Criminal Division Press Releases for April 2007
Monday, April 30, 2007
Justice Department Announces Sixth Guilty Plea in P2P Piracy Crackdown (07-304)
A sixth defendant has pleaded guilty in connection with Operation D-Elite, the first criminal enforcement action targeting individuals committing copyright infringement on a peer-to-peer (P2P) network using BitTorrent technology, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Gregory A. White for the Northern District of Ohio announced today. (Read more)
Friday, April 27, 2007
Three Defendants Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Securities and Email Fraud (07-302)
Sarasota, Fla., man has been sentenced to five years in prison and two years of supervised release for conspiring to commit both securities fraud and email fraud stemming from stock manipulation scheme involving four publicly-traded companies — Masslick Inc., eDollars Inc., Emerging Holdings Inc., and China Score Inc. — Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today. (Read more)
Digital Currency Business E-Gold Indicted for Money Laundering and Illegal Money Transmitting (07-301)
A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. has indicted two companies operating a digital currency business and their owners on charges of money laundering, conspiracy, and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today. (Read more)
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Three MS 13 Leaders Convicted on All Counts
GREENBELT, Md – A federal jury convicted Jose Hipolito Cruz Diaz, a.k.a “Pirana,” 28, of Lanham, Md.; Omar Vasquez, a.k.a “Duke,” 28; and Henry Zelaya, 20, today of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise involving murder, robbery, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering (Read more)
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales Announces Expansion of Justice Department‘s Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative (07-292)
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales today announced the expansion of the Justice Department‘s Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative to include four additional sites targeting dangerous street gangs and promoting prevention efforts to keep communities and neighborhoods safe. Attorney General Gonzales made the announcement during a visit to Rochester, N.Y., one of four sites that will receive $2.5 million in additional grant funding to combat gang violence. Oklahoma City, Indianapolis and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. were also selected to receive funding as part of the Department‘s Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative. (Read more)
Baker Hughes Subsidiary Pleads Guilty to Bribing Kazakh Official and Agrees to Pay $11 Million Criminal Fine as Part of Largest Combined Sanction Ever Imposed in FCPA Case (07-296)
Baker Hughes Services International Inc. (BHSI)—a wholly owned subsidiary of Baker Hughes Incorporated—pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)
Four Men Convicted in Online Auction Piracy Initiative (07-295)
Four more defendants pleaded guilty in Milwaukee to selling copyrighted software, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Steven M. Biskupic for the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced today. (Read more)
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Richmond Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving Child Pornography Via Peer-to-Peer Software (07-290)
A Richmond man has pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg of the Eastern District of Virginia announced today. (Read more)
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Former Congressional Aide Mark D. Zachares Pleads Guilty to Public Corruption Charge (07-283)
A former high-level staffer of the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation & Infrastructure Committee has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, the Department of Justice announced today. (Read more)
Friday, April 20, 2007
Extradited Software Piracy Ringleader Pleads Guilty (07-273)
The leader of one of the oldest and most renowned Internet software piracy groups has pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement charges, in one of the first ever extraditions for an intellectual property offense, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today. (Read more)
Two Defendants Plead Guilty in Internet Music Piracy Crackdown (07-272)
Two defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully reproduce and distribute copyrighted music over the Internet, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg of the Eastern District of Virginia announced today. (Read more)
Operator of For-Profit Software Piracy Web Site Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison (07-271)
The owner of a massive for-profit software piracy Web site was sentenced in federal court to 24 months in prison, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg of the Eastern District of Virginia announced today. (Read more)
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Former Qwest Chief Executive Officer Joseph Nacchio Convicted on 19 Counts of Insider Trading (07-269)
A federal jury has found Joseph P. Nacchio, the former chief executive officer of Qwest Communications International Inc., guilty of insider trading charges, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more)
Monday, April 16, 2007
Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Producing Video of Toddler Being Sexually Abused (07-249)
A Boise, Idaho man has been sentenced to life in prison plus 60 years for producing a video of a toddler being sexually abused and sharing it on the Internet with a sex offender in Canada, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Moss of the District of Idaho announced today. (Read more)
Justice Department Announces Fifth Guilty Plea in P2P Piracy Crackdown (07-248)
A fifth defendant has pleaded guilty in connection with Operation D-Elite, the first criminal enforcement action targeting individuals committing copyright infringement on a peer-to-peer (P2P) network using BitTorrent technology, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Eric F. Melgren for the District of Kansas announced today. (Read more)
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Circus Agent Sentenced for Alien Smuggling and Visa Fraud (07-234)
A former acrobatic performer who resides in Orlando, Fla., was sentenced to 15 months in prison on charges of inducing aliens to enter the United States illegally and making false statements in visa applications, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher and Acting U.S. Attorney James R. Klindt for the Middle District of Florida announced today. (Read more)
Monday, April 9, 2007
Four Defendants Sentenced on one of New England‘s Largest Counterfeit Goods Conspiracies (07-229)
Four Massachusetts residents were sentenced in federal court for money laundering and trafficking and conspiring to traffic in more than $1 million of counterfeit luxury handbags and wallets, as well as the materials needed to make these counterfeits, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher for the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan of the District of Massachusetts; Special Agent in Charge Bruce M. Foucart of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New England; and Special Agent in Charge Douglas A. Bricker of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Criminal Investigation in New England announced today. (Read more)
Friday, April 6, 2007
Ecuadorian National Charged with Attempting to Kill a DEA Agent Extradited to the U.S. from Colombia (07-227)
An Ecuadorian national charged with the attempted murder of a DEA agent has been extradited from Colombia to the United States, the Department of Justice announced today. Jairo Motta-Vargas arrived in Miami from Colombia on April 4, and was transported to Washington, D.C. on April 5. (Read more)
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Miami Man Convicted of Sex Tourism, Child Pornography Charges (07-225)
Miami resident Kent Frank was convicted of eight counts of sex tourism and child pornography charges following a five-week trial in federal court, (Read more)
Monday, April 2, 2007
Biloxi Attorney Paul Minor and Two Former Mississippi State Court Judges Convicted for Role in Bribery Scheme (07-210)
A federal jury in Jackson, Miss., has convicted Biloxi attorney Paul S. Minor, former Mississippi state chancery court judge Walter W. Teel, and former Mississippi state court circuit judge John H. Whitfield of charges related to their role in a bribery scheme in which Minor provided Teel and Whitfield with money and other things of value in exchange for favorable rulings in cases brought before the judges by Minor‘s law firm, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)