American Municipal Power (AMP), an Ohio non-profit utility, will permanently retire its Richard H. Gorsuch Station coal-fired power plant near Marietta under a settlement to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act.

Orlando Moncada entered a guilty plea in Miami federal district court to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

William M. Reece Jr., 54, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Judge David Hittner in U.S. District Court in Houston. 

The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati and one of its former member hospitals, The Christ Hospital, have agreed to pay the United States $108 million to settle claims that they violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act by paying unlawful remuneration to doctors in exchange for referring cardiac patients to The Christ Hospital in a pay-to-play scheme.

Aksat Denizcilik Ve Ticaret A.S., a Turkish corporation that operated the commercial ship M/T Kerim, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla., to two felony counts for knowingly failing to fully and accurately maintain an oil record book, which tracks pollutant discharge.

A federal grand jury in Wichita, Kan., returned a 23-count felony indictment charging two brothers with conspiracy and wildlife trafficking stemming from the illegal sale of guided deer hunts.

I want to commend Compliance Week for putting together an impressive series of panels and presentations on some of the most cutting edge issues in corporate compliance today.

The former managing director of Pamrapo Saving Bank’s investment company was arrested today and charged with allegedly diverting and embezzling more than $600,000.

Three Pennsylvania men were charged today with conspiracy to possess and intending to distribute oxycodone, ecstasy and marijuana.

The Department will monitor elections on June 8, 2010, in the following jurisdictions to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other federal voting rights statutes: Riverside County, Calif.; Middlesex County, N.J.; and Charles Mix and Shannon Counties, S.D.

The U.S. Trustee Program has successfully resolved litigation against Countrywide Home Loans Inc. in its ongoing efforts to protect homeowners in bankruptcy.

Cooperative Success Maritime S.A., the operator of the M/T Chem Faros, a 21,145 gross-ton ocean-going cargo ship that regularly transported cargo between foreign ports and the United States, pleaded guilty and was sentenced today in federal court for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), and to making material false statements.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius today sent a letter to state attorneys general urging them to work with HHS and federal, state and local law enforcement officials to mount a substantial outreach campaign, beginning this summer, to educate seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries about how to prevent scams and fraud.

A federal grand jury in San Francisco returned a superseding indictment against AU Optronics Corporation, its Houston-based American subsidiary and six of its executives for participating in a conspiracy to fix prices of TFT-LCD panels.

Chong Lam, 52, and Siu Yung Chan, aka Joyce Chan, 42, both of New York, were convicted yesterday for their participation in one of the largest counterfeit luxury goods operations in the United States.

"It’s my understanding that strengthening federal and state partnerships was one of the founding principles of this Association, and I hope to summon this afternoon the same spirit of shared aspiration, joint responsibility and, above all, strong partnership, that this association has been cultivating for more than a century," said Acting Deputy Attorney General Grindler.

A federal court in Columbia, S.C., has permanently barred Winston Able of Blythewood, S.C., from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

Lee Bentley Farkas, the former chairman of a private mortgage lending company, Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW), was arrested last night in Ocala, Fla., and charged in a 16-count indictment for his alleged role in a more than $1.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failures of Colonial Bank, one of the 50 largest banks in the United States in 2009, and TBW, one of the largest privately held mortgage lending companies in the United States in 2009.

The Williamsport, Pa., Sanitary Authority (WSA) has agreed to make significant improvements to its combined sewer system at an estimated cost of approximately $10 million, in order to resolve long-standing problems with combined sewer overflows to the Susquehanna River, which flows to the Chesapeake Bay.

"As we emerge from this recession, it is critical that we not only look for ways to hold those who discriminated in the past accountable. We must also find ways to repair some of the damage done to families and to communities. We must use the power of the law to encourage innovative strategies for rebuilding, and be sure that decades of investment have not been permanently lost," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

The state of Florida must provide Michele Haddad with services that will enable her to remain in her home, a U.S. District Court in Jacksonville, Fla., ruled Wednesday.

A settlement with El Dorado County, Calif., will ensure the beginning of the cleanup, at an estimated cost of approximately $7 million, of the Meyers Landfill Site, located outside of the city of South Lake Tahoe, Calif.

Italian citizen Flavio Ricotti, a former executive of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.-based valve company Control Components Inc. (CCI), has been extradited to the United States from Germany in connection with his alleged participation in a conspiracy to secure contracts by paying bribes to officials of foreign state-owned companies as well as officers and employees of foreign and domestic private companies.

Steven Jinwoo Kim, 40, of Houston pleaded guilty on Nov. 16, 2009, to one count of intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization and recklessly causing damage.

The lawsuit alleged that the Fitchburg Housing Authority and Hill violated the Fair Housing Act by adopting and implementing policies that denied tenants with disabilities other than mobility impairments the opportunity to transfer between apartments within Fitchburg’s public housing neighborhoods.

Irika Shipping S.A., a ship management corporation registered in Panama and doing business in Greece, pleaded guilty on July 8, 2010, before Maryland U.S. District Court Judge Frederick J. Motz, to felony obstruction of justice charges and violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships related to concealing deliberate vessel pollution from the M/V Iorana, a Greek flagged cargo ship that made port calls in Baltimore, Tacoma, Wash., and New Orleans. 

The United States has asked a federal court to permanently bar a Utah man from promoting an alleged false church-based tax fraud scheme.

The United States has entered into a comprehensive agreement with the State of New York and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) that resolves previous findings of unconstitutional conditions at four juvenile justice facilities.

"What makes Project Safe Neighborhoods so unique as an initiative is that it relies on teamwork that goes beyond law enforcement," said Acting Deputy Attorney General Grindler.

A federal grand jury has charged Vernon Wilson, former Chief Deputy of the Washington County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, in a six-count indictment stemming from four separate incidents in which Wilson allegedly assaulted inmates or caused the assault of inmates in the Washington County Jail in the summer and fall of 2005.

Ninety-four people have been charged for their alleged participation in schemes to collectively submit more than $251 million in false claims to the Medicare program in the continuing operation of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in Miami; Baton Rouge, La.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Detroit and Houston.

“I commend public officials in the town of Pomfret for making this important commitment to ensuring equal access to civic life for individuals with disabilities,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

Three former financial services executives were indicted today for their participation in fraud schemes and conspiracies related to bidding for contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts.

According to a one-count felony charge filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Wen-Hung “Amigo” Huang conspired with others to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of TFT-LCD panels.

Former Choctaw County, Okla., deputy sheriff Ben Westley Milner was sentenced today in Muskogee, Okla., to serve 18 months in prison and two years supervised release for violating the civil rights of three men by assaulting them without legal justification.

"As the Justice Department brings its fight against child exploitation to a new level today, I am honored to stand with so many incredible colleagues and public servants who have made it their life’s work to protect exploited children and seek justice for the most vulnerable members of our society," said Acting Deputy Attorney General Grindler.

A former executive from Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corporation has agreed to plead guilty and to serve jail time in the United States for participating in a global conspiracy to fix the price of thin-film transistor-liquid crystal display panels.

In response to a federal enforcement action for excessive train engine idling, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR) will spend more than $2 million to reduce diesel locomotive emissions throughout the MBTA’s commuter rail system.

Paul Magliocchetti, the founder and president of PMA Group Inc. (PMA), a lobbying firm in Arlington, Va., was arrested today on charges of making illegal campaign contributions and making false statements to a federal agency.

Two South Florida residents pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Miami for their participation in separate Medicare fraud schemes.

A federal judge in Santa Ana, Calif., has permanently barred Thanh Viet Jeremy Cao and his business, Phoenix Financial Management Group, from preparing federal tax returns.

Sergei Tšurikov, 26, of Tallinn, Estonia, has been extradited to the United States to face charges of hacking into a computer network operated by an Atlanta-based credit card processing company.

Today’s passage by Congress of the Border Security Appropriations Bill provides $196 million for the Department of Justice to surge federal law enforcement efforts in high crime areas in the Southwest Border region.

The former owner and chief executive officer of a financial products and services firm pleaded guilty today for his participation in fraud conspiracies related to contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other related municipal finance contracts.

"As I have seen every day at the Department of Justice – in national-security briefings, reviews of case files, and meetings with the leaders of our divisions and task forces – our role as lawyers has evolved," said Acting Deputy Attorney General Grindler.

The civil injunction suit alleges that Charlie Wilson and his Chicago business, CBD Tax Service, claim bogus deductions and credits on customers’ federal tax returns.

“We are extremely pleased that the Appeals Court in Thailand has granted the extradition of Viktor Bout to the United States on charges of conspiring to sell weapons to a terrorist organization for use in killing Americans," said Acting Deputy Attorney General Grindler.

Rodolfo Rodriguez Cabrera, 43, a Cuban national, and Henry Mantilla, 35, of Cape Coral, Fla., were sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Philip M. Pro in Las Vegas to two years in prison each for conspiring to produce and sell counterfeit International Game Technology (IGT) video gaming machines, commonly known as slot machines, and counterfeit IGT computer programs.

The civil injunction suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, seeks to permanently bar Christopher Musyoki and Samuel Nganga from preparing federal returns for others.

A Brooklyn, N.Y., grand jury returned an indictment today against two former executives of Asiana Airlines, Inc. for participating in a conspiracy to fix economy class airfares paid by passengers for travel from the United States to the Republic of Korea.