Press Releases for August 2005
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Four Men Indicted on Terrorism Charges Related to Conspiracy to Attack Military Facilities, Other Targets (05-453)
Four men have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Santa Ana, California, for their alleged roles in a terrorist plot to attack U.S. military facilities, Israeli government facilities and Jewish synagogues in the Los Angeles area, the Department of Justice announced today. (Read more)
Sixteen Current and Former U.S. Soldiers and Law Enforcement Officers Agree to Plead Guilty to Participating in Bribery and Extortion Conspiracy (05-450)
- Sixteen additional current and former U.S. soldiers and law enforcement officers have agreed to plead guilty to participating in a widespread bribery and extortion conspiracy which operated from January 2002 through March 2004, Acting Assistant Attorney General John C. Richter of the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to Honor Recipients at 53rd Annual Awards Ceremony (05-443)
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales will deliver remarks and honor award recipients at the 53rd Annual Attorney General Awards Ceremony on WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2005 at 2:00 P.M. EDT. (Read more)
North Carolina Man Arrested on Tax, Mail, Wire and Health Care Fraud Charges (05-441)
On July 26, 2005, a federal grand jury sitting in Greensboro, North Carolina, returned a 21 count indictment charging Steven E. Edwards with income tax evasion, mail fraud, wire fraud, making false statements to a financial institution, money laundering, and theft from a healthcare benefit program, the Justice Department, Internal Revenue Service, and Department of Labor announced today. The indictment, which had been sealed pending the defendant‘s arrest on August 1, 2005, also seeks the forfeiture of approximately $3.8 million in cash and a mountain residence in Boone, North Carolina. Mr. Edwards was arraigned in federal court in Greensboro, N.C. (Read more)
Attorney General Gonzales and DEA Administrator Tandy Announce Results of a National Anti-Meth Initiative (05-440)
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Karen P. Tandy today announced the results of the DEA-led “Operation Wildfire,” the largest nationally coordinated law enforcement initiative designed to target all levels of the methamphetamine manufacturing and distribution chain in the United States and continue the fight against the spread of methamphetamine. This unprecedented law enforcement effort involved over 200 U.S. cities and resulted in the arrest of 427 individuals. The streamlined efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement resulted in the seizure of 209 pounds of methamphetamine, 201,035 tablets of pseudoephedrine, 158 kilograms of pseudoephedrine powder and 224,860 tablets of ephedrine. Fifty six clandestine laboratories were seized in the nationwide sweep and 30 endangered children were removed from their meth environments. Finally, 28 vehicles and 123 weapons were seized during the raids and 96 search warrants were executed. (Read more)
Monday, August 29, 2005
KPMG to Pay $456 Million for Criminal Violations in Relation to Largest-Ever Tax Shelter Fraud Case (05-433)
KPMG LLP (KPMG) has admitted to criminal wrongdoing and agreed to pay $456 million in fines, restitution, and penalties as part of an agreement to defer prosecution of the firm, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service announced today. In addition to the agreement, nine individuals-including six former KPMG partners and the former deputy chairman of the firm-are being criminally prosecuted in relation to the multi-billion dollar criminal tax fraud conspiracy. As alleged in a series of charging documents unsealed today, the fraud relates to the design, marketing, and implementation of fraudulent tax shelters. (Read more)
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Three Defendants Indicted, Fourth Pleads Guilty in Takedown of Major International Spam Operation (05-431)
Three individuals have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Phoenix on charges of violating the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, along with federal obscenity, money laundering and conspiracy charges, Acting Assistant Attorney General John C. Richter of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton of the District of Arizona announced today. The CAN-SPAM Act is a federal law designed to crack down on the transmission of bulk, unsolicited commercial electronic mail messages. (Read more)
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Justice Department Settles Voting Rights Lawsuit Against Texas County (05-430)
The Justice Department announced today that it filed a lawsuit against Ector County, Texas, alleging violations of the rights of minority-language voters under the Voting Rights Act. The Department simultaneously filed a consent decree resolving the lawsuit against the county. (Read more)
Federal Court Bars North Carolina Man from Preparing Tax Returns for Others (05-429)
The Justice Department announced today that a North Carolina federal court has barred Oscie K. Parker of Thomasville, North Carolina, from preparing tax returns for others. In entering the order, Judge William L. Osteen of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina barred Parker from advising or assisting anyone in preparing a federal tax return, and from owning or working for a tax-preparation business. The court also ordered Parker to provide the government his customers‘ names, mailing and e-mail addresses, and telephone and Social Security numbers. (Read more)
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and Prosecutor General Mario Iguarán To Hold Joint Press Availability In Bogotá, Colombia (05-428)
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and Prosecutor General Mario Iguarán will hold a joint press availability in Bogotá, Colombia on WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2005 at 9:50 A.M. CDT. (Read more)
Monday, August 22, 2005
Municipal, Corporate Parties Will Pay $13.9 Million for Cleanup of Major Superfund Site Near Denver (05-427)
The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency today announced a settlement under which the City and County of Denver, Waste Management of Colorado, Inc., and six other companies agreed to pay $13.9 million to reimburse money spent by the United States in connection with the Lowry Landfill Superfund Site near Denver, Colorado. The settlement, which resolves three years of litigation, also requires that the settling defendants continue site cleanup and pay costs incurred by the United States with respect to the site in the future. Although initial cleanup of the site is nearly complete, long-term maintenance is expected to cost $43 million and continue for more than 30 years. (Read more)
Federal Racketeering Indictments Target International Smuggling, Counterfeit Currency Operation (05-426)
The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security announced today that 87 individuals have been indicted and 59 people have been arrested on charges related to international conspiracies to launder money and smuggle counterfeit U.S. currency, weapons, drugs and cigarettes into the United States. (Read more)
Justice, Homeland Security Officials to Hold Press Conference on International Counterfeiting, Smuggling Operation (05-425)
Officials from the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Secret Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will hold a press conference to announce developments in a major international undercover operation targeting the smuggling of counterfeit currency, weapons, drugs, and cigarettes into the United States on MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2005 at 2:30 P.M. EDT. (Read more)
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Cosmed Agrees To Pay $1.5 Million for Clean Air Act Violations (05-423)
The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced the first nationwide settlement of a Clean Air Act enforcement action for violations of the federal standards for ethylene oxide emissions from sterilization facilities. The settlement was reached with the Cosmed Group, Inc., (Cosmed), headquartered in Jamestown, R.I., which sterilizes products for the food and medical industries. EPA investigations found violations of ethylene oxide Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) requirements at six of the eight sterilization facilities in Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Texas, and California. (Read more)
Justice Department Seeks to Stop Two Californians From Preparing Tax Returns for Others (05-416)
The Justice Department announced today that it has asked a federal court to bar two Los Angeles men, James L. Tolbert (also known as James Tolbert Bey) and Michael Muhammad (also known as Michael Eugene Wall and Michael Muta Ali Muhammad), from preparing federal income tax returns for others. The government‘s complaints in the two civil injunction lawsuits-filed in Los Angeles with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California-allege that Tolbert and Muhammad prepare for their customers federal income tax returns that fraudulently report no tax liability. The two lawsuits also ask the court to order Tolbert and Muhammad to give the Justice Department their customers‘ names, mailing and e-mail addresses, and telephone and Social Security numbers. (Read more)
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
South Dakota Real Estate Commission Permits Real Estate Brokers to Offer Rebates and Inducements (05-422)
The Department of Justice announced today that the South Dakota Real Estate Commission, in response to an investigation by the Department‘s Antitrust Division, has rescinded two rulings that prohibited South Dakota real estate brokers from offering rebates, inducements, and other discounts to consumers. The Commission advised the Department of its action in a letter received today. (Read more)
Friday, August 12, 2005
Former Columbus, Ohio Bar Owner Charged with Tax and Mail Fraud, Conspiracy, and Money Laundering (05-419)
A federal grand jury returned a 10-count indictment today charging Martin J. McNamee with conspiracy, money laundering, tax fraud, and mail fraud relating to his participation in a long-term cash-skimming scheme and a false insurance claim, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more)
Philadelphia Jury Convicts Proponent of Frivolous 861 Argument For Failure to Timely File Income Tax Returns For Five Years (05-418)
The Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service announced today that a federal jury in Philadelphia convicted Larken Rose, of Hollywood, Pennsylvania of five counts of willful failure to file federal income tax returns. (Read more)
Justice Department Announces Conviction of Florida Man Accused of Massive Data Theft From Acxiom, Inc. (05-417)
A jury in Little Rock, Arkansas, found Scott Levine guilty of 120 counts of unauthorized access of a protected computer, two counts of access device fraud, and one count of obstruction of justice, after a trial that began on July 11, 2005. The jury commenced deliberations on August 10, 2005, and took approximately three days to reach its verdict. The announcement was made today by John C. Richter, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department‘s Criminal Division; Bud Cummins, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas; Brian Marr, Special Agent in Charge of the Little Rock office of the United States Secret Service (USSS); and William C. Temple, Special Agent in Charge of the Little Rock office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). (Read more)
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission Announces Second Cuban Claims Program for Americans With New Property Claims Against the Government of Cuba (05-415)
The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission has established a second Cuban Claims Program to receive claims of U.S. citizens or corporations against the Government of Cuba for previously unadjudicated losses of real and personal property taken after May 1, 1967, Chairman Mauricio Tamargo announced today. (Read more)
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Former Top Bayer Executives Indicted in Price-Fixing Conspiracy (05-414)
Two former top executives of Bayer AG, the German chemicals producer, were indicted today by a federal grand jury for participating in an international price-fixing conspiracy in the rubber chemicals industry, the Department of Justice announced. (Read more)
Monday, August 8, 2005
Justice Department Reaches Settlement With Waste Industries USA Inc. (05-413)
The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement that requires Waste Industries USA Inc. to sell certain small container commercial waste hauling assets, to modify certain customer contracts, and to refrain from certain contracting practices in the Norfolk, Virginia area, in order to resolve the Department‘s antitrust concerns. The Department said that the acquisition by Waste Industries of waste-hauling assets from Allied Waste Industries Inc. lessened competition for small container commercial hauling services in the region. (Read more)
Anthem Insurance Cos. to Pay U.S. $1.5 Million For Overcharging Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (05-412)
Anthem Insurance Companies will pay the United States $1.5 million to settle allegations that the company overcharged the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), the Justice Department announced today. The Indiana corporation has served as a contractor within the FEHBP. (Read more)
Thursday, August 4, 2005
Businessmen Convicted In Scheme To Evade $1.9 Million In Taxes on Sales Of Ozone-Depleting Chemical (05-410)
Dov Shellef and William Rubenstein were convicted of conspiring to evade approximately $1.9 million in excise taxes due on sales of an ozone-depleting chemical called trichlorotrifluoroethane (CFC-113), the Justice Department, Roslynn R. Mauskopf, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. A jury returned the guilty verdicts on July 28, 2005, following a five-week trial before U. S. District Judge Joanna Seybert in Central Islip, New York. Shellef, of Great Neck, New York, was also convicted of 87 counts of wire fraud, tax evasion, subscribing to false tax returns and money laundering. Rubenstein, of Colts Neck, New Jersey, was also convicted of wire fraud. (Read more)
Wednesday, August 3, 2005
Statement Of The Department of Justice Antitrust Division on the Closing of The Investigation Of Sprint Corporation's Acquisition of Nextel Communications Inc. (05-409)
The Department of Justice‘s Antitrust Division issued the following statement today after the Department announced the closing of its investigation into Sprint Corporation‘s proposed acquisition of Nextel Communications Inc.: (Read more)
Tuesday, August 2, 2005
Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Regarding Delaware State Police Hiring Practices (05-407)
The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement with the State of Delaware resolving an employment lawsuit alleging unlawful race discrimination in the state police department's hiring practices. The suit was filed in 2001 under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in the workplace. (Read more)
Mississippi Woman Sentenced for Coordinating the Submission of False ′Fen-Phen‘ Claims (05-406)
A Mississippi woman has been sentenced to 31 months in prison for her role in falsifying prescription documents on behalf of others in order to obtain funds from a settlement fund established for injuries caused by the so-called “fen-phen” drugs, the Department of Justice announced today. (Read more)
Department of Justice to Hold Ballot Access and Voting Integrity Symposium (05-404)
The Department of Justice announced today that the 4th annual Ballot Access and Voting Integrity Symposium will be held in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 4 and 5, 2005. The annual training conference is part of the Ballot Access and Voting Integrity Initiative, which was established in October 2002 to spearhead the Department‘s expanded efforts to address election fraud and voting rights violations. (Read more)
$100 Million Settlement Reached For Cleanup of the Milltown Reservoir (05-397)
The Atlantic Richfield Company and the NorthWestern Corporation have agreed to complete a $100 million-plus cleanup of the Milltown Reservoir, removing millions of cubic yards of contaminated sediments and decommissioning and removing the Milltown Dam, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency announced today. The State of Montana and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are also signatories to the settlement. (Read more)