The United States has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop Aurelia Sanderson Johnson of Montgomery, Ala., from preparing tax returns for others.

The Department of Justice, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the state of Rhode Island announced today that Bouchard Transportation Co. Inc. and its affiliates will pay more than $6 million to settle a portion of the federal and state natural resource damages claims for the April 2003 spill of up to 98,000 gallons of oil into Buzzards Bay.

Jeffery Leon Ceaser, a resident of Montgomery, Ala., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States and one count of identity theft.

Today President Barack Obama granted pardons to nine individuals.

Five people were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama on a variety of charges stemming from an identity theft and tax fraud conspiracy.

A former Alabama state lobbyist pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel Jr. to his role in conspiring to bribe legislators in exchange for their favorable votes on pro-gambling legislation.

Betty Washington, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States.

A judge sentenced Thomas Hayward Lewis to 12 months and one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for violating the civil rights of congregants of the Congregation Tree of Life Messianic Synagogue, as well as possession of an unregistered firearm.

Attorney General Eric Holder today joined President Barack Obama and other administration officials to announce the presidential initiative aimed at establishing a coordinated and comprehensive federal approach to supporting military families.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement of its lawsuit alleging that Chandi Biswas, Kenneth R. Scott and Frankie L. Roberson violated the Fair Housing Act by making discriminatory statements against African-American renters at Rolling Oaks Apartments in Clanton, Ala.

Jeffery Leon Ceaser, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., was sentenced today to 36 months in prison.

Leroy Howard, a resident of Montgomery pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States.

Ora Mae Adamson, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., was sentenced to 46 months in prison.

John Jackson, the former mayor of White Hall, Ala., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Walker in U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Ala., to one count of filing a false tax return.

Helen Etinfoh, the former owner and operator of a Houston durable medical equipment (DME) company was sentenced today to 41 months in prison in connection with a $3 million power wheelchair fraud scheme.

Eric Bernard Caldwell was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama on charges of conspiracy and theft of government funds.

A superseding indictment was unsealed against Patricia Ervin and Monty Ervin of Dothan, Ala., charging them with three counts of tax evasion and one count of conspiring to defraud the United States.

A federal court has permanently barred John Lewis, Artels James and Perry Wright from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Loretta and Tracey Fergerson were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama on a variety of charges stemming from an identity theft and tax fraud conspiracy.

Donna Paul and her husband, William Paul, formerly of Montgomery, Ala., were indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with four counts of tax evasion for the tax years 2004 through 2007.

Eric Bernard Caldwell, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States.

An Alabama businessman pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel Jr. to his role in conspiring to bribe legislators in exchange for their favorable votes on pro-gambling legislation.

Alchico Grant and Melinda Clayton were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama on a variety of charges stemming from an identity theft and tax fraud scheme.

Karen L. Blyth and David H. M. Phelps were sentenced yesterday in federal court in Mobile, Ala., to 33 months and 24 months in prison, respectively. The pair was also fined $5,000 each, and barred for three years from working in the seafood industry or owning any seafood related business.

Today President Barack Obama granted pardons to eight individuals.

On Feb. 22, 2011, after a four-day trial, a jury in Montgomery, Ala., convicted Sharon Thurman of 14 counts of making false claims, two counts of theft of government money and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

Marion Beverly Metoyer, a patient recruiter for a Houston durable medical equipment (DME) company, was convicted today by a Houston federal jury of health care fraud related to a power wheelchair fraud scheme.

Laquanta Grant, a resident of Montgomery, Ala., has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to file false claims for refunds.

James E. Moss, who owned and operated “Flash Tax,” was charged with four of his employees by a grand jury sitting in Montgomery, Ala.

Betty Washington, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., was sentenced today to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,440,632 for conspiring to file false claims for refunds.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO), Alamance County and Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson seeking a judicial declaration that department attorneys may interview particular ACSO personnel outside the presence of ACSO’s counsel.

A federal court has permanently barred Aurelia Sanderson Johnson from preparing federal tax returns for others.

John Jackson, the former mayor of White Hall, Ala., was sentenced to two years in prison today, the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

A Scottsboro, Ala., man was indicted today for the illegal possession, transportation and sale of protected reptiles in violation of the Lacey Act.

The Justice Department announced today that a federal grand jury in Birmingham, Ala., returned a three-count indictment charging former Tuscaloosa Sheriff’s sergeant, Althea Mallisham, 52, with federal civil rights crimes for using a stun gun on three jail detainees in 2008.

The Department of Justice challenged the state of Alabama’s recently passed immigration law, H.B. 56, in federal court today.

A $1-million settlement has been reached for natural resource damages (NRD) at the Blackburn & Union Privileges Superfund Site in Walpole, Mass.

Yumeitrius Manuel and Margaret Kirksey, both of Montgomery, Ala., were indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges of conspiracy, identity theft, wire fraud, false claims and lying to federal agents.

The United States has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop Lakeisha Pearson from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Eric Bernard Caldwell, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., was sentenced today to 30 months in prison.

Melinda M. Lambert, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting the filing of a false tax return.

Three separate indictments were returned by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama charging six different individuals on a variety of charges stemming from tax fraud and identity theft schemes.

Laquanta Grant, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., was sentenced to 33 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,326,738.08.

Two Mobile, Ala., real estate investors and one real estate investment company have agreed to plead guilty today for their roles in a conspiracy to rig bids for the purchase of real estate at public foreclosure auctions in southern Alabama.

Federal, state and Bay-area officials announced a comprehensive civil settlement with the owners and operators of the M/V Cosco Busan, resolving all natural resource damages, penalties and response costs that resulted from the ship striking the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in 2007, and subsequent oil spill in the San Francisco Bay.

Future Research Corp., located in Huntsville, Ala., and its president, Jesse Nunn, have agreed to pay the United States $200,000 to settle claims that they inappropriately obtained contracts from the Navy.

Janika Fernae Bates Millbrook, Ala., was convicted of identity theft, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to make false claims for tax refunds.

Melinda Clayton of Montgomery, Ala., pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiring to defraud the United States by filing false claims, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Veronica Dale, a resident of Montgomery, Ala., pleaded guilty today to two tax fraud and identity theft conspiracies.

James E. Moss and Avada L. Jenkins were found guilty today of tax crimes relating to “Flash Tax,” a Montgomery, Ala., tax preparation business owned by Moss.