Press Releases for February 2006
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Justice Department Settles Civil Contempt Claim Against Rolex Watch U.s.a. Inc. (06-105)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rolex Watch U.S.A. Inc. has agreed to pay $750,000 as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice that resolves Rolex‘s alleged violations of a 1960 consent decree that prohibited U.S. importers of Swiss watches and watch parts from engaging in anticompetitive practices in the U.S. watch industry. (Read more)
Justice Department Announces Four Pleas In Internet Music Piracy Crackdown (06-103)
WASHINGTON, D.C.— The first guilty pleas involving members of pre-release music piracy groups from Operation FastLink, a major Department of Justice initiative against online piracy worldwide, were announced today by Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the U.S. Justice Department‘s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Paul J. McNulty of the Eastern District of Virginia. Derek A. Borchardt, age 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina; Matthew B. Howard, age 24, of Longmont, Colorado; and Aaron O. Jones, age 31, of Hillsboro, Oregon, each pled guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement for their involvement in the pre-release music group “Apocalypse Crew” or “APC.” (Read more)
Ohio Companies to Pay $3.25 Million to Settle Alleged Natural Resources Damages Claims and Clean Water Act Violations (06-101)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Elkem Metals Company L.P, its two partners—Ferro Invest III Inc. and Ferro Invest II LLC—and Eramet Marietta Inc. have agreed to pay $3.25 million to settle allegations that the companies injured natural resources and violated the Clean Water Act (CWA) as a result of wastewater discharges from a Marietta, Ohio, facility the Department of Justice, the Department of the Interior (DOI), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. (Read more)
Monday, February 27, 2006
Justice Department Settles Voting Rights Lawsuit with Hale County, Texas (06-102)
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department announced today that it filed a lawsuit against Hale County, Texas, alleging violations of the rights of minority-language voters under two key provisions of the Voting Rights Act. The Department simultaneously filed a consent decree resolving the lawsuit against the county. (Read more)
Friday, February 24, 2006
Justice Department Announces Public Education Campaign Grants to Fight Immigration-Related Employment Discrimination (06-099)
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced the availability of funds for its grant program funding public education efforts regarding immigration-related employment discrimination. (Read more)
Professional Tax Resister Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Prison for Tax Fraud (06-098)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Longtime tax protestor Irwin Schiff was sentenced in federal district court in Las Vegas to total of 163 months in prison—151 months for tax fraud and an additional 12 months for contempt of court—the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. In addition, Schiff was ordered to pay more than $4.2 million in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release. (Read more)
Allied Freight Forwarding Inc. Agrees to Plead Guilty to Participating in Two Bid-rigging Conspiracies (06-097)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Allied Freight Forwarding Inc. (Allied), headquartered in Westmont, Illinois, has agreed to plead guilty and pay a criminal fine of $1.043 million for its role in two separate bid-rigging conspiracies in connection with a Department of Defense (DOD) program to transport the household goods of military and civilian DOD personnel between Europe and the United States and between the mainland United States and Hawaii, the Department of Justice announced. (Read more)
COURT OF APPEALS UPHOLDS DENATURALIZATION OF WISCONSIN MAN WHO HELPED CARRY OUT 1943 NAZI MASS MURDER OF JEWS (06-096)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal appeals court yesterday affirmed a lower court ruling revoking the U.S. citizenship of a Wisconsin man who, by his own admission, stood guard during a Nazi mass killing operation in occupied Poland in 1943, with orders to “shoot to kill” any still-living Jewish victim who attempted escape, announced Alice S. Fisher, Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division. (Read more)
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Federal Court Bars Georgia Man from Promoting Tax-Fraud Scheme (06-095)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal court in Georgia has enjoined Derrick Sanders, of Atlanta, from promoting a tax-fraud scheme involving false claims that his customers were members of a fictitious tribal organization—the so-called Yamassee Native American Tribe—and further that his clients were exempt from federal income tax. (Read more)
WILLIAMS POWER COMPANY, INC., TO PAY $50 MILLION PENALTY TO RESOLVE CRIMINAL ALLEGATIONS (06-094)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Williams Power Company Inc. (WPC), a Delaware corporation, has entered into an agreement with the government resolving an ongoing federal investigation into the submission of knowingly inaccurate reports by WPC concerning a commodities market, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kevin V. Ryan of the Northern District of California announced today. (Read more)
FORMER OFFICER OF INTERNET COMPANY SENTENCED IN CASE OF MASSIVE DATA THEFT FROM ACXIOM CORPORATION (06-088)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Scott Levine, 46, was sentenced today to 96 months in federal prison after being found guilty on Aug. 12, 2005, by a jury in Little Rock, Ark., of 120 counts of unauthorized access of a protected computer, two counts of access device fraud, and one count of obstruction of justice, the Justice Department announced. (Read more)
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Two Trust Promoters Convicted of Tax Crimes (06-092)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — David Carroll Stephenson was convicted today of conspiring to defraud the United States and willful failure to file income tax returns for 1998 through 2000, in connection with his promotion of a tax evasion scheme using “pure equity trust” organizations, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. (Read more)
Justice Department Asks Federal Court to Bar Minnesota Man From Preparing Tax Returns for Others (06-091)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Justice Department announced today that it has filed suit in federal court in Minneapolis, Minnesota seeking to enjoin John R. Bartels, who does business as John‘s Tax Service, in St. Paul, from preparing federal income tax returns. (Read more)
Three Men Charged with Conspiring to Commit Terrorist Acts Overseas, Providing Material Support to Terrorists (05-090)
Three men who resided in the Toledo, Ohio area have been charged with conspiring to commit acts of terrorism against persons overseas, including U.S. military personnel serving in Iraq, and with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday. (Read more)
Friday, February 17, 2006
Justice Department Announces Appointment of Rachel K. Paulose as United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota (06-087)
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced the appointment of Rachel K. Paulose to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota. Ms. Paulose will serve under an Attorney General Appointment. She will succeed Thomas B. Heffelfinger, who will resign from the position on February 28, 2006. (Read more)
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Justice Department Announces Guilty Plea by Former Pensacola, FL Deputy Sheriff for Excessive Force Against a Private Citizen (06-085)
WASHINGTON D.C.—The Justice Department today announced that Charles Dix, a former deputy sheriff with the Escambia County Sheriff‘s Office, pleaded guilty to willfully using excessive force. While employed as a deputy sheriff, Dix used his stun gun on a citizen while she was in a store parking lot in Pensacola, Florida. (Read more)
Michigan Man Sentenced for Preparing Tax Returns in Violation of Court Order (06-084)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Robert L. Mosher, of Cedar Springs, Michigan, was sentenced to 105 days in prison for contempt of court after violating injunctions that barred him from preparing tax returns for customers, the Justice Department announced today. Mosher pleaded guilty to one count of a six-count indictment charging him with criminal contempt on November 16, 2005. (Read more)
McKesson Corporation to Pay United States $3 Million to Settle Fraud Allegations (06-083)
WASHINGTON, D.C.- McKesson Corporation, a wholesale pharmaceutical distributor, has agreed to pay the United States $3 million to settle claims that it defrauded the Department of Defense from October 1997 to December 2001, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more)
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Fact Sheet: Department of Justice Initiative to Combat Gangs (06-082)
Gangs have become an increasingly deadly threat to the safety and security of our nation‘s citizens. Addressing this threat is one of the top priorities of the Department of Justice, and today Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales unveiled his plan to combat gang violence across America. (Read more)
Fact Sheet: Department of Justice Project Safe Childhood Initiative (06-081)
The growing threat of sexual exploitation crimes committed against children through the Internet is a disturbing and unacceptable trend. Today, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales announced the creation of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative designed to protect our children as they navigate the Internet. (Read more)
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales Outlines Key Priorities and Accomplishments for the Department of Justice in Annual Remarks (06-080)
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales today outlined the top priorities for the Department of Justice for the upcoming year and highlighted the major accomplishments of the Department during his first year as Attorney General. (Read more)
Fact Sheet: Department of Justice Initiative to Combat Housing Discrimination “Operation Home Sweet Home” (06-079)
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales today announced Operation Home Sweet Home, a concentrated initiative to expose and eliminate housing discrimination in America. This initiative will focus on improved targeting of discrimination tests, increased testing, and public awareness efforts. (Read more)
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Justice Department Sues to Bar Father and Daughter from Preparing Tax Returns (06-077)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Justice Department filed suit today to stop Harrold E. Jones and Evelyn Johnson from preparing tax returns for others. The civil complaint, filed in federal court in Wichita, alleges that the father-and-daughter team—who do business as Evelyn=s Secretarial and Tax Service—have repeatedly created fictitious businesses that they have used to fraudulently inflate customers' tax deductions. (Read more)
Friday, February 10, 2006
Justice Department Settles Voting Rights Lawsuit with Long County, Georgia (06-076)
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Justice Department today announced the filing of a lawsuit under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act against Long County, Georgia, alleging that the county violated the rights of Hispanic voters. With the complaint, the Department filed a consent decree negotiated with Long County to correct the alleged violations. (Read more)
Corporate Express Pays United States $5.02 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations (06-074)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Corporate Express Office Products has paid the United States $5.02 million to settle allegations that it submitted false claims when it sold office supply products manufactured in countries not permitted by the Trade Agreements Act to United States government agencies, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more)
Commercial Fishing Vessel's Crewmember Pleads Guilty to Concealing Thousands of Pounds of Red Snapper Smuggled into the United States (06-073)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Tam Le, crewmember of the Galveston, Texas-based commercial fishing vessel Thanh Tam, pleaded guilty in federal court to concealing red snapper which was illegally imported into the United States, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more)
Thursday, February 9, 2006
Minnesota-Based Home Health Care Chain Pays U.S. $8 Million to Settle Civil Fraud Allegations (06-072)
WASHINGTON, DC — Intrepid U.S.A. has paid the United States $8 million to resolve allegations that the company fraudulently overbilled three government health care programs — Medicare, Medicaid, and the military health care programs, TRICARE/CHAMPUS — the Justice Department and the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota announced today. (Read more)
Department Holds Ceremony to Recognize ADA Certification Equivalency for North Carolina Accessibility Code (06-071)
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Justice today announced during a ceremony in Cary, North Carolina, that the state‘s Accessibility Code has been awarded certification for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). North Carolina is the sixth state in the country to receive ADA certification. (Read more)
American International Group, Inc. Enters into Agreement with the United States (06-070)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — American International Group, Inc. (AIG) has agreed to resolve criminal liability arising from misstatements in its periodic financial reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) between 2000 and 2004 by paying $25 million in penalties to the United States and cooperating fully in the government‘s continuing criminal investigation, Acting Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty and Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)
Wednesday, February 8, 2006
Justice Department Reaches Settlement Regarding Conditions at the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility (06-069)
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement with the State of Hawai‘i regarding civil rights violations in the juvenile justice facility, the Hawai‘i Youth Correctional Facility in Kailua, Hawai‘i, operated by the Hawai‘i Department of Human Services. The three year agreement, filed yesterday in the United States District Court for the District of Hawai‘i, requires the state to implement reforms to ensure that juveniles in the facility are adequately protected from harm and receive adequate access to medical and mental health services and special education. (Read more)
Justice Department Reaches Agreement with Southern Illinois University to End Race and Sex Discrimination in Paid Fellowship Programs (06-068)
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced that it has reached a consent decree with the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University (“SIU”) that, if approved and entered by the court, would resolve the Department‘s lawsuit against the Board. (Read more)
Justice Department Charges California Company In Probe Of Federal E-rate Program In California And Michigan (06-067)
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Premio Inc., a California-based company, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay $1.7 million in criminal fines and restitution relating to charges of collusion and fraud in the Federal Communication Commission‘s (FCC) E-Rate program involving schools in California and Michigan, the Department of Justice‘s Antitrust Division and the U.S. Attorney‘s Office for the Northern District of California announced today. (Read more)
Justice Department Reaches Settlement Regarding Conditions at Two Indiana Juvenile Justice Facilities (06-066)
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Justice Department today announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with the State of Indiana regarding civil rights violations at two state-operated juvenile justice facilities: Logansport Juvenile Intake/Diagnostic Facility in Logansport and South Bend Juvenile Correctional Facility in South Bend. (Read more)
McWane, Inc. And Company Executive Plead Guilty and McWane Sentenced for Environmental Crimes (06-065)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cast-iron pipe manufacturer McWane, Inc. (McWane) and former vice president and general manager, Charles Matlock, pleaded guilty today in federal court to environmental crimes in connection with the operation of Pacific States Cast Iron Pipe Company (Pacific States). Specifically, McWane pleaded guilty to two counts of submitting a document to the State of Utah containing falsified emission test results. Matlock pleaded guilty to one count of rendering inaccurate a testing method required by the Clean Air Act (CAA). McWane was ordered to pay a $3 million fine—the largest criminal environmental fine in the state of Utah—and to serve a three-year period of probation. Sentencing for Charles Matlock is scheduled for May 2, 2006. (Read more)
Tuesday, February 7, 2006
Justice Department Asks Federal Court to Bar Minnesota Man from Preparing Tax Returns for Others (06-064)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Justice Department filed suit in federal court today, seeking to enjoin Nash Sonibare and Liberty Financial Group, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, from preparing federal income tax returns. The civil suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, alleges that Sonibare prepares federal income tax returns for customers that contain false or inflated deductions and credits. According to the complaint, Sonibare has prepared an estimated 3,373 returns since 2002 that have caused an estimated loss to the U.S. Treasury of over $8 million. (Read more)
Monday, February 6, 2006
Justice Department Requires West Virginia Medical Center To End Illegal Agreement (06-063)
The Department of Justice announced today that it will require a West Virginia hospital--Charleston Area Medical Center Inc. (CAMC)--to terminate an agreement with HCA Inc. that prevents HCA from developing a cardiac surgery program in Raleigh County, West Virginia. The Department said that terminating the agreement is necessary to restore competition between CAMC and HCA for cardiac surgery services. (Read more)
Department of Justice FY 2007 Budget Request (06-062)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales today announced that the President‘s FY 2007 budget proposal for the Department of Justice (DOJ) is $20.8 billion. The President‘s overall FY 2007 budget requests $330.8 million in new enhancements for counterterrorism and intelligence, which reflects the Department of Justice‘s top priority: the prevention of terrorist attacks. (Read more)
Friday, February 3, 2006
Department of Justice Officials to Hold Briefing on the FY 2007 Budget Request (06-061)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Justice Department officials will hold a press briefing on the FY 2007 budget request for the Department of Justice on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2006 at 2:00 P.M. EST. (Read more)
Thursday, February 2, 2006
Statement of Assistant Attorney General Eileen J. O'Connor on the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision in Black & Decker Corporation V. United States of America (06-060)
“Today‘s decision by the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals will help to maintain the integrity of our federal tax system. The decision reverses the trial court‘s summary allowance of over $560 million in loss deductions claimed by the Black & Decker Corporation as a result of a ′contingent liability‘ tax shelter—a tax shelter that was widely marketed to other companies. (Read more)
Justice Department Sues to Bar Michigan Man‘s Alleged Tax-Fraud Schemes (06-059)
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today filed a civil injunction suit seeking to bar Daniel Doyle Benham of Twin Lake, Michigan, from marketing alleged tax-fraud schemes. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan in Grand Rapids, alleges that Benham, conducting business as R.O.C. Group International, falsely advises prospective customers that they can use so-called “corporation sole” and “strategic withdrawal” schemes to remove themselves from the federal tax system and avoid paying federal income taxes. (Read more)
Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Alice S. Fisher to Hold News Conference on a Corporate Fraud Matter (06-058)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Alice S. Fisher will hold a news conference on a corporate fraud matter TODAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2006 at 11:30 A.M. EST. (Read more)
Three Former Gen Re and One Former AIG Senior Executives Charged in Connection with Fraud Scheme (06-057)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal grand jury in Norfolk, Va., has indicted three former senior executives of General Re Corporation (Gen Re) and one former senior executive of American International Group, Inc. (AIG) on charges relating to a fraudulent scheme to manipulate AIG‘s financial statements, the Department of Justice announced today. (Read more)
Former Department of Defense Contractor Pleads Guilty to Participating in Bribery, Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme in Al-Hillah, Iraq (06-056)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Robert J. Stein, a former U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) contractor, pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiracy, bribery, money laundering, unlawful possession of machine guns, and being a felon in possession of a firearm in connection with a scheme to defraud the Coalition Provisional Authority - South Central Region (CPA-SC) in Al-Hillah, Iraq, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
MSC Ship Management Sentenced for Oil Pollution Coverup (06-055)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — MSC Ship Management (Hong Kong) Limited—a Hong Kong-based container ship company—has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $10 million criminal fine after admitting to engaging in conspiracy, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, false statements and violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, the Department of Justice announced today. (Read more)
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to Participate in OPDAT and ICITAP Iraq Award Ceremony (06-054)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales will participate in the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) and International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) Award Ceremony to honor past and present Department of Justice personnel who served on the OPDAT and ICITAP Iraq teams TODAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2006 at 2:00 P.M. EST. (Read more)