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

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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

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

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

Two Baton Rouge, La., tax return preparers were indicted today on charges of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced

The Department of Justice announced today that it supports a proposal by The Associated Press (AP) to develop and operate a voluntary news registry to facilitate the licensing and Internet distribution of news content created by the AP, its members, and other news originators

In recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Department of Justice today reaffirmed its commitment to ending sexual violence

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the redesign and enhancement of its Tribal Justice and Safety Web site: www.TribalJusticeandSafety.gov.

Idrissa Bassoum, a former resident of Cincinnati, made his initial appearance in federal district court in Cincinnati on tax charges.

The former chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment Standards Administration pleaded guilty today to falsely certifying his Fiscal Year 2003 Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.

The Department announced highlights of its work during the past year to defend and enforce federal tax laws.

The Department announced an agreement with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

A federal judge in Chicago has permanently barred Matoi Rimes, individually and operating as Rimes Accounting Service, from preparing federal tax returns for anyone who is not a member of his immediate family.

A federal court in Lincoln, Neb., has issued a permanent injunction barring a Lexington, Neb., tax preparer, Donald R. Ondrak, and his company, Don Ondrak P.C., from preparing tax returns for others.

The Department will monitor the municipal election on April 13, 2010, in the city of Walnut, Calif., to ensure compliance with the minority language requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

"We should all be encouraged by President Obama’s historic commitment to shining a light on this problem and to seeking new pathways toward help, healing and justice," said Attorney General Holder.

This year is not merely a commemoration of an anniversary. It is a time to recommit ourselves to ending sexual and domestic violence. Our government and this Department have a responsibility to speak out and act on issues of violence against women.

A federal district court in Florida has permanently barred Jacksonville resident Shirley Clark from preparing tax returns for others.

A federal court has ordered the Walthall County, Miss., School District to eliminate policies that have resulted in significant racial segregation among students in the school district.

The government complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, alleges that John Lewis, Artels James and Perry Wright, working under the trade name “Tax World,” prepare returns for customers that falsely claim the earned income tax credit and report other false income and expense items.

The United States has filed suit asking the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia to permanently bar Saloum A. Njie and his company, MIAAS Associates LLC, from preparing federal tax returns for others.

A federal judge in Chicago has issued a preliminary injunction against a Joliet, Ill., tax return preparer.

The Department has entered into a consent decree with Milne Enterprises Inc., d/b/a Milne, Nail, Power Tool &s complaint alleging violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

The United States has sued an Ohio man and his company, seeking to bar them from promoting a scheme that allegedly helps customers claim improper theft loss tax deductions.

Attorney General Eric Holder presented the 2010 John Sherman Award to Robert Pitofsky for his lifetime contributions to the teaching and enforcement of antitrust law and the development of antitrust policy.

The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices today announced grant funding available for public education programs that provide workers or employers with information about immigration-related employment discrimination under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The Department has entered into a consent decree with Troy University of Montgomery, Ala., to resolve the department’s complaint alleging violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

A federal court in Salt Lake City has permanently barred Dick Jenkins, a CPA from Heber City, Utah, from preparing tax returns for others.

The focus of the workshop will be consolidation and contracting practices of the poultry sector.

The department said the proposed information exchange may reduce health care costs by improving competition among hundreds of hospitals in California and facilitating more informed purchasing decisions by group purchasers of health care services.

As part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing initiative to confront intellectual property (IP) crimes, Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler announced today the appointment of 15 new Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) positions and 20 FBI Special Agents to be dedicated to combating domestic and international IP crimes.

The Department announced an agreement with Shannon County, S.D., to ensure compliance with provisions of the Voting Rights Act that require the county to provide election materials and information in Lakota to Lakota-speaking American Indian voters, and to ensure compliance with certain provisions of the Help America Vote Act.

A federal court has permanently barred David Santiago and his business, Santiago Investment & Consulting Inc., both based in Miami, from preparing federal tax returns for others.

The department said that the transaction as originally proposed would combine two of only four companies that provide specialized pumping services, called stimulation services, necessary for the production of oil and gas from wells in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that he is dispatching a team of attorneys from multiple divisions within the Justice Department to New Orleans to meet with the U.S. Attorney and response teams and to monitor the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

“Violent crimes, and particularly crimes against women and girls, continue to devastate tribal communities across the country, and the U.S. Attorney community is crucial to the Department of Justice’s response,” Attorney General Holder said. 

Operation Network Raider, a domestic and international enforcement initiative targeting the illegal distribution of counterfeit network hardware manufactured in China, has resulted in 30 felony convictions and more than 700 seizures of counterfeit Cisco network hardware and labels with an estimated retail value of more than $143 million.

Ricardo A. Nunez of Lindenhurst, N.Y., pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and filing a false tax return.

The Department has reached an agreement with Argosy University in Nashville, Tenn., and its parent company, Education Management Corporation of Pittsburgh, to settle allegations that Argosy refused to hire a lawful permanent resident because he is a non-United States citizen and intimidated him for reporting the school’s refusal to hire.

The Department has filed a lawsuit alleging that the state of Arkansas is systemically violating the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The Department will monitor municipal elections on May 8, 2010, in Dallas and Galveston Counties, Texas, to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

A federal district judge in Columbia, S.C., has permanently barred Dorothy Lee Anderson of Hopkins, S.C., from preparing federal tax returns for others.

The Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced today that they will hold a joint public workshop on the intersection of patent policy and competition policy and its implications for promoting innovation

The conference features highly specialized training provided by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program, their federal partner agencies and other organizations to an audience of federal, state and local law enforcement investigators, forensic experts and prosecutors.

The Department announced an agreement with St. Clair County, Ill., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

The United States has entered into a comprehensive, cooperative agreement with Cook County, Ill., and the Cook County Sheriff that resolves previous findings of unconstitutional conditions at the Cook County Jail.