New York School District to Ensure Students Have Equal Opportunities

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an out-of-court settlement in the matter of J.L. v. Mohawk Central School District, a lawsuit which the United States sought to join to address alleged violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, both of which prohibit discrimination based on sex, including discrimination based on gender stereotypes



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Federal Court Bars St. Louis Tax Firm from Certain Conduct

A federal judge in St. Louis has barred two St. Louis tax preparers and their businesses from certain conduct the Justice Department announced today



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Eritrean Man Pleads Guilty to Alien Smuggling

Samuel Abrahaley Fessahazion, 23, an Eritrean national, has pleaded guilty to helping smuggle illegal aliens to the United States for private financial gain, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney José Angel Moreno of the Southern District of Texas and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Assistant Secretary John Morton



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Justice Department Reaches Consent Decree with Colorado Attorney Resolving Lawsuit Alleging Disability Discrimination

The Justice Department today announced a federal court has approved a consent decree resolving an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) discrimination lawsuit against attorney Patric LeHouillier and his law firm, LeHouillier & Associates, P.C., based in Colorado Springs, Colo. The consent decree was approved by Judge Marcia S. Krieger in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado



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