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Moneygram International Inc. Admits Anti-Money Laundering and Wire Fraud Violations, Forfeits $100 Million in Deferred Prosecution

MoneyGram International Inc. – a global money services business headquartered in Dallas – has agreed to forfeit $100 million and enter into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the Justice Department in which it admits to criminally aiding and abetting wire fraud and failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program, as charged in an information filed today in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Ohio Promoter of Alleged Tax-fraud Scheme

The Justice Department announced today that it has asked a federal court in Columbus, Ohio, to permanently bar John Allen from promoting tax-fraud schemes and preparing federal tax returns.



  • OPA Press Releases

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United States Files Suit to Stop Virginia Man from Promoting Tax Fraud Scheme

The United States has sued Charles Sewell of Bristol, Va., to bar him from promoting an alleged scheme involving fraudulent tax refund claims, the Justice Department announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Miami Office Special Agent in Charge Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison for Transporting Child Pornography

Anthony Mangione, 52, of Parkland, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra in West Palm Beach, Fla.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Las Vegas Woman Convicted for Role in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

A Las Vegas mortgage agent was found guilty today for participation in a mortgage fraud scheme that netted $1.2 million in fraudulent mortgage loans.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former U.S. Army Major Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Bribery Scheme Related to Department of Defense Contracts in Kuwait

A former U.S. Army Major was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for his participation in a bribery scheme related to his activities as a contracting official in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, in 2005 and 2006.



  • OPA Press Releases

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New England Crime Boss Sentenced to 78 Months in Federal Prison

Anthony L. Dinunzio, the acting leader of the New England La Cosa Nostra (NELCN) crime family, was sentenced today to serve 78 months in federal prison for his role in a racketeering conspiracy to extort protection payments from adult entertainment businesses in Rhode Island.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Ohio Automobile Parts Supplier Executive Pleads Guilty in Price-Fixing and Bid-Rigging Conspiracy

An executive at the Ohio subsidiary of a Japanese automotive supplier pleaded guilty today for his role in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids of anti-vibration rubber parts sold in the United States and elsewhere.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Federal Court Permanently Bars Michigan Lawyer from Promoting Alleged Tax Fraud Scheme

A federal court has permanently barred a Michigan lawyer, Tammy Daniels of Farmington Hills, from promoting an alleged tax fraud scheme, the Justice Department announced today. The civil injunction order, to which Daniels consented without admitting the allegations against her, was signed by Judge Paul D. Borman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. In August the court enjoined Daniels’s co-defendants, Damian and Holly Jackson, from preparing federal tax returns for others and promoting the scheme.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Al-Qaeda Operative Sentenced to Life in Prison in One of the Most Serious Terrorist Plots Against the United States since 9/11

Earlier today, Adis Medunjanin, age 34, a Queens, N.Y., resident who joined al-Qaeda, then plotted and attempted to commit suicide terrorist attacks, was sentenced in the Eastern District of New York to life in prison for multiple federal terrorism offenses.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Police of Puerto Rico Officer Sentenced to 181 Months in Prison for Providing Armed Security for Drug Transaction

Yamil Navedo Ramirez, 39, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Juan M. Perez-Gimenez in the District of Puerto Rico.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Detroit-Area Nurse Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Role in $13.8 Million Home Health Care Fraud Scheme

Anthony Parkman, 41, of Southfield, Mich., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen in the Eastern District of Michigan.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group Members Announce Charges Against Credit Suisse

Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group Co-Chair New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today filed a Martin Act complaint against Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and its affiliates for making fraudulent misrepresentations and omissions to promote the sale of RMBS to investors.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Executive at Florida-Based Lender Processing Services Inc. Admits Role in Mortgage-Related Document Fraud Scheme

A former executive of Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS) – a publicly traded company based in Jacksonville, Fla. – pleaded guilty today, admitting her participation in a six-year scheme to prepare and file more than 1 million fraudulently signed and notarized mortgage-related documents with property recorders’ offices throughout the United States.



  • OPA Press Releases

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South Carolina-based Harmony Care Hospice Inc. and CEO/Owner Daniel J. Burton to Pay U.S. $1.286 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

Harmony Care Hospice Inc. (Harmony) and Harmony owner and chief executive officer Daniel J. Burton have agreed to pay the United States $1,286,999.32 to settle allegations that the South Carolina-based company submitted false claims to Medicare for patients under care at its hospice facilities, the Justice Department announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Mexican National Sentenced to 54 Months in Prison for Trafficking the Identities of Puerto Rican U.S. Citizens

Jose Sergio Garcia-Ramirez, 37, formerly of Rockford, Ill., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gustavo A. Gelpí, in the District of Puerto Rico.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Fraudulent Telemarketer Sentenced to 108 Months in Prison

Osman Bah, 25, of Owings Mills, Md., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn of the Western District of North Carolina.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Baylor University Medical Center to Pay More Than $900,000 for False Medicare Claims for Radiation Oncology Services

Baylor University Medical Center, Baylor Health Care System and HealthTexas Provider Network have agreed to pay the United States $907,355 to settle allegations that Baylor submitted false claims to Medicare, the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services and the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program for various radiation oncology services, including intensity modulated radiation therapy.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West Speaks at the Justice Department’s American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month Event

"I think there's little doubt that over the last four years, the President, the Attorney General and this Department have placed high importance on improving tribal justice and public safety in Indian country," said Acting Associate Attorney General West.




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Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole Speaks at the Justice Department’s American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month Event

"In the years to come, we look forward to strengthening our partnership with tribal nations, and to building even more effective collaborations with our colleagues at the Department of the Interior and other federal agencies," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.




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Former Puerto Rico Police Officers Charged with Extorting a Commonwealth Defendant for $50,000

Abimael Arroyo-Cruz, 30, of Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, and Josue Becerril-Ramos, 36, of Carolina, Puerto Rico, were both charged in an indictment returned today in the District of Puerto Rico with one count of conspiracy, one count of federal programs bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit extortion and one count of attempted extortion.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Third Member of Internet Piracy Group "IMAGiNE" Sentenced in Virginia to 40 Months in Prison for Criminal Copyright Conspiracy

A third member of the Internet piracy group “IMAGiNE” was sentenced today to 40 months in prison, and a fifth member of IMAGiNE pleaded guilty today for his role in the conspiracy.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Director of Accounting and Outside Auditor of American Mortgage Specialists Inc. Plead Guilty to Roles in Fraud Against BNC National Bank

The former director of accounting and the former outside auditor of Arizona-based residential mortgage loan originator American Mortgage Specialists Inc. pleaded guilty in Arizona to conspiracy to defraud BNC National Bank and obstruction of justice, respectively.



  • OPA Press Releases

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New Jersey Man Sentenced to 54 Months in Prison for Half-Billion Dollar Fraud Scheme with Thousands of Victims Worldwide

A certified public accountant (CPA) and purported outside auditor for Provident Capital Indemnity Ltd. (PCI) was sentenced today in Richmond, Va., to 54 months in prison for his role in an approximately half-billion-dollar fraud scheme that affected more than 3,500 victims throughout the United States and abroad.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Texas Man Sentenced in Indiana to 330 Months in Prison for Participating in International Child Pornography Distribution Ring

A Texas man was sentenced today to serve 330 months in prison for his participation in an international child pornography distribution ring.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Nashville, Tennessee Mo’ Money Taxes Licensee

The United States has asked a federal court to shut down a Mo’ Money Taxes tax preparation office in Nashville.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Sues Nevada CPA to Block Promotion of Alleged Tax Fraud Scheme

The United States has sued a Las Vegas-based CPA and two others to stop an alleged tax-fraud scheme, the Justice Department announced today. Named as defendants in the civil injunction suit were CPA Wayne Reeves, Reeves’ wife, Diane Vaoga, and their alleged co-promoter, James Stoll. The government complaint was filed last month in Las Vegas with the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. Announcement of the court filing was delayed until Reeves was served with court papers this week.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Las Vegas Man Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for Foreclosure Rescue Scam and Theft of Government Funds

A Las Vegas man was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for operating a foreclosure rescue scam that defrauded distressed homeowners who were struggling to pay their mortgages.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Pfizer Agrees to Pay $55 Million for Illegally Promoting Protonix for Off-Label Use

Pfizer Inc. will pay $55 million plus interest to resolve allegations that Wyeth LLC illegally introduced and caused the introduction into interstate commerce of a misbranded drug, Protonix, between February 2000 and June 2001, the Justice Department announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Florida Accountant Indicted for Stealing Client Money Intended for IRS

An indictment was unsealed today in Fort Pierce, Fla., charging Joseph Rizzuti with one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and four counts of wire fraud, the Justice Department and the IRS announced. The indictment was returned by a grand jury on Nov. 29, 2012.



  • OPA Press Releases

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New Jersey Man Arrested for Illegally Importing Narwhal Tusks and Money Laundering

A New Jersey man was arrested today for crimes related to the illegal importation and illegal trafficking of narwhal tusks (whale tusk) and associated money laundering crimes.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Department of Justice Forfeits Nearly $7 Million in Proceeds of Unlawful Offshore Gambling and Money Laundering Following Guilty Plea by William Paul Scott

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a consent order of forfeiture today ordering the civil forfeiture of $6,976,924 traced to international money laundering of the proceeds from an offshore Internet gambling operation that illegally targeted U.S. residents.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Payment Processor for Scareware Cybercrime Ring Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison

A Swedish credit card payment processor was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for his role in an international cybercrime ring that netted $71 million by infecting victims’ computers with “scareware” and selling rogue antivirus software that was supposed to secure victims’ computers but was, in fact, useless.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Heber City, Utah Resident Convicted of Filing False Claims for Tax Refunds Totaling More Than $2.2 Million

April J. Rampton, 41, formerly of Heber City, Utah, was convicted yesterday in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City of nine counts of filing false claims for income tax refunds, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Rampton, who was indicted on Sept. 14, 2011, was released following the verdict. She is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Dee Benson on Feb. 27, 2013. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on six similar counts.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Las Vegas Real Estate Agent Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison for Her Role in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

A Las Vegas real estate agent was sentenced today to serve 70 months in prison for her participation in a mortgage fraud scheme that netted more than $10 million in fraudulent mortgage loans.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Indiana Man Pleads Guilty to Religiously Motivated Attack on Toledo-Area Mosque

An Indiana man faces a likely sentence of 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to hate crimes stemming from the arson of the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo, the Justice Department announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Annual Pan Am Flight 103 Memorial Service

"Although no speech or ceremony can erase the pain that you’ve carried with you since that terrible night – by gathering to exchange stories, to share memories, and to lift up the legacies of those we’ve come to remember – I am confident that this community can continue to heal, to grow, and to move into a brighter future," said Attorney General Holder.




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Victory Pharma Inc. of San Diego Pays $11.4 Million to Resolve Kickback Allegations in Connection with Promotion of Its Drugs

Victory Pharma Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in San Diego, has agreed to pay $11,420,743 to resolve federal civil and criminal liability arising from its marketing of the pharmaceutical products Naprelan, Xodol, Fexmid and Dolgic, the Justice Department announced today. Under the agreement announced today, Victory entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and paid a criminal forfeiture of $1.4 million to resolve federal Ant-Kickback Statute allegations, and paid $9,938,310 to resolve False Claims Act allegations.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Financial Services Broker Sentenced to Serve 18 Months in Prison for Role in Conspiracies Involving Investment Contracts for the Proceeds of Municipal Bonds

A former financial services broker was sentenced today in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, for his participation in conspiracies related to bidding for contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Leader of Internet Piracy Group “IMAGiNE” Sentenced in Virginia to 60 Months in Prison for Criminal Copyright Conspiracy

The leader of the Internet piracy group “IMAGiNE” was sentenced today to serve 60 months in prison.



  • OPA Press Releases

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U.S. Soldier Sentenced in Texas to 18 Months in Prison for His Role in Fraudulent Military Recruiting Referral Bonus Scheme

A member of the U.S. military was sentenced today to serve 18 months in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to obtain approximately $244,000 in fraudulent recruiting referral bonuses from various U.S. military components and their contractor.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department to Monitor Municipal Special Election in South Carolina

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor the municipal special election on Jan. 8, 2013, in Branchville, S.C., to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Louisiana Home Inspector Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison for Tax Fraud

Jack Ray Carr, of Baton Rouge, La., was sentenced today to 78 months in federal prison for one count of corruptly interfering with the due administration of the Internal Revenue laws, four counts of filing false income tax returns and one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Romanian National Sentenced to 21 Months in Prison for Role in Multimillion-Dollar Scheme to Remotely Hack into and Steal Payment Card Data from Hundreds of U.S. Merchants’ Computers

A Romanian national was sentenced today to serve 21 months in prison for his role in an international, multimillion-dollar scheme to remotely hack into and steal payment card data from hundreds of U.S. merchants’ computers.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Barrio Azteca Associate Sentenced in Texas to 18 Months in Prison for Role in Racketeering Conspiracy

An associate of the Barrio Azteca (BA), a trans-national border gang allied with the Juarez Cartel, was sentenced today to serve 18 months in prison.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Assistant Attorney General Lisa Monaco Speaks at the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security Breakfast Event

“Above all, our goal is to serve as practical problem solvers on the operational, legal, and policy questions we confront with our partners, and to keep pace with an evolving threat, while ensuring that we do so consistent with the rule of law and civil liberties,” said Assistant Attorney General Monaco.




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Los Angeles Check Cashing Store, Its Head Manager and Compliance Officer Sentenced for Violating Anti-money Laundering Laws

A Los Angeles check cashing store, its head manager and its designated anti-money laundering compliance officer were sentenced today in the Central District of California for failing to follow reporting and anti-money laundering requirements for over $8 million in transactions in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).



  • OPA Press Releases

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Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez Speaks at the Conference on the Transformation of Security and Fundamental Rights Legislation – Rights and Responsibilities: Between Hope and Challenges on “Legislating National Harmony”

"Our Declaration of Independence declared in 1776 that “all men are created equal,” but it took 100 years and a civil war that took hundreds of thousands of lives to end slavery; another hundred years to create legal equality for African Americans; and we struggle to this day to make equality a reality. I see this every day in my work as the chief civil rights law enforcement official for the United States," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.




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Ira Isaacs Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison in Los Angeles Adult Obscenity Case

Isaacs, 61, of Los Angeles, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge George H. King in the Central District of California. In addition to his prison term, Isaacs was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole Speaks at the Justice Department’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Program

"For more than a quarter century, Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life have come together each January to pay tribute to Dr. King’s memory, to reflect upon his contributions in the struggle for civil rights, and to rededicate ourselves to the cause that came to define him – and which must remain our common endeavor," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.