Criminal Division Press Releases for March 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Bulgarian Woman Arrested and Charged with Conspiracy and Money Laundering (07-186)
A Bulgarian member of a transnational criminal group has been arrested on U.S. charges by law enforcement authorities in Budapest, Hungary, in connection with an elaborate Internet scheme responsible for defrauding American citizens of over $350,000, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and FBI Assistant Director Chip Burrus of the Criminal Investigative Division announced today. (Read more)
Friday, March 23, 2007
Former Interior Deputy Secretary Pleads Guilty to Obstructing U.S. Senate Investigation into Abramoff Corruption Scandal (07-174)
James Steven Griles, the former deputy secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI), has pleaded guilty to obstructing the U.S. Senate‘s investigation into the corruption allegations surrounding former Washington lobbyist Jack A. Abramoff, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today. Griles admitted that he knowingly and willfully lied and concealed material information about the relationship that he had with Abramoff . (Read more)
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Two Former Alcatel Executives Indicted for Allegedly Bribing Costa Rican Officials to Obtain a Telecommunications Contract (07-169)
A federal grand jury in Miami has returned a superseding indictment charging an additional former Alcatel executive with making corrupt payments to Costa Rican officials in order to obtain a mobile telephone contract from the state-owned telecommunications authority, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Department of Justice announced today. (Read more)
Friday, March 16, 2007
Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charge
WASHINGTON — Steven Padron, of Palm Beach County, Fla., entered a guilty plea today in West Palm Beach, Fla., to distribution of child pornography, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division, R. Alexander Acosta, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and William Sims, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, announced today. (Read more)
Justice Department Moves to Deport Former Nazi Policeman Who Participated in Wartime Persecution of Jews (07-157)
WASHINGTON—The Justice Department has asked an immigration judge in Chicago to enter an order directing the deportation of Osyp Firishchak, a Chicago resident who served during World War II in the Nazi-sponsored Ukrainian Auxiliary Police (UAP) in German-occupied L‘viv, announced Alice S. Fisher, Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division. (Read more)
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Detroit Man Sentenced for Child Prostitution (07-154)
WASHINGTON—Robert Lewis Young of Detroit was sentenced today to 25 years in federal prison for running a criminal operation prostituting adults and children, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and Steven J. Murphy, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan announced. (Read more)
Monday, March 12, 2007
Hackers from India Indicted for Online Brokerage Intrusion Scheme that Victimized Customers and Brokerage Firms (07-141)
WASHINGTON — A federal grand jury in Omaha, Neb., has indicted three individuals on charges of conspiracy, fraud and aggravated identity theft stemming from a high-tech, international fraud scheme designed to hijack online brokerage accounts for profit, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Joe W. Stecher for the District of Nebraska, FBI Executive Assistant Director for Criminal Investigations Michael A. Mason, and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Christopher Cox announced today. (Read more)
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Jury Convicts Virgin Islands Man of Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography
A federal jury convicted a St. Croix, V.I., man of two counts of child pornography, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Anthony J. Jenkins for the District of the Virgin Islands, and Special Agent in Charge Manuel Oyola-Torres of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE), announced today. (Read more)
Baltimore Fugitive Sweep Results in Nearly 200 Arrests
The largest sweep of its kind ever conducted in Baltimore has resulted in hundreds of violent criminal arrests, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein of the District of Maryland, and U.S. Marshal Johnny Hughes announced today. (Read more)
Department of Defense Civilian Employee Arrested for Embezzlement Scheme
Jesse D. Lane, Jr., a Department of Defense (DOD) civilian employee, was arrested in Seattle, Wash., after being indicted by a grand jury in the Central District of California on one count of conspiracy, nine counts of honest services wire fraud, and one count obstruction of justice, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Former Army Official and Virginia-based Defense Contractor Sentenced for Honest Services Wire Fraud and Bribery Convictions
Kenneth N. Harvey, 51, and Michael G. Kronstein, 45, were sentenced today in Charlottesville, Va., for their involvement in a bribery and honest services wire fraud scheme, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)