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.

Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden today announced plans by the Department of Justice to significantly expand its training and education operations at the National Advocacy Center (NAC), the core training facility for local, state and federal attorneys, law enforcement agents and support personnel.

The Department’s Civil Rights Division held a conference today titled 2009 Title VI Conference: Celebrating the 45th Anniversary of the Legislation and Exploring Current Issues in Enforcement at the FDIC Conference Center in Arlington, Va. Approximately 400 representatives from federal, state and local agencies, community organizations and advocacy groups gathered to share new ideas and discuss trends in Title VI enforcement.

The Department filed a lawsuit against the owner and employees of Rolling Oaks Apartments, a 72-unit complex in Clanton, Ala., for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating on the basis of race or color in the rental of apartments. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, alleges that the employees, Kenneth R. Scott and Frankie L. Roberson, told white testers that a selling point of Rolling Oaks Apartments was the lack of African American tenants and that they had adopted rental policies intended to discourage African American rental applicants.

Antonio McWherter, a police officer in the East St. Louis, Ill., Police Department, was charged today in a two-count federal indictment stemming from a January 2006 incident in which the officer allegedly punched a handcuffed arrestee in the mouth. The indictment charges McWherter with a felony civil rights violation and with making false statements to the FBI.

The Department announced an agreement with the village of Midlothian, Ill., to improve access to civic life for persons with disabilities. The agreement was reached under the Department’s Project Civic Access initiative, which aims to bring state and local governments into full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This agreement is the 162nd under Project Civic Access.

The Department announced an agreement with Gregg County, Texas, to improve access for persons with disabilities to its programs, services, activities and facilities. The agreement was reached under the Department’s Project Civic Access initiative, which helps bring localities into full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This agreement is the 163rd entered into under Project Civic Access.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the city of Niagara Falls, N.Y., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities. The agreement was reached under the Department’s Project Civic Access initiative to bring state and local governments into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Department has reached a settlement that will require Sapa Holding AB and Indalex Holdings Finance Inc. to divest a North Carolina aluminum sheathing facility in order to proceed with Sapa’s proposed $150 million acquisition of Indalex.

The Department has reached a settlement that will require Sapa Holding AB and Indalex Holdings Finance Inc. to divest a North Carolina aluminum sheathing facility in order to proceed with Sapa’s proposed $150 million acquisition of Indalex.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement that, pending court approval, will resolve allegations that those involved in the design and construction of the Summerland Heights Apartments, a 318-unit apartment complex in Woodbridge, Va., discriminated on the basis of disability in the design and construction of the project.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the city of Wendell, Idaho, to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities. The agreement was reached under the Department’s Project Civic Access initiative, which aims to bring state and local governments into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Chautauqua County, N.Y., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities. The agreement was reached under the Department’s Project Civic Access initiative, which aims to bring state and local governments into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Justice Department announced an agreement with the former owners and managers of Valley View Apartments in Longview, Wash., to settle allegations that they violated the Fair Housing Act by intentionally discriminating against an individual with a disability.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Fayette County, Pa., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities. The agreement was reached under the Department’s Project Civic Access initiative, which aims to bring state and local governments into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The United States has filed a lawsuit to bar a married couple’s alleged nationwide tax fraud scheme involving so-called asset protection.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the city of Port St. Lucie, Fla., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities. The agreement was reached under the Department’s Project Civic Access initiative to bring state and local governments into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The operator and manager of the Rathbone Retirement Community in Evansville, Ind., has agreed to pay up to $116,000 to resolve a housing discrimination lawsuit. The November 2008 lawsuit alleged that the defendants violated the Fair Housing Act by prohibiting the use of motorized wheelchairs and scooters in residents’ apartments and in the home’s common dining room during meals.

A federal district judge in New York has permanently barred Howard Levine from preparing federal tax returns for others. The court also ordered Levine to provide his customer lists to the government and to mail copies of the court order to his customers.

Fe S. Garrett, a resident of National City, Calif., was convicted today of filing false individual tax returns, failure to pay taxes, and multiple counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. A federal jury convicted Garrett of 28 counts of the superseding indictment following a nine-day trial before U.S. Judge M. James Lorenz in San Diego.

The Department has reached a proposed settlement with Microsemi Corporation that requires the company to divest all of the assets that it acquired from Semicoa Inc. on July 14, 2008. The Department said that without this divestiture, there would be little or no competition in the development, manufacture and sale of certain semiconductor devices used in military and space programs essential to the security of the United States.

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.”

Lee William Dubois, a former Department of Defense contractor, was sentenced today to three years in prison for his participation in a scheme to steal fuel worth approximately $39.6 million from the U.S. Army in Iraq.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the developer of the Riverwalk Condominiums, a condominium apartment complex in Post Falls, Idaho, for violating the Fair Housing Act by constructing apartments that do not have required accessibility for individuals with disabilities.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the owner of College Square Apartments, in Davie, Fla., to settle allegations of discrimination against African Americans. Under the consent decree, approved today in U.S. District Court in Miami, the defendants must pay a total of up to $140,000 to victims of discrimination and a civil penalty of $74,000 to the government.

The Department has initiated removal proceedings against a Troy, Mich., resident based on his participation in violent acts of persecution while serving as an armed member of the Nazi-sponsored Ukrainian Auxiliary Police (UAP) in occupied L’viv, Ukraine, during World War II.

A federal court in Newark, N.J., denied Schering-Plough Corp. a $473 million refund in connection with two transactions in which Schering-Plough sought to avoid taxation on $690 million in profits it repatriated from offshore subsidiaries into the United States.

American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and its subsidiary Pharmacia &Pfizer”) have agreed to pay $2.3 billion, the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of the Department of Justice, to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of certain pharmaceutical products.

A federal judge in Tampa, Fla., has permanently barred a Spring Hill, Fla., tax preparer from preparing federal tax returns. U.S. District Court Judge James D. Whittemore of the Middle District of Florida entered the permanent injunction order against Gerard Mirabella, who consented to it.

Tax preparer Lawrence Sperling, was sentenced to 33 months in prison today by Judge Deborah Chasanow in Greenbelt, Md., for preparing false tax returns for clients. In April 2009, Sperling pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of a false tax return.

Two former Department of Defense contractors who worked as inspectors at the U.S. Army installation at Ft. Hamilton in Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty for seeking and receiving bribes in connection with the award and performance of contracts to move and store military household goods. Today’s charges are the first to arise from an ongoing investigation into the moving and storage of military household goods between New York and New Jersey and other states or overseas military installations.

The Department filed a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles charging Ventura County, Calif., with discrimination in its employment practices by refusing to hire a qualified applicant because she is deaf.

The Department announced that during the Sept. 8, 2009, municipal election in Cleveland, Ohio, it will monitor polling place activities for compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Attorneys from the Department’s Civil Rights Division will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.

The Department will not challenge a proposal by Memorial Health Inc. (Memorial), and St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System (St. Joseph’s/Candler) to enter an exclusive joint purchasing agreement with respect to the purchase of certain medical and surgical supplies.

The Department filed a lawsuit against an Atlanta condominium association, as well as the owner of a unit and the real estate agent who sold it, for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against families with children.

The Department will not challenge a proposal by seven regional less-than-truckload (LTL) freight transportation companies to bid jointly and engage in other collaborative activity as part of their nationwide LTL truck transportation services joint venture.

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.

The Department will monitor the Sept. 15, 2009, municipal elections in Springfield, Mass., and Newburgh, N.Y., to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in Springfield and Newburgh. The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations.

The Department today commemorated the 15th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was signed into law on September 13, 1994.

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.

The Department announced a settlement that, pending court approval, will resolve allegations that the GuideOne Mutual Insurance Company and two authorized agents discriminated because of religion when they advertised special benefits and discounts only to “churchgoers” and “persons of faith.”

The Department advised the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that while it should not accept the class action settlement in The Authors Guild Inc. et al. v. Google Inc. as proposed due to concerns of the United States regarding class action, copyright and antitrust law, the parties should be encouraged to continue their productive discussions to address those concerns.

The United States has asked a federal court in Lincoln, Neb., to bar Donald Ondrak, a Lexington, Neb., CPA, from preparing tax returns. According to the government complaint in the case, Ondrak’s firm, Don Ondrak PC, prepares federal income tax returns for customers that unlawfully understate income and employment tax liabilities by under-reporting income, overstating expenses and claiming improper deductions for non-deductible personal expenses.

The Department has reached a consent decree with the city of Bonita Springs, Fla., that, if approved in federal court in Fort Myers, Fla., will resolve the department’s allegations that the city discriminated against an African American employee in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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.

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.

The Department’s Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today jointly announced an agreement with the owners and managers of Pina’s Mobile Home Park in Daphne, Ala., to settle allegations of discrimination against families with children. Under the consent decree, approved today in federal court in Mobile, Ala., the defendants must pay up to $104,130 to victims of discrimination and an additional $30,000 to the government as a civil penalty.

The Department announced that it had reached a settlement with a Virginia landlord to resolve allegations that she violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The lawsuit alleged that the landlord failed to return prepaid rent and security deposits to a tenant who had terminated her lease early in order to comply with military orders to relocate from to Georgia.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit in federal court in Raleigh, N.C., against Franklin County, N.C., alleging that the county retaliated against a former employee in its Department of Public Utilities, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, after the employee complained about sexual harassment by a co-worker.

The Department today filed a lawsuit in federal court in Michigan alleging that Knight Protective Service Inc., willfully violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by failing to promptly and properly reemploy King A. Gatten, a retired Army servicemember, when he returned from military service.